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From The Desk Of Thao And The Get Down Stay Down: In-The-Van Do’s And Don’ts

ThaoLogoThao Nguyen is a tireless performer. She’s been touring with her band, the Get Down Stay Down, since she graduated from college, and is used to the rigors of the road, including backhanded compliments like, “You play pretty good for a girl.” Anyone who has ever seen her live, or listened to one of her records, knows how far off the mark that comment is. Nguyen is one of the most innovative guitarists around, with a style that blends grinding power chords, the jittery fills of a funkateer, a dash of country twang, clanging rock guitar pyrotechnics and staccato single-note runs that add a skewed melodic feel to her songs that’s halfway between bluegrass and hip hop. After hearing her 2005 debut, Like The Linen, Laura Veirs took her on tour and helped get her signed to Kill Rock Stars for 2008’s We Brave Bee Stings And All and 2009’s Know Better Learn Faster. Between tours, she moved to San Francisco and took a year off to write the songs that became We The Common (Ribbon). Nguyen and bandmates Jason Slota, Adam Thompson and Johanna Kunin will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our brand new feature on them.

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Kunin:
Do: Sleep in the back of the van.
Don’t: Sleep in the driver’s seat.
Do: Store the beer you took from the green room after the show.
Don’t: Drink the beer that you took from the green room after the show.
Do: Read a book.
Don’t: Play an actual instrument, out loud. Seriously. We already know you are in a band.
Do: Text.
Don’t: Yell into your phone as though you are trying to talk loud enough for the person on the other end to actually hear your voice from thousands of miles away.
Do: Knit or crochet an item of clothing for yourself or a loved one.
Don’t: Knit or crochet matching beard-hats for the band to wear onstage.
Do: Complete a crossword puzzle.
Don’t: Yarl “Unskinny Bop.”

Yep, that about covers it. Happy touring!

Video after the jump.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAA1LAia1j8