Tegan and Sara

TIME TRAVEL (AUSTRALIA)!

photo by Lindsey Byrnes, from ON, IN, AT!

friends in the land down under!

we’re thrilled to announce our upcoming tour details for Australia! Festivals! Headline shows! The best espresso in the world! Kangaroos! Surfing! Intense jet lag!

The last time we made the trek across the ocean to visit you, it was in January 2009. The trip was paced in such a relaxed way that everyone felt as though they were on vacation. I was very sick the entire trip and I spent much of the tour-cation watching the band and crew run around on the beach swatting flies and squealing about jelly fish from the comfort of my air conditioned bungalow. i would use the word frolic to describe the skipping and jumping done on the beaches during our many days off. Band and crew bodies clad in lycra, skin glistening with spf 100, I realized that a tour-cation in iceland would be more MY style…but I am in the minority. All the sun-burning and swimming enhanced the group’s Australian experience and we can’t wait to return (boardies and rashies in tow) to visit you once again!

We were thrilled to see HELL made it into the triple J top 100 this year! We’re planning to bring our biggest, longest and best show as a gesture of appreciation! Thank you for the continued support Australia!

skq

Tegan and Sara Australian Tour 2010

Saturday 1 May - Bendigo Showground - Bendigo, VIC
Groovin’ The Moo Festival - with Vampire Weekend, Silverchair, Spoon, Empire of the Sun
Tickets on sale Feb 16 at gtm.net.au or moshtix.com.au

Sunday 2 May - Murray Sports Complex - Townsville, QLD
Groovin’ The Moo Festival - with Vampire Weekend, Silverchair, Spoon, Empire of the Sun
Tickets on sale Feb 16 at gtm.net.au or moshtix.com.au

Tuesday 4 May - The Tivoli - Brisbane, QLD
With special guests Astronautalis and The Jezabels
Tickets on sale Feb 12 at www.ticketek.com.au or 132 849
Doors 7.00pm

Friday 7 May - Big Top - Sydney, NSW
With special guests Astronautalis and The Jezabels
Tickets on sale Feb 12 at Big Top Box office - 1300 BIG TOP or www.bigtopsydney.com and www.ticketek.com.au
Doors 7.00pm

Saturday 8 May - Maitland Showground - Maitland, NSW
Groovin’ The Moo Festival - with Vampire Weekend, Silverchair, Spoon, Empire of the Sun
Tickets on sale Feb 16 at gtm.net.au or moshtix.com.au

Sunday 9 May - The Meadows - Canberra, ACT
Groovin’ The Moo Festival - with Vampire Weekend, Silverchair, Spoon, Empire of the Sun
Tickets on sale Feb 16 at gtm.net.au or moshtix.com.au

Tuesday 11 May - Forum Theatre - Melbourne, VIC
With special guests Astronautalis and The Jezabels
Tickets on sale Feb 12 at www.ticketek.com.au or 132 849
Doors 7.00pm

Thursday 13 May - Thebarton Theatre - Adelaide, SA
With special guests Astronautalis and The Jezabels
Tickets on sale Feb 12 at Venuetix www.venuetix.com.au or (08) 8225 8888
Doors 7.00pm

Friday 14 May - Fremantle Arts Centre - Fremantle, WA
With special guests Astronautalis and The Jezabels
Tickets on sale Feb 12 at www.heatseeker.com.au or Heatseeker retail outlets
Gates open 5.30pm

Saturday 15 May - Pat Usher Foreshore Reserve - Bunbury, WA
Groovin’ The Moo Festival - with Vampire Weekend, Silverchair, Spoon, Empire of the Sun
Tickets on sale Feb 16 at gtm.net.au or moshtix.com.au

Posted in news

thoughts on home

Photo by Lindsey Byrnes

Sara and I graduated high school in 1998. Our professional career of playing music started shortly thereafter. Touring back then meant Sara and I piling into a friend’s car, or taking the Greyhound bus between cities and shows. We couldn’t afford to tour with a band, so Sara and I and two guitars and a hockey bag of merchandise would head out on the open road alone. Terrifying to imagine now 12 years later. The image in my head makes us seem so young and vulnerable, so unprepared for what was to come. And we were unprepared. Don’t let our resume or stories or track record imply otherwise. Our first show with Neil Young and The Pretenders in the summer of 2000, we stepped on stage for sound check and realized, we wouldn’t be sitting on stools. Neil’s guitar tech rushed in to drill holes for guitar straps and then we were ushered back on stage to sound check to 18,000 empty seats. Unprepared doesn’t actually do it justice, now that I really am thinking about it.

Sometimes memories like the one I just typed out hit me as I’m drifting off to sleep and I feel body tense, I feel my mind start reeling. How did we survive? Why did we continue? Once we drove all the way from Calgary to Guelph (2.5 days of driving) only to have the show get canceled when we arrived. How did we not give up? Why didn’t we give up? Year after year, more tours would come in, more shows would be sold out, more records would sell, more people would offer to work on our behalf and most importantly more fans would be made. Record after record our tours became more fun, more diverse, better sounding, better looking and more populated. Tour after tour left us feeling hopeful and energized. I’d return home from the road happy and proud to be doing what we were doing rather than rejected and burnt out.

Photo by Lindsey Byrnes

Our first cross Canada tour was in the fall of 2000, if my memory serves me correct. It was a small tour when I think back on it now. We were playing to maybe 500 people a night at most. But it was our tour. Our poster that we had designed, our band the headliner, our pockets lined with….well…we were making a living, finally. Sara and I would jump up and down on the hotel room beds each time we returned from a night of making music. I remember calling our agent in the middle of the night after our first sell out. We settled our own shows, sold our own merchandise, played body guard and stage manager for each other. It was hard work but we were willing to do it because we loved making music so much. We’d chosen a path of independence. Opted to sign with an indie label to keep control of our project and to retain some ownership over ourselves and our music. This meant we had a lot of control, but often times, it meant things took longer and took more work.

This summer will mark 12 years of working in this business and making music together professionally. As Canadian artists it is always so special for us to be able to tour in our own country. We’ve been lucky enough to have success all over the world. Being seen as international artists was always at the top of our list when we were setting goals between records early on in our career. But home is home, and Canada is home. This past month has been a dream. We played beautiful, legendary venues across this country to family, friends and fans of all eras. Our band thanks you for your support Canada. Thank you to each and every person who came to the shows and sang along. To all of you who bought posters in support of Haiti we thank you so much. We feel so proud to have such generous and thoughtful fans. Lastly, thank you to those of you who have been with us all these years. We appreciate your support and we are so grateful for it. From the bottom of our hearts to yours,

Thank you,

Tegan (and Sara)

Posted in Uncategorized

post valentine’s day fun

new york city friends!

we couldn’t imagine spending the day after valentine’s day (February 15th, 2010) with anyone else. who better than YOU, new york city, could help us nurse our candy heart hangovers?

we’ve decided, quite spontaneously, to offer an opportunity for some of you to spend an intimate night with us at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. perhaps it’s worth noting that my use of the word intimate only applies to the small-ish size of the venue and the stripped down nature of the material we will be performing. i wouldn’t call it an acoustic performance so much as a night of reinterpretations of the well worn and well loved album versions you’ve come to love.

we realize it’s short notice, and we know the tickets will go fast. to those of you who miss out on the opportunity to share your post valentine’s day loot with us, do not fret! we will return to your neck of the woods sooner than later. big announcements coming soon!

An Evening with Tegan and Sara
Music Hall of Williamsburg
Mon, Feb 15, 2010
Tickets on sale Fri, Jan 29 at 12 noon at ticketmaster.com

Posted in news

tubular!

http://www.vimeo.com/8976099

Yesterday we spent our day off in Quebec City at the Valcartier Vacation Village…

It is a water-park that they turn into a winter wonderland after the season’s first snowfall. The website claims that you can reach speeds of 80 km/h on their tube/raft runs…i believe it. The band and crew, somewhat unprepared for a day at the ski hill, cobbled together what warm clothes they could find. We made quite a scene in our jeans and canvas shoes (i was the only one with snow pants…)

As we were pulled to the top of the hill on inner tubes by a pulley system for our first run of the day, Pet Shop Boys was being piped through the valcartier vacation village hill wide speaker system and i actually wondered if i was about to have the best day of my life.

our first trip down the hill was on their rafting run. all ten of us squeezed into a huge yellow river raft and squealed with delight as we perilously ripped down the hill clutching at one another.

I am not exaggerating when I say that it was one of the most enjoyable days off we’ve ever had on tour. I will say that i was impressed by the casual attitude of the people working at the village. They gave off a very calm energy and that was a good counter energy to the vibrating fear I felt when perched at the top of the terribly steep runs. It was good to consider that over half of the parks patrons were children and they didn’t seem afraid at all. Apparently we are all wusses. Our major impact with the snow wall on the TORNADO run was terrifying and hilarious. Imagining the scene if we had flipped over gave us the giggles all night. Everyone made it out unscathed, save for a few minor sunburns!

SO MUCH FUN.

three shows to go Canada. We sold record numbers of posters in Ottawa and we hope to sell out of the rest before this tour finishes up in Halifax! we couldn’t be more appreciative of your generosity in helping us raise this money for Haiti relief. for those of you that can’t be there at the shows to help donate, we will have the tour posters up at Maple Music as well later this week, again with all funds going towards our donation to MSF and Partners in Health. OR you can bid on the autographed drumhead right now on eBay. Only two days left in the auction! http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120520820058#ht_500wt_1182

also, I’ve promised so many of you a proper book blog, and I intend on posting it this week!!! Do not fret bookworms!

skq

Posted in news

ottawa, our nations (freezing) capital!

We are sitting backstage at the Bronson Centre in Ottawa. Tonight is the 1st of 2 shows here at this beautiful venue. Officially we are in the final stretch! 5 shows left and we’re done for a few weeks before heading back into the US. Its been 2 years since we toured Canada and boy have we missed everyone. This past month has been a dream. Every night I fall asleep counting my lucky stars that things have worked out the way they have for us. Our fans, our family, our friends and this wonderful country are more than we could ever ask for. Thank you to everyone. Backstage tonight we’re all feeling a bit tired but also very silly. So we have drafted a list of our favourite moments from the tour so far. Also, we’ve collected some of our favourite photos by the lovely LINDSEY BYRNES!!! Enjoy!

still shoeing

getting colder...

behind blue eyes

scaly, yes, its true, my spikey claws crawl over you...

the same show length as joseph and the amazing technicolor dreamcoat...

thanks to everyone who visited us at the EDGE in toronto!

guests on the star trek enterprise (place des arts) in montreal!

The Tegan and Sara Official Band and Crew List of Things that we LOVED on this tour:

*Playing Place Des Arts in Montreal. Akin to playing the Starship enterprise.
*The PA shutting off in the middle of song #2 in Kelowna. They were so patient!
*Meeting Ryan Johnson from The Canucks! Him and his arms! What!
*Shooting an Episode of Mamma Yamma. We wrote and sang brand new
lyrics for Alligator on the show. Stay tuned for later posts about when this will air!
*Playing Massey Hall in Toronto. A classic venue we’ve aimed to play for 12 years. Finally!
*Playing radio stations all across the country for a live in studio
audience. It was SO nice to connect with our fans again! You all are so sweet and cute!
*Seeing the Women’s National Hockey Team play in St Albert!
*Getting sick from the Swing of the Century at West Edmonton Mall. What happened to you West Eddy?
*Doing yoga as a group in the venue. We’ve officially gone green!
*Getting over sinus Headaches and dry skin when we hit the eastern part of Canada.
*Playing 28 songs a night and STILL feeling like we’re not playing long enough.
*My Number! Its baaaaaaack!
*Sara and Shaun’s snowshoe in Saskatoon.
*That’s what She said.
*The Heart and soul of the audience in Saskatoon, by far one of the best
audience we’ve EVER played to!

thanks for your continued support with our poster fundraiser! more updates soon!

tegan

Posted in news

more fundraising!

we are auctioning off one of johnny 5’s drumheads that we have all autographed to raise more money for HAITI! It even includes caricatures that sara did of all of us that are amazingly lifelike. please help us raise even more money to help the people of Haiti!

http://bit.ly/7OtZeL

Posted in news

Live at the Edge in Toronto!

We will be doing a live interview and two acoustic songs at The Edge studio on Yonge Street this Thursday in Toronto!! There is room for about 40 fans to come into the studio to watch and listen. This will be a first-come, first-serve thing, so get there early! It’s a glass street-level studio, so if you don’t make it in, you can still watch from the sidewalk (but it’s outside and probably not that great of a view through the window, so make sure to come early!).

Here are the details!

The Edge - 102.1FM
228 Yonge Street, Toronto ON
Thursday, January 21- 6pm

Posted in news

helping hands!

donate!

Tegan and I are both so sad about the devastation and suffering in Haiti. We’d love to help raise money and because we are on tour we’d like to utilize our merchandise sales! You’ve always been a tremendously supportive fan base and we can always count on selling zillions of pins and posters and t-shirts and hoodies. To help us, all you are going to have to do is continue to be as generous as you’ve been all month long on this Canadian tour. We are going to donate all of the money made from sales of all three posters (above) for our entire Canadian tour. We have a big number goal in mind, and we know you can help us meet it! We appreciate your support in advance, and to those of you who have already seen us perform and purchased any of the posters, we’re twice as thankful now, knowing we can put those funds towards helping the people of haiti.

take care of yourselves!

skq

Posted in dispatches

a love supreme in the adirondack mountains

mountaineer, e e storey

emy storey, our art director and dear friend, has a fantastic new project that I am madly in love with. check it out here: http://www.eestorey.com/blog/

skq!

Posted in dispatches