Date: December 13, 2007 Author: Lennat Mak Publication: Audio ReLoad Headline: Audio ReLoad Interview with Tegan Quin

As Tegan and Sara progress through the years, there's this constantly evolving sophistication to the materials you girls put out. For example, The Con is certainly much more layered and varied as compared to the previous outings. What inspired all this sophistication? We had a lot more time to put together The Con. In the past we were strapped for time (whereas) with The Con we had an abundance. Every detail was filtered through Sara or I before we made the record. It reflects how we hear ourselves. It’s modeled heavily after our demos which are created in our home studios. Other than the songs, your singing style has pretty much changed through albums as well. The "younger" songs feature some really sexy low voices and after If It Was You and particularly So Jealous, we see the emergence of the higher registers. How did you arrive to your current singing style? No change in our voices has been intentional. We were 18 when we made our first record. I think we've just developed after 9 years on the road singing professionally. Do you see music as a form of expression or escapism? Both. People often have lofty dreams to quit their day jobs and become full time musicians. You skipped that whole phase and dived right into doing music as a full time vocation (and quite successfully at that). Is being a musician what it sets out to be? Are there actually more responsibilities and commitments that you have to shoulder on? We worked a few day jobs while we were in high school and for the year after but we basically jumped into music head first. It takes a lot of energy, a thick skin and the willingness to have nothing but go everywhere to spread the word, which we did. There is a world of responsibilities and commitment doing what we do but we love them all. There have been past collaborations with other artists and recently, Tegan did a song with Against Me! while Sara did one with The Reason. Do you find yourselves in situations whereby you subconsciously fulfill the whole twins stigma whereby the things you do, actually mirror each other? No. I don't think so. But since it’s a theory that is motivated by subconscious behavior I suppose I don't know. Speaking of collaboration, word has it that you have a side project with Hunter Burgan? How many side projects are there in the works? My side project with Hunter is mainly just stalled because I am so busy right now. But we have a record ready to release. We'll see what happens. I can't wait to get home and write some more stuff so perhaps it will be stalled even longer. The behind-the-scenes footage of It's Not Fun, Don't Do It and The Making Of The Con are such fun to boot. And now we have Trailer Talk. Are there plans to release another tour DVD with more rollicking good times? Definitely. The fashion of Tegan and Sara has been a much talked about topic within the fans. In a world where people talk about what designer clothing who and who are wearing, Tegan and Sara and a majority of the fans actually into the whole t-shirt culture. Where do you shop mostly and what is your current favorite t-shirt? I just bought some shirts in Northhampton. Local stuff. One has a set of knives on it. The other multi colored tapes. I love t-shirts. I have no idea "who we are wearing". We just wear whatever we come across that strikes us as cool. We are easily as influenced by what our audience is wearing as they are by what we are wearing. I think. Rob and Chris were once a huge part of Tegan and Sara. Why weren't they signed on for the new tour? And how's the band dynamics going on with the current tour? They both were ready to move on. Chris recently got married and is living with his wife working on a farm. Rob started playing with Ben Lee near the end of our last record cycle. We remain close friends with both of them. The new band is great. They are all old friends from school in Victoria. They are very talented and sweet. They take direction well but are very creative little beings as well. We love them. What's your biggest love (it can be anything) right now? Life. Love. Any plans to have a tour in Southeast Asia? If Tristan Prettyman and Nerina Pallot can sell out a show in Singapore, Tegan and Sara can definitely do much better! We would love to. We're just waiting for a release date and a tour!