Regionalism ain’t dead. Just ask the organizers of Noise Pop, a long-running music, arts and film festival that’s been celebrating indie culture from San Francisco and beyond for 21 years now. Better yet, ask ASCAP member Thao Nguyen, a San Francisco transplant who’s been making blustery, joyous, shape-shifting music out of her adopted home for a few years now. Thao’s headlining the most excellent ASCAP Noise Pop showcase on March 2nd with her band the Get Down Stay Down, just a few weeks after the release of their new album We the Common. We sent her a few questions about making music in The City by the Bay.
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You're a Virginia native. What impressions did you have about San Francisco before you moved there, and how'd that compare with what you found when you moved?
I thought it would always be warm, especially in the summer. Turns out summer is really windy and you need to pack layers all year round.
What would you say is unique about the music community in San Francisco?
Everyone is incredibly friendly and brings vegetables from their own gardens to rehearsals/recording sessions. Seriously.
Did life in this city directly inspire any songs on We the Common, or change the way you make music?
Yes, both. A lot of this record is inspired by my work with the SF-based California Coalition for Women Prisoners, as well as my time off at home and becoming more a part of my community.
You spend so much of your time on the road. Is it important to you to have a sense of place, a sense of home?
Yes. If I don't have home and people to come home to then I am aimless and groundless and making terrible decisions.
For all of the out-of-towners coming in for your Noise Pop show: what's the one restaurant or bar around Great American Music Hall that we need to go to while we're in town?
Turtle Tower – fantastic Vietnamese food. Olive for drinks. Or go up to any local musician and ask them for the vegetables from their garden.
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Visit Thao & the Get Down Stay Down on the web: www.thaoandthegetdownstaydown.com
Noise Pop on the web: www.noisepop.com