people are either gonna like the music or not." - Tegan Quin
They both studied piano as children, but didn't get serious about music until they were about 15 when Tegan fell ill and their mother's boyfriend left his guitar where Sara could get to it. They taught themselves to play guitar and almost immediately began writing their own stuff, initially performing at parties for friends. In their own words, "We started playing guitar when we were 15, and we called ourselves PLUNK. We were kind of wussy punk (no drums or bass) and we were really bad. We had really funny garage band parties until some guy broke our P.A. Our mom wouldn't fix it and so PLUNK became Tegan and Sara."
In 1997/98 Tegan and Sara took advantage of the recording studio at their high school, Crescent Heights, and recorded two albums under the band name PLUNK. The first was entitled Who's In Your Band? Their second album, Play Day, was recorded as a project for a Broadcasting and Communication class. A limited number of copies (somewhere around 50-100) were made of each.
They made their first big splash on the Canadian music scene in 1998 when they achieved the highest score ever in Calgary's Garage Warz Battle of the Bands. They used their prize studio-time to record a demo album, the Yellow Demo. 500 copies were made. Two more demo tapes were recorded under the band name Sara and Tegan. The Red Demo and the Orange Demo. (See Albums section for track listings.)
They released their (independent) debut album, Under Feet Like Ours under the name Sara and Tegan in August of 1999. This album has been re-recorded twice under the name Tegan and Sara (once with the song Frozen added as a bonus track).
As for the name change Tegan says, "When we called ourselves Sara and Tegan, it didn't work because of they way our names blended together. 'Sarandtegan.' So we switched to Tegan and Sara. It wasn't like all of a sudden I had to have my name in front. It was just easier to pronounce that way.''
In April 2000 they were signed by Neil Young's manager, Elliott Roberts, to Neil Young's label, Vapor Records.
Their major label debut, This Business of Art, was released in July 2000. It was recorded in downtown Toronto basement in a mere two weeks. Building upon a skeleton of driving but sparse instrumentation, the addition of drums and bass, coupled with a creative use of effects, gave fullness and maturity to their emerging sound. As the title hints, the album is a portrait of complexities. Their lyrics are simultaneously smart and full of youthful naïveté, while the music ranges from fast and furious to tastefully understated.
The hard-edged yet hook-laden If It Was You, released in August 2002 is as different from This Business of Art as, well, Tegan is from Sara; the two are obviously related, yet distinct in character. "We went back to our roots: Punkier, poppier, and louder," says Tegan. "There's definitely more punch to this album," says Sara.
One of contributing factors to the change in sound could be the addition of two new band members: Rob Chursinoff on the drum kit at Chris Carlson on bass. Both bring additional talent to the band and an extra “umph” to live shows.
Tegan and Sara have been called one of the most appealing live acts you'll ever see. They deliver music that is rhythmic, melodic, and powerful. They are charismatic performers, talking to the audience in rapid fire between songs that thrill with both their musicality and delivery. Over the past five years, they have landed spots on the Lilith Fair Tour, as well as opening for bands such as Neil Young, the Pretenders, Rufus Wainwright, Bryan and Ryan Adams. They've headlined countless gigs, touring extensively in Canada and the U.S. and to a lesser extent in Europe and Japan.
As for personal musical influences, Tegan says they grew up with a lot of Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell being played in their house. Their musical tastes include U2, Bruce Springsteen, Led Zeppelin, and Phil Collins, Madonna, as well as a variety punk music.
Tegan currently lives in Vancouver, British Columbia and Sara in Montreal, Quebec.
Band Bios
from teganandsara.com
Tegan Quin
Tegan Quin, a Virgo, enjoys comfort foods and long talks about things that happened ten years ago that she "has gotten over" but still talks about them endlessly in this voice that is sort of like metal scraping against bone that is showing through your ripped flesh. Tegan is Sara's sister, and as far as their mother can "remember" they only shared a room once, and that was when they were babies. Until grade eight, Tegan's math teachers thought she was advanced and "bored" with math. Then she started writing music and they realized she was just "bored". Tegan plays a Martin acoustic, and an epiphone electric.
Sara Quin
Sara Quin is Tegan's sister. Born in 1980, Sara always wanted to be a lawyer or a veterinarian. Actually, up until she was 16 life was a ten-year plan that involved student loans and winterish-fantasies about school on the East Coast. Standing five foot three, Sara enjoys grocery shopping, barbeques, and mid-day movies where no one else is there to crinkle plastic candy bags or talk about what's going to happen five seconds before it happens and then congratulate themselves on their cunning ability to predict the future so that everyone in the theatre hears them and then secretly wish there was jail time for that specific group of society. Secretly wishing she was a drummer, Sara enjoys one on one time, and is addicted to pro-tools and the sound of her voice through a sans amp.
Rob Chursinoff
Rob Chursinoff, otherwise known as Mr. Evil Guy, was born and raised in the Kootenays. 5'9" when kneeling and 27 in dim lighting; this ladies man has played with Kinnie Starr, the Be Good Tanya's, Speed to Kill, and Skull Flush. What in god's name is a skull flush you ask? Well, says Rob, "flush... like flush the toilet." 10 years of experience as a banger/hippie and expertly trained to follow a click track, Rob lives for his dog Leroy.
Chris Carlson
Chris Carlson is an Edmontonian who is now living and procreating in Vancouver. He stands 6"4" and asked to lower his age to 24 for the purpose of this bio. Apparently 31 isn't a "cool" age. Playing bass for twelve years, he strokes and cuddles his Fender Precision, for Tegan and Sara as well as Kinnie Starr. A fun side note: Chris and Rob are NOT brothers or lovers; they just like martial arts and "working out" together.