new video: Thao w/ The Get Down Stay Down-"When We Swam"

Fresh off the release of her new sophomore effort, Know Better Learn Faster, which came out this past week, Thao w/ the Get Down Stay Down have put out a video for the album track, "When We Swam." The clip was produced and directed by Aubree Bernier-Clarke, and aptly captures the quirky and playful nature of Thao's music with a bizarro beach party.



follow Thao on myspace.

Sneak peak at Thao w/ the Get Down Stay Down's new album

If your like us and your really looking forward to Thao with the Get Down Stay Down's new album, Know Better Learn Faster, the wait 'till the Oct 13th release date seems a long way off. For those who are impatient, Thao along with her label, Kill Rock Stars just put out a new video taking you behind the scenes of the making of the disc, with cool interviews and in studio footage.
You can also check out the title track below.

(mp3) Thao w/ The Get Down Stay Down-"Know Better Learn Faster"

Thao with the Get Down Stay Down in the studio from Kill Rock Stars on Vimeo.

Hear new Thao with the Get Down Stay Down-"Know Better Learn Faster"

We've been psyched about the new upcoming release, Know Better Learn Faster, from Thao with the Get Down Stay Down, which comes out Oct. 13 on Kill Rock Stars. So we told you about the new album, and we told you about the new tour dates, now we finally get a taste of the new material, as the title track has just been leaked (listen below), which features a guest spot by Andrew Bird on fiddle. Along with Bird, the new sophomore LP also features guest appearances by, Laura Veirs, Horse Feathers, tUnE-yArDs, and members of Blitzen Trapper.

Speaking about the new albums title and tone Thao said this ....“The album is named ‘Know Better Learn Faster’ because you can’t… By the time you realize you should, it’s too late. And I enjoy the predicament and the totally devastating, unfunny humor of that.” ... “A few of these are just straightforwardly sad,” .... “Sometimes there’s not much room to mince words and music when you feel like shit.”

Thao with the Get Down Stay Down- "Know Better Learn Faster"

Know Better Learn Faster track listing:
1 The Clap
2 Cool Yourself
3 When We Swam
4 Know Better Learn Faster
5 Body
6 The Give
7 Good Bye Good Luck
8 Trouble Was For
9 Oh No
10 Fixed It!
11 Burn You Up
12 But What of the Strangers
13 Easy

follow Thao w/ the Get Down Stay Down on myspace.

Thao w/ The Get Down Stay Down announce new Fall tour dates

In what will coincide with the upcoming release of her new sophomore record, Know Better Learn Faster, out Oct. 13th on Kill Rock Stars, Thao w/ The Get Down Stay Down will be embarking on a new headlining tour this October. Besides an appearance at the Monolith Festival in Sept, Thao and the gang will be kicking things off in California on Oct. 15, with a stop in NYC on Nov. 4, before closing things out back in Cali on Nov 20. Joining Thao and the GDSD on the dates will be supporting acts, The Portland Cello Project, (who she collaborated with back in June-see below), David Schultz, and The Skyline.
Know Better Learn Faster, sees guest appearances by, Andrew Bird, Laura Veirs, members of Blitzen Trapper, Horse Feathers, and tUnE-yArDs.

Beat (Health, Life And Fire) (Featuring Thao) - Portland Cello Project

Upcoming tour dates:
Sep 12 Monolith Fesitval Morrison, Colorado
Oct 15 SoHo Santa Barbara, California
Oct 16 Echoplex Los Angeles
Oct 17 The Crepe Place Santa Cruz, California
Oct 18 Treasure Island Music Festival San Francisco, Ca
Oct 21 Doug Fir Lounge Portland, Oregon
Oct 22 Chop Suey Seattle, Washington
Oct 23 The Biltmore Cabaret Vancouver, BC
Oct 24 Empyrean Coffee House Spokane, Wa.
Oct 27 Cedar Cultural Center Minneapolis, Minn.
Oct 28 Turner Hall Milwaulkie, Wisconsin
Oct 29 The Canopy Club Urbana, Illinois
Oct 30 Empty Bottle Chicago, Illinois
Oct 31 The Cafe at The Majestic Theater Detroit, Mich.
Nov 1 El Mocambo Toronto, Ontario
Nov 2 Il Motore Montreal, Quebec
Nov 3 Middle East Downstairs Cambridge, Mass.
Nov 4 The Bowery Ballroom New York, New York
Nov 5 The First Unitarian Church Philadelphia, Penn.
Nov 6 Black Cat Washington, Washington DC
Nov 7 The Canal Club Downstrs Lounge Richmond, Va.
Nov 9 EARL Atlanta, Georgia
Nov 11 The Studio @ Warehouse Live Houston, Texas
Nov 12 Mohawk Austin, Texas
Nov 13 Lola’s Ft Worth, Texas
Nov 14 Jake’s Lubbock, Texas
Nov 17 Rhythm Room Phoenix, Arizona
Nov 18 Plush Tucson, Arizona
Nov 19 The Casbah San Diego, CA
Nov 20 The Glass House Pamona, CA

visit Thao w The Get Down Stay Down on myspace.

Thao and The Get Down Stay Down 'Know Better...' this Fall

Thao Nguyen made a splash last year with her quirky debut, We Brave Bee Stings and All which featured her upbeat tempo's and down beat lyrics, mixed in with her stellar guitar work. Now backed full time by her band The Get Down Stay Down, Thao will unveil her sophomore effort this Oct. 13 on Kill Rock Stars, titled Know Better Learn Faster, which will feature a who's who of guest appearances led by, Andrew Bird, Laura Veirs, members of Blitzen Trapper, Horse Feathers, and tUnE-yArDs.

Thao had this to say on the albums title and tone ....“The album is named ‘Know Better Learn Faster’ because you can’t… By the time you realize you should, it’s too late. And I enjoy the predicament and the totally devastating, unfunny humor of that.” ... “A few of these are just straightforwardly sad,” .... “Sometimes there’s not much room to mince words and music when you feel like shit.”

Know Better Learn Faster track listing:
1 The Clap
2 Cool Yourself
3 When We Swam
4 Know Better Learn Faster
5 Body
6 The Give
7 Good Bye Good Luck
8 Trouble Was For
9 Oh No
10 Fixed It!
11 Burn You Up
12 But What of the Strangers
13 Easy

and you can check out our interview w/ Thao from last year.


check out Thao w/ The Get Down Stay Down on myspace.

Thao Nguyen: schedules new tour dates

One of our very first interviews we ever did for the blog when starting up just last year, was a sit down with singer/songwriter Thao Nguyen while at a tour stop in Brussels. Thao's wide ranging and ecclectic LP, We Brave Bee Stings and All wasn't out that long, but she was already managing to create a nice buzz around her debut full length. Later in the year she went on to do a run of dates with the Hotel Cafe Tour, as well as getting the opening slot in support of Rilo Kiley. Not slowing down in 2009, Thao just announced a new headlining tour that will kick off this coming April, which will see another BTB favorite Samantha Crain and the Midnight Shivers as the opening act.

You can catch our interview w/Thao from last Spring below.

Thao Nguyen & The Get Down Stay Down tour dates:
Feb 26 Noise Pop Festival- Swedish Am. Music Hall SF, Ca.
Feb 27 The Coffee House (solo) Davis, California
Apr 17 Black Cat Washington DC, Washington DC
Apr 18 Duke Coffee House Durham, North Carolina
Apr 19 Village Tavern Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina
Apr 20 EARL Atlanta, Georgia
Apr 21 Club Downunder-Florida State Tallahassee, Fl
Apr 23 The Parish Austin, Texas
Apr 24 Lola’s Ft. Worth, Texas
Apr 25 The Foundation Lubbock, Texas
Apr 26 The Sub-College of Santa Fe Santa Fe, NM
Apr 28 The Loft-UCSD San Diego, California
Apr 29 The Hotel Cafe Los Angeles, California
Apr 30 Independent San Francisco, California
May 1 Mississippi Studios Portland, Oregon
May 2 Chop Suey Seattle, Washington
May 4 Neurolux Boise, Idaho
May 5 Kilby Court Salt Lake CIty, Utah
May 6 Hi Dive Denver, Colorado
May 9 Empty Bottle Chicago, Illinois
May 10 Beachland Tavern Cleveland, Ohio
May 12 Iron Horse Northampton, Massachusetts
May 14 Bowery Ballroom New York, New York
May 15 First Unitarian Church Philadelphia, Penn.
May 16 The Boot Norfolk, Virginia



Thao Nguyen on myspace.

new Hotel Cafe fall tour- announces all female line-up

The Hotel Cafe Tour, which is the singer/songwiter showcase that was born from the venue of the same name in L.A., has come out with their new fall line-up that will be hitting the road this fall. It will be an all female affair this time around, and will feature a rotating cast of artists including: Jaymay, Meiko, Priscilla Ahn, Rachael Yamagata, Thao Nguyen, Ingrid Michaelson, Katie Herzig, Samantha Crain, Kate Havnevik, Brooke Fraser, Alice Russell, Erin McCarley, Jenny Owen Youngs, Lenka, Emliy Wells, Anya Marina, Holly Conlan, KaiserCartel, and Catherine Feeny. Things gets started on Oct 9th in Santa Barbara, but to check out which line-up will be appearing in your area be sure to check with your local venue to see who will be on the bill.

Hotel Cafe Tour dates:

Oct 9 2008 SoHo Restaurant Santa Barbara, California
Oct 10 2008 Hotel Cafe Los Angeles, California
Oct 11 2008 House of Blues Anaheim, California
Oct 13 2008 Belly Up Solana Beach, California
Oct 14 2008 Martini Ranch Phoenix, Arizona
Oct 16 2008 House of Blues Dallas, Texas
Oct 17 2008 The Parish Room Austin, Texas
Oct 18 2008 Meridian Red Room Houston, Texas
Oct 20 2008 Work/Play Birmingham
Oct 21 2008 Exit/In Nashville, Tennessee
Oct 22 2008 Variety Playhouse Atlanta, Georgia
Oct 23 2008 Common Grounds Gainesville, Florida
Oct 25 2008 Social Orlando, Florida
Oct 27 2008 Cat’s Cradle Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Oct 28 2008 9:30 Club D.C., Washington DC
Oct 29 2008 World Cafe Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Oct 30 2008 Bowery Ballroom New York, New York
Oct 31 2008 Paradise Club Boston, Massachusetts
Nov 1 2008 Music Hall of Williamsburg Brooklyn, New York
Nov 3 2008 Bogart’s Front Room Cincinnati, Ohio
Nov 5 2008 Park West Chicago, Illinois
Nov 6 2008 The Varsity Minneapolis, Minnesota
Nov 7 2008 High Noon Madison, Wisconsin
Nov 8 2008 Blueberry Hill St. Louis, Missouri
Nov 9 2008 Liberty Hall Lawrence, Kansas
Nov 11 2008 Bluebird Denver, Colorado
Nov 12 2008 Avalon Theater Salt Lake City, Utah
Nov 13 2008 Knitting Factory Concert House Boise, Idaho
Nov 14 2008 Doug Fir Portland, Oregon
Nov 15 2008 Chop Suey Seattle, Washington
Nov 17 2008 Great America Music Hall San Francisco, California
Nov 18 2008 Henry Fonda Theater Los Angeles, California

visit the Hotel Cafe tour on myspace, where you can to get up to date with all the artists that are featured on their page.

Thao Nguyen- Headlining tour begins

Coming off their recent tour in support of Rilo Kiley, Thao Nguyen and her band the Get Down Stay Down are prepping to head back out on the road this summer. The upcoming tour will be the bands first headlining tour in support of their We Brave Bee Stings and All which featured the infectious songs "Bag Of Hammers", "Beat(Health Life & Fire)" and "Swimming Pools". Opening acts slated for the tour so far include David Schultz and the Skyline, Pepi Ginsberg, Horse Feathers and Tune-Yards.

Also, if you haven't seen our "Liner Notes" video interview with Thao, you can see it here.

Thao and the Get Down Stay Down tour dates:

07-19 Columbus, OH - Cafe Bourbon Street
07-20 Cincinnati, OH - Northside Tavern
07-21 Lexington, KY - Skull Alley
07-22 St. Louis, MO - Off Broadway
07-23 Des Moines, IA - The Houes of Bricks
07-24 Denver, CO - Hi-Dive
07-25 Salt Lake City, UT - Kilby Court
07-26 Stanley, ID - Pioneer Park
07-29 Portland, OR - Holocene
07-31 San Francisco, CA - The Independent
08-01 Irvine, CA - Phoenix Grille at UC Irvine
08-02 West Hollywood, CA - Troubadour
08-03 San Diego, CA - Casbah
08-04 Tucson, AZ - Solar Culture
08-05 Lubbock, TX - Bash Riprock's
08-06 Austin, TX - Emo's
08-07 Dallas, TX - Club Dada
08-08 Lawrence, KS - Jackpot Music Hall
08-09 Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle
08-11 Northampton, MA - Iron Horse
08-12 Cambridge, MA - T.T. the Bear's Place
08-13 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
08-14 Washington, DC - Black Cat
08-30 Seattle, WA - Bumbershoot Festival
09-29 Upland, IN - Taylor University

Our "Liner Notes" interview w/ Thao Nguyen

One of the most buzzed about albums so far this year has been We Brave Bee Stings by Thao Nguyen. Labeled as a singer-songwriter but much more than that, Thao brings an ecclectic mix of folk, country, blues and other styles to the mix with first rate guitar playing and off beat tempo's. We had the chance to sit down with her recently to discuss her sound, her musical growth and how she got her big break by sending a demo to singer Laura Veirs.