Thao & The Get Down Stay Down Frontwoman Thao Nguyen Opens up About “A Man Alive” and Performing Deeply Personal Songs

Matt Matasci

San Francisco band Thao & The Get Down Stay Down mix a classic folk-rock musical base with modern production techniques and quirky, catchy pop hooks, giving them a sound that stands out within a very crowded indie pop lane. Led by frontwoman Thao Nguyen, the band recently released their fourth studio album, “A Man Alive.” Exploring Nguyen’s often-strained relationship with her mostly absent father, the album is surprisingly musically upbeat. This spritely sonic approach takes nothing away from the emotion of the record’s subject matter, at times cutting deeply into the vocalist’s personal life. Nguyen spoke with Entertainment Voice about the new musical approach for “A Man Alive,” recording with her friend Merrill Garbus of tUnE-yArDs and the decision to focus the album on her relationship with her father.

For “A Man Alive,” you chose to focus more on programming, manipulating sounds and looping. Does this focus change the way you approach your live shows?

The focus as we were recording the songs, the main difference and what I was [most] looking forward to was being able to play the guitar less and being able to interact with the crowd more; and move around on stage more. It affords me more freedom, though I still play an instrument pretty much on every song. There’s sort of an adaptation to the live show. We’re a lot more reliant upon technology and computer brains, which makes me more nervous. But for the most part, it’s been pretty smooth.

Did you have to bring on additional touring members?

We had brought on our old friend Charlie Glenn who played on a few of the records. We did need him to help fill out the sound. Our bassist Adam was the one to undertake the implementation of all of the things that are on the record.

Do you think as you’ve gone through this tour that your set has evolved as you’ve gotten used to playing this slightly different style?

Yeah, I think so. I think there’s a different and more vibrant energy. And I think that’s the connection with the crowd; It’s more palpable and a lot has to do with the sonic dimensions but a lot of that has to do with the more personal subject matter. I think that I’m performing in a way that is more emotionally present and connected.

A lot of the songs on the album are extremely personal and emotional. How do you prepare yourself to perform these sorts of songs live, opening yourself up in front of a room of mostly strangers?

The best way is to not think about it and to look just above people’s heads as opposed to in anybody’s eyes. You know, at first, I had many reservations about performing these songs. There’s a couple in particular because they’re so vulnerable, but I found that I embrace it now and it’s a really important part to extend the side of myself to people [who] have been following us and [supporting] us throughout the years. It’s just an extension of the relationship of our band. And we have very kind audience members who are willing to go there with me. And there’s joy within some of the songs, as well. There’s a celebratory feel to the set and to the record in a lot of ways. And we try to focus on that.

Merrill Garbus produced “A Man Alive” and the two of you have been friends for quite some time. How did your friendship help you in the creation of the album?

Oh, it was integral. For one, I don’t think I could have made a record this personal without a very good friend of mine. I think our friendship was the foundation of being able to explore these boundaries and put them on record. And sonically, Merrill has always been so supportive and she encouraged the band and me to go beyond our bounds as musicians. She and our sound engineer Beau Sorenson, who is essentially another band member for the record, created this amazing sonic playground where, when we had time, [we were able] to mess around with different instruments and synthesizers and pedals and whatever. It was just a really creative and supportive atmosphere.

Were the majority of the songs written prior to your recording sessions and did they evolve a lot while you were in the studio?

I would say, as with any record, there’s a bunch that [remain] as they were conceived and a bunch more that go through different iterations. And some I was writing right up to the very last seconds because I have poor time management skills (laughs).

Despite dealing with a darker subject matter, much of the album is upbeat. Was this a conscious decision or something that just happened during the writing and recording process?

It was conscious. Making the record, I knew what I wanted the record to sound like before I knew what the record would be about. And so when it came to the subject matter, I didn’t ever think we were compromising the emotion of the song by making it danceable. And then it was this selfish calculation of thinking that we have to perform these songs every night. You know, I certainly did not want to be sad and wallowing in sad songs every night.

At what point did you decide to base the album on your relationship with your father?

It was probably after the second or third song I wrote for the record that I realized they were all focusing [on] this relationship and that some would be about forgiveness and some would be . . . the opposite. It would be the full trajectory of our time together, and apart. It felt like trying to write about anything would be (1) not easy and forced and (2) a disservice to the endeavor.

Catch the inspired sounds of “A Man Alive” and more when Thao & The Get Down Stay Down headline The Regent Theater in Downtown Los Angeles on April 29. Find tickets here.