Skaught is originally from Tacoma, Washington.[6] He began taking drum lessons while in second grade,[7] and took up guitar in sixth grade.[8] Later, he moved to Oakland, California, where his musical career included a stint as drummer for Yuji Oniki.[9]
Belle Da Gama
Skaught became better known as a guitarist and vocalist when he founded the Oakland-based band Belle Da Gama, which included Ian Robertson.[9] The name Belle Da Gama was taken from the Salman Rushdie novel The Moor's Last Sigh.[9] Belle Da Gama recorded one album, Garden Abstract, released in 2001 on 125 Records.[9][10]
Bradley Skaught (center) performing with The Bye Bye Blackbirds in Berkeley, in September 2013
Skaught and Robertson, both guitarists, named the new group after the 1926 jazz standard Bye Bye Blackbird.[5] They recruited drummer Lenny Gill and bass player William Duke online.[7] In forming the new band, Skaught and Robertson decided on a "back-to-basics approach" based on "fundamental things we loved as listeners – songwriting, harmony, cool guitar parts and sounds."[11]
The group's debut recording, an EP called Honeymoon, was released in 2006. Skaught later referred to Honeymoon as "a bit embarrassing to me, although I like a couple songs and I love the sound... It works to me as a kind of statement of intent, but it makes me squirm to hear it."[7]
In 2008, the group released their first full-length album, Houses and Homes, on the American Dust label in 2008.[12] Rock critic Richie Unterberger likened Houses and Homes to British Invasion bands, with "tunes and [Skaught's] upper-register vocals [that] often echo some of the poppier Beatlesque groups of yore," praising the album's sensitive lyrics and "upbeat guitar-oriented pop/rock with a tinge of the bittersweet."[12] Skaught called Houses and Homes "satisfyingly better than Honeymoon to me.... We experimented a lot – goofy stuff with tape echoes and lots of layers."[7] The bluegrass-tinged song "The Ghosts Are All Right" was featured in the book Music: What Happened?, which named it as a favorite for that year, describing the song as "a Byrds-worthy meditation on history and responsibility in a local community."[13]
Apology Accepted, a download-only EP released in 2008, included "Monster Eyes", a song that was co-written by Skaught with novelist Jonathan Lethem. Based upon "lyrical fragments" of Lethem's novel You Don't Love Me Yet, the song was performed by the band, with Lethem, at a reading from the book.[14][15] The title track of Apology Accepted was a cover of a song by The Go-Betweens.
Before recording 2011's Fixed Hearts, bass player William Duke, who had previously shared songwriting responsibilities with Skaught, left the band.[7] Skaught stated that writing all of the songs on Fixed Hearts was "liberating" and that the album benefited from his resulting confidence, and from the contributions of new bass player Aaron Rubin and producer Paul Tyler.[7] The title was a reference to drummer Lenny Gill's then-recent heart surgery, as well as to the protagonists of the songs, who emerge from heartbreak with their own hearts repaired.[16]
Reviewing Fixed Hearts, AllMusic's Jack Rabid wrote that the album had the "brightly ringing, polished/unthreatening, anodyne" 1960s pop vibe of a "groovy guitar pop party" where "nice guys finish first and get the girl in the finale."[16] The review cited Skaught's "easy sincerity and the group's harmonic gifts," embracing a "Panglossian panoply of this period from when they were pups, cutting in country-pop, folk, and—heck yeah—a horns-laden opener with bits of Memphis soul."[16] A review in The Aquarian Weekly cited the "general giddiness of the album", moving from a "nostalgic and swinging vibe" through songs with a "country-pop sound" and "pulsing drums", to the "peaceful" final tracks.[17]
In 2013, the group released We Need the Rain, which was named one of the "Top 20 Releases of 2013" by Goldmine. Critic John M. Borack cited Skaught's contributions on guitar that "jangle, strum and get muscular when they need to."[4]
Skaught dedicated We Need the Rain to Scott Miller, his "musical mentor".[6] Miller was not involved with the album, but Skaught told the San Francisco Chronicle that Miller's death in April 2013 was "the most painful and devastating blow", leading Skaught to consider the album "a kind of anchor, something to channel all that chaos through ... It's the first record we've made that we couldn't take to him and get that final vote of confidence on."[6]
The San Francisco Chronicle described the album as having "sweetly melancholy jingle-jangle and satisfyingly gutsy guitar and bass parts" with "soulful crunch".[6] Reviewer Bill Kopp wrote in Musoscribe that "chiming guitars, ear candy hooks, punchy guitar riffage, tight vocal harmonies" provide the emotional and "visceral punch" of power pop.[2] In Dirty Impound, Dennis Cook wrote, "Every tune practically shimmies out of the speakers, cool small details etched into ceaselessly ear-snagging melodies as sweet, gently yearning voices sing about love and the weather in ways that make both seem brand new."[18]
According to Tris McCall of the Newark Star-Ledger, the album took a new and "more aggressive approach" in which "guitars still twinkle and shimmer, on occasion, but this time around, they growl, twist, stutter and snap, too." McCall wrote, "Although Skaught's essential optimism is always visible," this "isn't always a happy album", with songs "both more direct and more discontented" than Skaught's prior work. "Yet it is the deepest, gutsiest and most rewarding set in the band's discography, and it points the way forward for a project that once felt like a formal exercise in songcraft."[19]
Other projects
Skaught received a production credit for his assistance on the Omnivore Recordings 2014 reissue of Game Theory's 1984 album Dead Center. He appeared as a featured artist on Big Cinnamon (2013) by the Agony Aunts, and played acoustic guitar on Alison Faith Levy's solo CD World of Wonder (2012).
Discography
With Belle Da Gama
Garden Abstract (2001)
With The Bye Bye Blackbirds
Albums & EPs:
Honeymoon (2006)
Apology Accepted (EP, 2008)
Houses and Homes (2008)
Fixed Hearts (2011)
We Need The Rain (2013)
Take Out the Poison (2017)
Singles:
"Let Your Hair Fall Down" b/w "These Blues" (2015)
"Even Hitler Had A Girlfriend" b/w "Population: Us" (7" single, 2014) (as Dr. Frank & The Bye Bye Blackbirds)[20]
Belle and Sebastian are a Scottish indie pop band formed in Glasgow in 1996. Led by Stuart Murdoch, the band has released twelve studio albums. They are often compared with acts such as the Smiths and Nick Drake. The name "Belle and Sebastian" comes from Belle et Sébastien, a 1966 children's book by French writer Cécile Aubry adapted from a television series of the same name. Though consistently lauded by critics, Belle and Sebastian's "wistful pop" has enjoyed only limited commercial success.
Mercury Rev is an American rock band formed in 1989 in Buffalo, New York, with singer/guitarist Jonathan Donahue and guitarist/clarinetist/sound generator operator Sean "Grasshopper" Mackowiak as the only constant members. The band's music has incorporated indie rock, psychedelic rock and American roots, amongst other forms. Mercury Rev have been closely associated with The Flaming Lips, and the two bands have shared historical ties.
The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly and Phillip "Phil" Everly, the duo combined elements of rock and roll, country, and pop, becoming pioneers of country rock.
Big Brother and the Holding Company is an American rock band that formed in San Francisco in 1965 as part of the same psychedelic music scene that produced the Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and Jefferson Airplane. After some initial personnel changes, the band became well known with the lineup of vocalist Janis Joplin, guitarists Sam Andrew and James Gurley, bassist Peter Albin, and drummer Dave Getz. Their second album Cheap Thrills, released in 1968, is considered one of the masterpieces of the psychedelic sound of San Francisco; it reached number one on the Billboard charts, and was ranked number 338 in Rolling Stone's the 500 greatest albums of all time. The album is also listed in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
Aztec Camera were a Scottish pop/new wave band founded by Roddy Frame, the group's singer, songwriter and only consistent member. Established in 1980, Aztec Camera released a total of six studio albums: High Land, Hard Rain (1983), Knife (1984), Love (1987), Stray (1990), Dreamland (1993) and Frestonia (1995). The band garnered popular success for the songs "Oblivious", "Somewhere in My Heart" and "Good Morning Britain".
Audio Adrenaline was an American Christian rock band that formed in 1986 at Kentucky Christian University in Grayson, Kentucky. The band gained recognition during the 1990s and received two Grammy Awards and multiple Dove Awards. Audio Adrenaline were regular performers at the annual Creation Festival, Spirit West Coast festival, Agape Music Festival, and Alive Festival. In 2007, the group disbanded due to lead singer Mark Stuart's spasmodic dysphonia. During this time, they released eight studio albums.
Game Theory was an American power pop band, founded in 1982 by singer/songwriter Scott Miller, combining melodic jangle pop with dense experimental production and hyperliterate lyrics. MTV described their sound as "still visceral and vital" in 2013, with records "full of sweetly psychedelic-tinged, appealingly idiosyncratic gems" that continued "influencing a new generation of indie artists." Between 1982 and 1990, Game Theory released five studio albums and two EPs, which had long been out of print until 2014, when Omnivore Recordings began a series of remastered reissues of the entire Game Theory catalog. Miller's posthumously completed Game Theory album, Supercalifragile, was released in August 2017 in a limited first pressing.
Crosby, Stills & Nash is the debut studio album by the folk rock supergroup Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN), released in 1969 by Atlantic Records. It is the only release by the band prior to adding Neil Young to their lineup. The album spawned two Top 40 singles, "Marrakesh Express" and "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes", which peaked respectively at No. 28 during the week of August 23, 1969, and at No. 21 during the week of December 6, 1969, on the US Billboard Hot 100. The album itself peaked at No. 6 on the US Billboard Top Pop Albums chart. It has been certified four times platinum by the RIAA for sales of 4,000,000.
With a Little Help from My Friends is the debut album by singer-songwriter Joe Cocker, released in late April 1969. It was certified gold in the US and peaked at number 35 on the Billboard 200. In the UK, the album charted in May 1972 at number 29 when it was re-released as a double pack with Cocker's second LP Joe Cocker!.
"Bye Bye Blackbird" is a song published in 1926 by Jerome H. Remick and written by composer Ray Henderson and lyricist Mort Dixon. It is considered a popular standard and was first recorded by Sam Lanin's Dance Orchestra in March 1926.
"European Son", also known as "European Son ", is a song written and performed by the American experimental rock band The Velvet Underground. It appears as the final track on their 1967 debut album The Velvet Underground & Nico. It is also the album's longest track at more than seven and a half minutes.
Josh Adam Klinghoffer is an American musician best known for being the guitarist for the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers from 2009 to 2019, with whom he recorded two studio albums, I'm with You (2011) and The Getaway (2016), and the B-sides compilation I'm Beside You (2013). Klinghoffer took the place of his friend and frequent collaborator John Frusciante in 2009, after a period as a touring member. At age 32, Klinghoffer was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2012, making him the youngest at the time. He has also been a touring member of rock bands Pearl Jam and Jane's Addiction.
James G. Photoglo is an American soft rock singer and songwriter from Inglewood, California. He released two charting albums in the early 1980s and had two hit singles, "We Were Meant to Be Lovers" and "Fool in Love with You". He has also performed simply as Photoglo.
Alien Crime Syndicate, often abbreviated to ACS, were a rock band formed in San Francisco, California, in 1997. From 1999 to the band's breakup in 2005, the lineup consisted primarily of Joe Reineke, Jeff Rouse, Nabil Ayers (drums), while guitarists Jason Krevey, Mike Squires and Mike Davis were also members of the band.
The Honeymoon Is Over is the third studio album by Australian indie rock band The Cruel Sea, which was released in May 1993. The album was produced by the band, Tony Cohen and Mick Harvey for Red Eye Records. It peaked at No. 4 on the ARIA Albums Chart and has sold over 140,000 copies. Its lead single, "Black Stick" was released ahead of the album in March 1993 and peaked at No. 25 on the related Singles Chart. The title song, "The Honeymoon Is Over", was released in July 1993 as a single and reached the Top 50. It was followed by a cover of Tony Joe White's 1969 song, "Woman with Soul", in October which peaked at No. 64. The final single from the album, "Seems Twice", was issued in February 1994 and peaked at No. 90.
Kisses on the Bottom is the fifteenth solo studio album by Paul McCartney, consisting primarily of covers of traditional pop music and jazz. Released in February 2012 on Starbucks' Hear Music label, it was McCartney's first studio album since Memory Almost Full in 2007. The album was produced by Tommy LiPuma and includes just two original compositions by McCartney: "My Valentine" and "Only Our Hearts". The former features jazz drummer Karriem Riggins. Kisses on the Bottom peaked at number 3 on the UK Albums Chart and number 5 on the US Billboard 200, while also topping Billboard magazine's Jazz Albums chart.
The Bye Bye Blackbirds are an Oakland, California-based indie rock and power pop band, fronted by guitarist and vocalist Bradley Skaught. The San Francisco Chronicle described their work as "British Invasion guitar-pop with a twinge of country and roots," in which "disparate rock influences – '60s rock, '70s power pop, '80s college radio and indie rock – come together for catchy, harmony-laden songs."
Blaze of Glory is the 1982 debut album from Game Theory, a California power pop band founded by guitarist and singer-songwriter Scott Miller. After Miller's death in 2013, the album was reissued by Omnivore Recordings in a remastered edition with 15 bonus tracks which was released on CD and vinyl in 2014.
George Gilbert "Gil" Ray was an American rock drummer, guitarist, and vocalist, best known for his recordings in the 1980s and 1990s as a member of the bands Game Theory and The Loud Family. In late 2012, he joined Rain Parade as drummer for a series of reunion performances.
SALT, also known as The Salt Collective, is a French-American band that was formed in 2016 by songwriter Stéphane Schück (guitar), producer Ken Stringfellow (guitar), and Anton Barbeau. Joined by bassist Fred Quentin and drummer Benoit Lautridou, their first album was released in 2019.
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