Date: January 2001
Author: Jason Fedorchuk
Publication: Carillon, Volume 43, No. 15
Headline: Sisters Are Touring It For Themselves
There's a chance that you've never heard of Tegan and Sara; that's understandable, since the duo, comprised of identical twin sisters from Calgary, have only been Tegan and Sara for a few short years.

You may not have heard of them, but that will most likely change; their second album, This Business of Art, was released last summer to copious amounts of critical acclaim. They played a date at Lilith Fair (Edmonton, if you were lucky enough to be there), and recently toured with Neal Young and the Pretenders.

There are numerous articles about them and a loyal fan base, and word of mouth has been more than positive. The press-release bio describes them as "armed with acoustic guitars and two distinctly different voices" with "music that is rhythmic, melodic, and powerful."

It's a fair assessment.

I recently conducted a phone interview with Sara Quin, who was kind enough to talk for over 20 minutes despite a cold that had kept her from fully participating in the previous night's concert.

Unfortunately, despite testing the tape recorder twice before said interview, I ended up with over 20 minutes of loud static with intermittant words poking through.

More's the pity, as she had lots to say about the music, the tour, why Canada is, in many ways, easier to tour in than the States, why Canada might be easier to make it in than the States, why it's great to be in a duo with a sibling, how celebrities are just people, dammit, playing basketball backstage with Chrissie Hynde, how funny a company's bio of a band can be, and how the business isn't really as bad as some people would suggest; one just has to know what they're getting into.

It was all very smart, funny, and entertaining.

Their present tour has Tegan and Sara hitting the Queen City at the Exchange on Sunday, January 21, and that's the last Canadian date for a while; the Quins are heading out to play Europe and the United States when they're done here (that's right; not only are we getting a gig; we're one of the few).

This show, judging by buzz alone, should be a great time; check it out if at all possible.

Tegan and Sara come to The Exchange 7:30 on Sunday, Jan 21. for only $10.00. Go. Their album, This Business of Art, is available now.