I’ve been listening to the Bye Bye Blackbirds since 2013, when I heard them for the first time on their album Take Out The Poison. I’ve been a fan ever since. Their albums never disappoint, and their new album, August Lightning Complex, is one of their best.

Bradley Skaught, the leader of the band, was kind enough to answer a few questions for me.

Andrea Weiss: Your music has a lot of meaning. What do you think goes into it that makes it signify so much?

Bradley Skaught: Wow, that’s a remarkable compliment. I guess I’m not entirely sure, but I know that I have to feel really connected to a song I’m working on to see it through. It can’t just be something I think is interesting or cool or a fun idea, it has to resonate, so hopefully that carries through to the listeners who eventually get to hear it?

AW: The same goes for the lyrics. What do you and the band do that makes them so meaningful?

BS: Well, everything we do as a band is really focused on the songs and the songwriting. Whatever we can do that brings out the best in a song and makes it come to life is our priority, and I think that ends up creating a foundation where the lyrics can really shine and do their work.

AW: Who were you listening to while making this album?

BS: I don’t honestly remember exactly what I was listening to! It was recorded in the summer of 2021 and I know I had a lot of playlists that I would listen to on the way to and from work around then. I made this one playlist of Alex Chilton solo stuff – the really unhinged, damaged-sounding stuff from the late 70’s – and I always love how that stuff is somehow simultaneously a tribute to his favorite music and a kind of piss-take deconstruction of it at the same time. I have a couple Beach Boys playlists that are heavy rotation favorites. I was also listening to a lot of Richard and Linda Thompson around then – especially the albums I didn't know quite as well, like First Light and Pour Down Like Silver.  A lot of the stuff I was listening to doesn’t really show up as an influence at all – a lot of African music, Brazilian music, Blue Note jazz. I’m not sure I can always draw a straight line between what I was listening to and the making of the album.

AW: How did Matt Piucci get involved with the album?

BS: I had the basic verse idea for "We Got Lost" and for some reason it just struck me that Matt was the guy to help me write it. Something about the melody and the drone-y D guitar stuff. And then when we were getting ready to record I felt like we really needed to have him on it – especially the crazy psychedelic guitar stuff in the reprise. We just cranked him up and let him cut loose and he didn’t disappoint.

AW: Ditto for Doug Gillard playing on the album.

BS: Doug produced the last record and so I wanted him involved again. He’s really just a magician when it comes to coming up with the exact little detail that elevates a song. Particularly with little melodies and things;they’re always a special part of the song and I think anyone who’s listened to Guided By Voices is probably really familiar with his genius for arrangements.

AW: I recognize the names Scott Evans and Scott Hirsch as engineer and mixer respectively. How did they come to be on the album?

BS: Scott Evans is a friend of mine and one of my favorite engineers and people to work with. We did Take Out The Poison with him and I had kept it in my mind to work with him again. Scott Hirsch was recommended by my friend Tom Heyman – I knew his work from way back in his days with a band called Court & Spark and I thought it would be fun to bring a totally different perspective in at the mixing stage.