Tegan and Sara are a Canadian Indie band led by identical twins Tegan Rain Quin and Sara Kiersten Quin (born September 19, 1980). Both Tegan and Sara play guitar and keyboard and write songs, most often separately. Whoever writes each song typically sings the melody for it. The band has released six studio albums since 1999, most recently Sainthood in 2009.
History
Tegan and Sara were born in Calgary, Alberta.3 They began playing guitar and writing songs at age 15.3 They initially played as PLUNK without a drummer or bass player. In 1997, they used their school’s recording studio to record two demo albums: Who's in Your Band? and Play Day. In 1998, they won Calgary's "Garage Warz" competition, using the studio time they won to record their first professional demo, Yellow Demo, which was followed by Orange Demo and Red Demo.
Two songs from Red Demo appeared on their first album, Under Feet Like Ours, which they released independently in 1999. At the time they were known as "Sara and Tegan" but switched to "Tegan and Sara" because it was easier to pronounce. Neil Young's manager signed them to Young's Vapor Records label, and they released This Business of Art through Vapor in 2000. They have toured extensively since then.
In 2002, the band released If It Was You. Their fourth album, So Jealous, was released in 2004 and led to wider success. This album was released through both Vapor and Sanctuary. One track on the album, "Walking with a Ghost", was covered by The White Stripes, who released it on their Walking with a Ghost EP.4
Their 2007 album The Con was released by Vapor and Sire because Sanctuary chose to no longer release new music in the United States. The album was co-produced by Chris Walla. Jason McGerr of Death Cab for Cutie, Matt Sharp of The Rentals (who was with Weezer during The Blue Album and Pinkerton), Hunter Burgan of AFI, and Kaki King all appear on the album.5
On October 27, 2009, Tegan and Sara released their sixth album Sainthood, produced by Chris Walla and Howard Redekopp, as well as a three-volume book set titled ON, IN, AT.6 Spin Magazine gave Sainthood four out of five stars and wrote, "Tegan and Sara's music may no longer be the stuff of teens, but its strength remains in how much it feels like two people talking."7
Personal lives
Although their sexuality is rarely the subject of their songs, the fact that both sisters are lesbians has been a subject of media attention. Both of the twins have repeatedly expressed disappointment that their sexuality is so often focused upon in reviews of their music.8 The two have expressed their desire to be judged solely on their music, not on their gender, sexuality, nationality, or the fact that they are twins.9
Tegan lives in Vancouver, BC. Sara lives in Montreal, QC.10
Touring
Tegan and Sara have been touring since 2000, originally with Neil Young and The Pretenders. Their onstage banter, including stories and commentary about their childhood, politics, and life on the road, has become an indispensable part of their live shows. Other notable touring mates include Ryan Adams, Ben Folds, Gogol Bordello, Cake, City and Colour, Death Cab for Cutie, Hot Hot Heat, The Killers, Rufus Wainwright, and Weezer.
They have performed at festivals including Sarah McLachlan's Lilith Fair 1999; Coachella, Lollapalooza, and SXSW 2005; Austin City Limits, Bonnaroo, Coachella, Falls Festival, and Cyndi Lauper's True Colors Tour 2008; and Rifflandia and Southbound 2009.11
They will be the supporting artists for Paramore for the 2010 Honda Civic Tour.
Other work
In 2009, both Tegan and Sara worked as producers for the first time. Tegan worked with char2d2 on the 2009 "Small Vampires EP", while Sara started work on albums by Fences and Hesta Prynn,12 both due out in 2010.
Collaborations
In April 2008, Tegan wrote and recorded a song titled "His Love" at the request of Augusten Burroughs as a contribution to the audio version of his book A Wolf at the Table. The two headlined SPIN.com's September 2008 Liner Notes benefit for Housing Works--a New York non-profit.13 Burroughs read excerpts from his latest novel while Tegan played "His Love" and songs from The Con sans Sara.
In addition to their own set, Tegan and Sara performed with DJ Tiësto during the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival on June 13, 2008. Tegan and Sara appeared as guests, providing live vocals for Tiësto's remix of "Back in Your Head".14
Hunter Burgan (who played bass for all of Tegan's songs on The Con) confirmed in his blog that both he and Tegan are involved in an upcoming electronic side-project.15
Television and film
Tegan and Sara have made television appearances including Citytv's Ethnosonic, Vicki Gabereau's Canadian talk show, Jimmy Kimmel Live (2005), Jonovision, The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn (2004), Late Night with Conan O'Brien (2005, 2007, 2009), The Late Show with David Letterman (2000 and 2008), MuchMusic's The New Music and Brad TV, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (2008), and ZeD.11
Tegan and Sara songs have appeared in films including Monster-in-Law and Sweet November and on television shows including 90210, Being Erica, Ghost Whisperer, Grey's Anatomy, The Hills, Hollyoaks, jPod, The L Word, One Tree Hill, Sonic Temple, Vampire Diaries, Veronica Mars, and What's New Scooby Doo.
In 2006, Tegan and Sara performed in The L Word episode "Last Dance" (season 3, episode 11). In 2008, they appeared on the kids music television show Pancake Mountain. In addition to acting in a skit, they performed the songs "Back in Your Head", "Hop a Plane", and an acoustic version of "Walking with a Ghost".
Band members
Current
- Tegan Quin – vocals, guitar, keyboards
- Sara Quin – vocals, guitar, keyboards
- Edward "Ted" Gowans – guitar, keyboards
- Shaun Huberts – bass guitar
- Johnny "Five" Andrews – drums
Former
- Dan Kelly – bass guitar
- Chris Carlson – bass guitar
- Rob Chursinoff – drums
Discography
Awards and nominations
References
External links
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Tegan and Sara |
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