Tegan and Sara

Canadian duo Tegan and Sara recently graced our shores for a handful of shows across the country. Louise Taylor of Naked Dwarf caught up with Tegan on the day of their Melbourne show to discuss strange bodily functions and much more. I caught Tegan and Sara's show in Adelaide with Tegan not being well. She walked out on stage and informed everyone that yes “ I have been puking and shitting all day.” So my first question seemed to be an obvious but appreciated one.

“I’m feeling much better, thank-you. Its amazing how euphoric your body feels after you have been sick and start to feel better again. I don’t remember much of the Adelaide show though…” Tegan drifts off.

I assure Tegan that the show was fantastic despite her feeling so sick she spent one song playing it flat on her back.

Tegan and Sara have enjoyed a steadily growing fan base in Australia, due to numerous factors, but it seems again that sickness was the culprit. Tegan and Sara joined Little Birdy in August last year and when Katy Steele (Little Birdy front woman) came down sick, Tegan and Sara soldiered on with the tour winning over a lot more fans. I asked Tegan what the response had been like on this tour compared to the last time they were here.

“There’s definitely more awareness about us than there was last time we were here. Definitely more fans at shows. That’s due to things like myspace and a lot more radio airplay. We also toured with bands like The Killers and Cake back overseas so that’s helped lots too.”

“The last time we were here we really held back on things like radio press and interviews. When the (Little Birdy) tour fell threw, the response to us doing the last of the shows was really positive. It was always planned we would come back here, but not quite so soon.”

I like Tegan and Sara because they sound unlike anyone else. They have a great stage presence and their songs are straight to the point. I asked Tegan what the girls influences were growing up.

“Bands like Led Zeppelin, U2, (Bruce) Springsteen. In high school we were really into the grunge and punk scene, Violet Femmes and Nirvana. We listened to a lot of The Police while we recorded ‘So Jealous.’”

“Music was something we were interested in from an early age and I think now we have a deep respect for it. There was always music playing in our house. Our dad was always playing Willy Nelson and David Bowie. My mum wanted to name Sara, Paige (as in Jimmy Paige from Led Zeppelin).”

I asked Tegan how the recording of their latest album ‘So Jealous’ went.

“We did everything on the album separately and it was an exhausting process. By separately I mean we did the drums at a different time to the vocals and so on. It was like a really big art project, but I found that it's not always the best take or version but the most honest,” she replied.

One standout track from ‘So Jealous’ is ‘Walking with a ghost.’ So good is this song that The White Stripes covered it and Tegan recalls the first time band members crossed paths.

“We were at Glastonbury and Meg White came to the show. She was very nervous and straight out asked us what we thought of the cover. It was weird because we are fans of The Stripes and Meg was nervous to be meeting us. It was a very nice compliment that they wanted to cover the song. I find The White Stripes fascinating. Business wise. Very prolific.”

I mention to Tegan that I had read an interview with Jack White where he mentions Tegan and Sara as a ‘great band he had been listening to lately.’ I ask her what it feels like to get a mention from an act like The White Stripes.

“Feels really good. A mention from any band is good. We spend a lot of time and energy listening to new bands and we like to mention what we like. I have respect for those people who help bands by putting in some hard work.”

They have started the year on a good note with an excellent album and a successful tour. So the rest of 2006 will be spent…

“Hanging out. Around about 4 or 5 months doing nothing. Just writing and recording. A little bit of travelling. We also have a DVD out that just got going. Just relaxing really.”

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