Ryan Schmidt

After almost a year and a half, the album is finally done. We ended up with 11 special songs. Each pull from different influences which should make the listening experience is exciting and interesting. New songs, videos, and live acoustic versions will be available soon to promote the new record "Black Sheep, Run". Recently I had promo pictures taken for the album, many thanks to Jacob Rosati who did an amazing job. Check out his band http://jaybirdfolk.com


Also, I'll be playing the Middle East Upstairs January 12th, 2010 in Cambridge, MA. This is my first headlining show in Boston so if you can come out and support that would be amazing. First 25 people get an album sampler CD. Brian Dunne and Alexis Babini will be opening.

More details here:
http://www.facebook.com/ryanschmidtmusic#/event.php?eid=192140331183&ref=mf



R

Just found this article from UCONN's newspaper about the show I did last month with Brian Bergeron. Thought I'd share:

This past Saturday, students were given a taste of the musical stylings of Brian Bergeron, 24, and Ryan Schmidt, 20, courtesy of Live at the U. Though the two are separate singer-songwriters, their sounds, while equally individual, make them a compatible pair to share the stage. Bergeron's voice falls close to that of Howie Day and Schmidt is nearer to a Justin Nozuka, but the easy rapport that the two share lends itself to their performances, making for melodically seamless transitions from one set to the next.

New Hampshire-bred Schmidt, who describes his sound as "acoustic indie pop," was first up and dazzled the crowd with his soulful voice and romantic lullabies, including the original "I'm Not What I Used to Be." Perhaps the highlights of his set, though, were his rousing renditions of Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" and O-Town's "All or Nothing." Schmidt, who began picking up instruments at age seven, beginning with an alto saxophone, played in a few jazz bands before he says he realized "guitars were cooler and girls liked [them] better than marching bands."

Massachusetts-born Bergeron, who was performing for his third time at UConn, had a slightly different start in music. He says he did not grow up with music, making it "kind of a mystery," but did eventually take to the guitar in sixth grade. "It was more of an interest to me than being cool," he says. As his love for the guitar grew, so did his fondness for artists like Ryan Adams and Damien Rice, influences that certainly came through in his mellow, self-described "folk rock" set (during which he matched Schmidt's covers with one of his own, '80s hit "867-5309/Jenny").
The pair have grown to be easygoing friends through their shared journey with music so far, but the future may hold vastly different things for them. While Schmidt sees himself staying with music and "traveling and touring," Bergeron isn't so sure. "It might be with music; it might not," he said. "I've become really interested with energy sustainability and finding ways to better the environment." He adds simply, "Success to me is making a living."

9 out of 12 songs from the album are MIXED and I have decided on a sequence. I'M SOO EXCITED. Over the weekend I left the studio briefly to get some fresh air. I ended up inside a Rite Aid and before I knew it I was walking out with a kid's Ninja costume. Of course I wore it for the rest of mixing that night. Buffalo Tom was in Studio B and seemed to dig my attire. Album cover should be me as a ninja riding a unicorn. That would be badass.

So we're mixing the last 3 songs on Monday and Mastering soon there after. Things I need to do for this album: come up with a title, come up with a concept for art, and send it to everyone and their mother. Talk soon,

Ryan the Ninja