Red Blood Blues is on the surface a vast departure for Brandon Schmitt but in many ways it feels more like a logical progression that has been a long time coming. Ditching the acoustic guitar and more traditional folk rock arrangements of his last record "Send off Smoke" (2011), Red Blood Blues is slowed down and spatially dense, blues music thick with electric guitars and heavy on atmosphere (think: Earth, Mount Eerie, Nirvana). The songs meanwhile are still lyrically driven and heavily influenced by old blues and country music (Lightnin' Hopkins, Jimmie Rodgers). Written mostly in the winter of 2013, the narrative is much darker than Schmitt's previous efforts, exploring reoccurring themes of death, isolation and wavering spirituality, the songs are bare bones and find Schmitt at his most raw, both in terms of writing and performance. Recorded by Ralph Mietz at the Nelson Odeon during the summer of 2013 in two live sessions, Red Blood Blues is the most complete rendering of Schmitt's musical vision to date, Anchored by the bass playing of longtime friend and collaborator, Alex Coronado, Schmitt is also joined by a trio of guitarists from the New York North Country (Dean Thornton, Mike Murphy and John North) and Mark Longolucco (multi-instrumentalist of Buffalo's a relative term). For a record with a true "wall of sound" approach, Red Blood Blues stands out foremost as a unique, intimate and moving experience. Brandon Schmitt lives outside of Ithaca, NY but grew up in Cazenovia. In his teens, he started writing and playing music in what he'd like to call the "Cazenovia underground scene" writing and performing in bands Euro Dance 5000, Unc' Billy's Possum Squad and The Pacemaker (amongst many others). He started writing and releasing music under his own name in 2004 and has since released three full length records and two EPs as well as recording with the band Yòü-Tü and The Gentle Gang. Along the way he also helped to found the record label and recording collective Father Time/Baby New Years records and has played extensively throughout the Northeast