Willis Thompson and Thao Nguyen met in a re-enactment in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia. They found Adam Thompson one summer at a Richmond delicatessen, gingerly slicing. They got in a van together and stopped every night in different places. They got out, played music (often for real live people) and then got back in and rambled to the next town–or at least that’s how the trio likes to put it.Let’s politely stick these talented three into the “alternative folk rock” folder. Scratch that, Thao & The Get Down Stay Down–original in its catchy additives and sexy lyrical goodness–wouldn’t appreciate that. The San Fransisco-based threesome can create a song with three or more different genres in one, but it is Thao’s country bass lines that give them that folky fashion, so difficult to harness successfully. Don’t expect to see them walking about the bay city, these guys were busy touring with Mirah all summer and have their work cut out for them. Thao’s raw singing and guitar punches can be heard in their fetching single, “When We Swam,” off their 2009 album, Know Better Learn Faster. Also, check out the 2010 debut of their music video for “Body”- directed by our friend Dianna Agron (Quinn Fabray from GLEE) and debuting exclusively at Oxfam America to support their work against poverty and social injustice.
Listen to “When We Swam” Here
[mp3j track=”03-When-We-Swam.mp3″]
