Band of the Week: Thao with The Get Down Stay Down

[May 5-11]
Thao Nguyen with The Get Down Stay Down
Sounds Like: Folk/Singer-Songwriter
Drinking Buddies: Laura Veirs, Jack Johnson, Bishop Allen.
Synopsis: Quoted from Thao's Myspace, "Tangles of guitar, knots of singing, threads of beat and thump make a rope fit for hauling the heavy machinery of your day."
Makes You Want To...: Read a book; Walk in the park; Write poetry.
[Myspace] [imeem]




One week, one band. You know the drill.
This week, the featured artist is Thao with The Get Down Stay Down.

Slowly, surely, for college students all around the nation, finals week is decending upon the masses to crush the educational hopes and dreams for many students this semester. Or maybe it's an uplifting event! You never know, but the fact is, for myself and my peers, this week is going to be particularly stressful. Between cramming for tests, waiting in lines to buy Scantrons (which, mind you, are reminiscent of the bank runs in the 20s), and pulling hair out in the silent classroom as right answers are bubbled, essays are written in Blue (or green post-consumer recycled!) Books, we are all just a bit busy. But good music doesn't stop! And I don't know about you, fellow reader, but I say a good band humming tunes into my head while I'm taking a test is quite stress relieving.


One of these handy, catchy, bubbly personalties is Thao Nguyen, a singer-songwriter from east coast Virginia who is working with her latest outfit, The Get Down Stay Down, in west coast San Francisco. Combined, Thao with The Get Down Stay Down is a very talented collective. So talented, that Thao is renowned for her incredible ability to beatbox and hum at the same time!

But I under-exaggerate and digress; Thao with The Get Down Stay Down plays some catchy contemporary folk-rock which bathes your ears in candy-like sound, supressing your senses in a stranglehold of ecstatic joy. Sex, love, relationships, hot boys/girls, family business; all topics are open for the opinionated Thao to sing about, and with her country blues inspired song composition, as well as unprecedented guitar solos, you'll find yourself melting to Thao's tangy voice.

Thao with The Get Down Stay Down are currently on tour in Europe with Anais Mitchell, and tomorrow are no doubt giving Glasgow, Scotland a run for their musical money. Then they are taking the weekend off... hey, don't complain! Thao with The Get Down Stay Down are hitting the road immediately after the short break, kicking off an North American tour with the Sasquatch Festival. Afterwards, they truly embark around the country with "Holy-crap!-I-Can-Not-Believe-We-Are-On-Tour-With-The-One-And-Only" Rilo Kiley.

Thao with The Get Down Stay Down is no doubt touring in support of their latest endeavour, We Brave Bee Stings And All, which was released merely three months ago on Kill Rock Stars. They also have a previous album, Like the Linen, and were featured on Kill Rock Star's compilation album The Sound The Hare Heard, along with the likes of Sufjan Stevens, Colin Meloy, and Laura Veirs. Obviously they have a Myspace with a couple songs for download, but they also have themselves an article on Daytrotter with some great tunes. If you weren't spoiled enough, Thao with The Get Down Stay Down also has an imeem where you can see some like acoustic performances by Thao, as well as hear the entire new album, including personal commentary by Thao herself for each song. Following this article is an aforementioned video from imeem; Thao belts out an amazing cover of "Baby, I Love You" by Aretha Franklin, which I cannot stop watching. Bite our lips, and sing the songs with Ms. Nguyen, and we'll skirt through this ugly week of finals!