It’s lucky that Tegan & Sara’s music career has been so successful, since their early work as phone counsellors on a Canadian drug help line sounds a little dubious. Tegan Quin tells Rip It Up that her work as a phone volunteer alongside her twin sister Sara wasn’t quite as wholesome and philanthropic as it might seem.
“The drug line was 80 percent parents ringing up about drug paraphernalia and asking, ‘What should I do if my child comes home stoned?’,” Tegan recalls. “I loved that, because a lot of the time when I was answering the lines I was high. I felt I could really give some constructive advice there.”
Having spent a refreshing amount of 2008 taking a break from touring their fifth album The Con, the siblings are returning to Australia with a revitalised live fire. Their January show will be Adelaide’s first performance of The Con’s broken-hearted paeans and songs of unhinged intrigue.
“Last time I was in Adelaide I had food poisoning so I remember it well. I was performing while lying on stage [at the Gov] so I remember that fondly. I remember the crowd being really warm and receptive to the fact I had to lie down for a lot of the show, so I appreciated that. I think it was the flight over to Adelaide that was most memorable, since I had to get up every 20 minutes to throw up. The relief that I felt after I threw up was just incredible.”
Born in Calgary and recording their first music while still in high school, on record and on stage the identical twins display clearly unique personalities. Live shows are often marked by the sisters humorously bickering between songs.
“I think it’s really funny when Sara’s being mean to me,” Tegan laughs. “If she’s saying that shit to me in private then I might think she’s being an asshole, but when it’s on stage I think it’s funny. She’s doing it for a laugh and I totally appreciate it. If the audience get it and have a laugh then it allows people to attach to us emotionally and I like that.”
Time off this year has allowed Tegan to pen songs at home in Vancouver and relax in her new apartment. With renovations almost complete and the loft being freshly painted this week, the tattooed songwriter is looking forward to spending time at home before travelling to Australia.
“There’s nothing better than going home to a freshly painted apartment. I don’t know the neighbours but upstairs the bathroom is directly over my bedroom. I can literally hear the person unzipping their pants when they’re going to the bathroom, so I don’t hear a lot but peeing. Overall it’s pretty good though.”
Tegan suggests one of 2008’s highlights for the band was an appearance on the kids’ show Pancake Mountain. A cooler version of Sesame Street that has featured alternative US acts such as The Flaming Lips, Arcade Fire and The White Stripes, the performance saw them interacting with Rufus, the sheep puppet host.
“We did a whole scene with the puppet, which was really exciting. One of the things I’m looking forward to most about our next record is doing Pancake Mountain again.”
The twins plan on working on additional material for the follow-up to The Con after their Australian tour ends.
“We have about 30 songs written and we’re about to do a week-long trip to New Orleans, just the two of us, to write. We’ve never written together, so we’re hoping when we get back from Australia we’ll do some more writing and then go into the studio and start pre-production.”
Tegan is hopeful her electronic songs written as part of a side-project with AFI’s Hunter Bergan will also see the light of day.
“There’s a strong potential that some of those songs will be re-recorded for Tegan & Sara, which is kind of exciting for me as they’re some of my favourite songs I’ve written and they show a different side as they’re really poppy. It might be part of our evolution that will help us achieve some big success in markets where we haven’t had it yet. Some of those songs are definitely in the running.”
Although feeling privileged to work with Butch Vig (Nirvana, Garbage, Smashing Pumpkins) on her Against Me! duet Borne On The FM Waves Of The Heart, Tegan doubts the producer will be available to work on the next Tegan & Sara album.
“Anything’s possible, but I don’t know if Butch Vig’s in our price range. I really love Butch and he’s always extremely complimentary of Tegan & Sara every time I see him. I certainly think he could try to make it work if we decided we wanted to work with him, but producers like that are really busy and you have to book a long way in advance. Oftentimes you’re working around their flexibility, but really we want someone who’s available when we want them!”
Although initial press coverage of Tegan & Sara often fixated on their lesbianism, their gorgeous harmonies and rock spirit quickly transcended such incidental focus. So what does Tegan make of the media hullabaloo surrounding Katy Perry and her innocuously fun song I Kissed A Girl earlier this year?
“It’s interesting you’re the first person to ask me that. I’ve only heard that one song, which I thought was really quite catchy actually. She’s a hottie, so it makes sense: she wrote a catchy song, it pushes some boundaries and she’s a cute, talented artist. I really want to listen to her record to hear if there are other songs that are worthwhile. I hope if there is that she gets to spend more time in the mainstream. She seems to be taking it in her stride so I’m excited for her.”
Tegan & Sara play HQ on Sun Jan 11 with An Horse and The Jezabels. The Con is out now through Warner/Sire.