 At first it was a classical “guitar hero” blues band with an undiluted blues-rock repertoire.However, little by little its creative vision gravitated towards blues formats of Californian persuasion with discernible influences by T-Bone Walker and Tiny Grimes.At that time, the Blackmailers took part in all major Russian blues festivals and toured the country extensively, but the real breakthrough in the band’s life happened in 2004.