Tegan and Sara
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Tegan and Sara | ||
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If It Was You album cover. Tegan is on the left, and Sara on the right.
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Background information | ||
Origin | Calgary, Alberta, Canada | |
Genre(s) | Rock | |
Instrument(s) | Singing | |
Years active | 2000-present | |
Label(s) | Vapor, Sanctuary | |
Website | http://www.teganandsara.com | |
Members | ||
Tegan Quin Sara Quin |
Tegan Rain Quin and Sara Kiersten Quin (born September 19, 1980, identical twins[1]) are Canadian singer-songwriters, performing as Tegan and Sara.
Contents |
[edit] Biography and musical career
Born in Calgary, Alberta, they got their start winning Garage Warz, a local music competition in that city.[2] Since then, the two have toured extensively with many artists, including Neil Young, Rufus Wainwright, The Pretenders,[2] Ben Folds, The Killers, Hot Hot Heat, Ryan Adams,[3] Veda Hille, Little Birdy, Bryan Adams and Weezer and on Sarah McLachlan's Lilith Fair. They are signed to Neil Young's Vapor Records in the U.S. and to the Universal Music Group in Canada. Tegan currently lives in Vancouver, British Columbia and Sara in Montreal, Quebec.
Originally, as when they were competing in Garage Warz, the duo was known as "Sara and Tegan." They decided to change their band's name to "Tegan and Sara" because "Tegan" is a more unusual name and several other Canadian singers named Sara or Sarah, such as Sarah Harmer, Sarah Slean, and Sarah McLachlan were becoming popular at the time. Their first album, Under Feet Like Ours, was initially released under the name "Sara and Tegan";[1] copies are now a sought-after commodity among their fans.
The twins tell comic stories on stage, a throwback to when they didn't have a lot of material but still wanted to give people a full show. Their sisterly bickering is part of the show[2] and endears them greatly to their fans.
While both twins are similarly involved in vocals and playing instruments, the singing of the lead melody often goes to whichever twin wrote the particular song. Sara has been quoted saying that Tegan writes songs prolifically, "like a fish lays eggs," eventually discarding most of them. Sara's songs, on the other hand, evolve slowly and methodically and almost always make it onto the record.[2]
Both Tegan and Sara are lesbians.[4]
[edit] Cover songs
In 2004, Matt Sharp and Maya Rudolph of The Rentals recorded a cover version of Tegan and Sara's song "Not Tonight" and released it for free on the World Wide Web. [1] Sharp also played moog on "So Jealous."
In 2005, The White Stripes did a cover of Tegan and Sara's song "Walking With A Ghost," which was released on the "Walking With A Ghost" EP by the group. "Walking With A Ghost" was also used in a mashed-up Dance remix bootleg by Party Ben[2] with a song by Mylo, "Paris Four Hundred," under the title "Walking With A Ghost In Paris", which became a sought after club track after an influential dance radio station in the United States, C-89.5/KNHC/Seattle, Washington, started playing the song.
[edit] TV and Film
- They have made many television appearances, including Vicki Gabereau's Canadian talk show, The Late Show with David Letterman, Sonic Temple, Jonovision, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Kimmel Live (March 23, 2005) and The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn (November 11, 2004).
- Their songs have also appeared on the movie soundtrack for Sweet November, the Grey's Anatomy soundtrack, The L Word Season 3 soundtrack, and the Veronica Mars soundtrack.
- Most recently, Tegan and Sara had a guest appearance on the hit Showtime series, The L Word, which aired on March, 19, 2006.
- They were the first featured artists on WNYE-TV's live music program Summer in the City, which shows outdoor concerts and interviews with band members taped in New York City. It was first broadcast on September 29, 2005, but has been in heavy rotation ever since (most recently re-broadcast on June 8, 2006). One in-between-song tidbit from the show: They appreciate "good steak" from "a fancy French restaurant" their record company treated them to.
- Their songs "Not Tonight", "Take Me Anywhere", "Fix You Up", "You Wouldn't Like Me", "I Won't Be Left", "Downtown", and "Where Does The Good Go?" have appeared on episodes of Grey's Anatomy.
- Their song, "Walking with a Ghost", appeared on an episode of One Tree Hill.
- "Walking with a Ghost" also appeared the Fall 2006 NBC commercial for the TV series Medium, starring Patricia Arquette.
[edit] Accomplishments
In late 2004, Rolling Stone magazine named their album So Jealous on their list of the best 50 albums of the year.[5]
Tegan and Sara were nominated for a 2006 Juno Award for Alternative Album of the Year alongside Hot Hot Heat, Metric, The New Pornographers and Broken Social Scene.
[edit] Band members
- Tegan Quin – vocals and guitar
- Sara Quin – vocals and guitar
- Johnny Five Andrews – drums (2005-2006)
- Rob Chursinoff - drums (up until 2005, returned 2006)
- Chris Carlson – bass guitar
- Ted Gowans – guitar and keyboard
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- Yellow Demo [pre-1999, cassette only]
- Red Demo [pre-1999, cassette only]
- Orange Demo [pre-1999, cassette only]
- Under Feet Like Ours (1999) (Initially Sara and Tegan but re-released as Tegan and Sara and again with the added bonus track "Frozen" from album "This Business of Art")
- This Business of Art (2000)
- If It Was You (2002)
- So Jealous (2004)
[edit] Singles
- "Time Running" (2003)
- "I Hear Noises" (2003)
- "Monday Monday Monday" (2003)
- "Walking With A Ghost" (2004)
- "Speak Slow (2004)"
DC Shoes also released a 3 song sampler of So Jealous as a promotional offer during 2005. DC Shoes will also be selling Tegan and Sara DC Remix shoes in the Spring of 2007.
[edit] Music videos
- "The First" (2000)
- "Monday Monday Monday" (2003)
- "Living Room" (2003)
- "I Hear Noises" (2003)
- "Walking With A Ghost" (2004)
- "Speak Slow" (2005)
[edit] DVDs
- It's Not Fun, Don't Do It (2006)
[edit] Awards & Nominations
[edit] 2000
- YTV Achievement Award
- Band/Musical Group - Won
[edit] 2003
- Western Canadian Music Awards
- Outstanding Pop Recording (If It Was You) - Won
[edit] 2006
- Juno Awards
- Alternative Album Of The Year (So Jealous) - Nominated (lost to Broken Social Scene)
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Official Website
- Official Fansite
- Official Fansite Forum
- The -NEW- .ca Fan Forum
- The Tegan and Sara Blog
- The Tegan and Sara lyrics & video
[edit] References
- ^ a b Nichols, Natalie. "Nervous Breakthroughs", Los Angeles City Beat, 2005-04-28. Retrieved on 2006-09-12.
- ^ a b c d Tegan and Sara. Sanctuary Records. Retrieved on 2006-09-11.
- ^ Tegan and Sara: SO JEALOUS. Press kit on official website. Retrieved on 2006-09-11.
- ^ Rodriguez, Albert (2005-06-08). Tegan and Sara Reinventing Queer Stereotypes in Rock Music. Windy City Times. Retrieved on 2006-09-11.
- ^ "Records of the Year", Rolling Stone, 2004-12-15. Retrieved on 2006-09-11.
Categories: 1980 births | Living people | 2000s music groups | People from Calgary | Canadian female singers | Canadian pop music groups | Canadian pop singers | Canadian singer-songwriters | Family musical groups | Identical twins | Lesbian musicians | LGBT musicians from Canada | Sibling duos | Canadian indie rock groups | LGBT musical groups | Calgary musical groups | Bands with female lead singers | Musical groups with siblings | Celebrity duos | All-women bands