Thao & the Get Down Stay Down continues to celebrate the release of their critically acclaimed new record We The Common (out now on Ribbon Music) by premiering the third episode of Behind The Making Of The Making Of How It Was Made, a short quasi-biopic about the making of We The Common. Titled “Fruit Of My Labor” and directed by Lauren Tabak, the video can be viewed/shared at http://www.thaoandthegetdownstaydown.com. Thao notes that she “wanted to offer a behind the scenes look at the making and release of this record, but I wanted it to be entertaining. The best way to do that was to make merciless fun of myself. This series also marks my return to acting, which I left in high school after I had that one line in that play.”
The group also recently recorded a Yourstru.ly performance session, which premiered at The Onion A/V Club and can be viewed/shared at http://youtu.be/74_54V0tdRM.
We The Common is available on CD and digitally as well as a deluxe vinyl version, which includes a limited edition 7” with covers of Melanie’s “Brand New Key” and The Troggs’ “With A Girl Like You.” The press has heaped praise upon the new record, saying:
“[We The Common is] music that makes you move from your bones out…
[it’s] keenly intelligent and original.”—The New Yorker
[it’s] keenly intelligent and original.”—The New Yorker
“Quirky but cutting, playful but forceful, controlled but ragged, Thao Nguyen is one of the most commanding and distinctive young singers around. She infuses everything around her with electricity and mischievous boldness.”—NPR Music
“[Thao’s] most sharply written record to date…its 12 songs are smart, sometimes piercingly self-aware meditations on the creative life, teasing out the tension between life and art, the individual and the community—and perhaps most of all—security and restlessness.”—Pitchfork
“Delightful”—USA Today
“Nguyen is one of the most innovative guitarists around.”—Magnet
“Singularly anthemic”—SPIN
The band will embark on a North American tour this spring, please see below for a list of dates.
Recorded at San Francisco’s Tiny Telephone Studios and Dallas’ Elmwood Studio, We The Common was produced by John Congleton (St. Vincent, Bill Callahan, the Walkmen, Explosions in the Sky). Thao observes, “We The Common is an album about wanting to be a human who tries and is grateful for the opportunity. It is about wanting to be better and closer to people. I have had over a year respite from touring and recording—in this year I started really trying to be a part of the community I live in and the family I was born into.” The album is the follow-up to Thao’s 2009 release Know Better Learn Faster, which Pitchfork praised for its “warm exuberance that keeps the music spry.”
Based in San Francisco after growing up in Falls Church, VA, Thao Nguyen first picked up a guitar at age 12. She has worked with a long list of acclaimed artists including Andrew Bird, Mirah, Laura Veirs and producer Tucker Martine (The Decemberists, Sufjan Stevens) and has recorded a pair of critically acclaimed records for Kill Rock Stars, 2008’s We Brave Bee Stings and All and the aforementioned 2009 release Know Better Learn Faster with her backing band the Get Down Stay Down. Since her last album Thao has worked with the artist advocacy non-profit Air Traffic Control (www.atctower.net) and has volunteered extensively with the California Coalition for Women Prisoners. This year, in addition to recording her forthcoming album, Thao has toured the U.S. with the nationally syndicated NPR program “Radiolab.”
THAO & THE GET DOWN STAY DOWN’S WE THE COMMON TOUR
* with Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside
March 2 (sold out) San Francisco, CA Great American Music Hall*
March 5 Portland, OR Doug Fir Lounge
March 6 Vancouver, BC Fortune Sound Club*
March 7 Seattle, WA Neumos*
March 8 Boise, ID Neurolux*
March 9 Salt Lake City, UT Urban Lounge*
March 11 Denver, CO Larimer Lounge*
March 15 Austin, TX Antone’s (SXSW)*
March 16 Houston, TX Fitzgerald’s*
March 17 New Orleans, LA One Eyed Jacks*
March 18 Atlanta, GA Smith’s Olde Bar*
March 19 Asheville, NC Grey Eagle*
March 20 Washington, DC Black Cat*
March 22 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom*
March 23 Philadelphia, PA Underground Arts*
March 24 Cambridge, MA The Sinclair*
March 25 Brooklyn, NY Bell House*
March 27 Toronto, ON Lee’s Palace*
March 28 Ann Arbor, MI The Ark*
March 29 Chicago, IL Lincoln Hall*
March 30 Milwaukee, WI Turner Hall*
March 31 Madison, WI Majestic Theater*
April 1 Minneapolis, MN Cedar Cultural Center*
April 2 Iowa City, IA Mission Creek Festival*
April 3 Kansas City, MO Record Bar*
April 5 Albuquerque, NM Launchpad*
April 6 Phoenix, AZ Crescent Ballroom*
April 7 San Diego, CA The Casbah*
April 8 Los Angeles, CA Troubadour*