Jo asks:
I read that the The Con and Sainthood were written about the same person/relationship that was mostly unrequited and that you chased the person for 4 years... why didnt you give up?
Thanks.
Hi Jo!
I wrote a lot of The Con about my gramma passing and the end of a 5 year relationship. But I was in the process of pursuing someone new as well. That relationship didn't come to fruition that year so I moved on and dated other people. But a year after we released the record I started talking to "the con" again and we ended up dating after all. It took a long time, a lot of songs, an enormous amount of energy and love but I eventually did date "the con". We are currently together. I never gave up because, not to quote myself but I will here, when you know you know.
Thanks for the inquiry!
Tegan
Barbara asks:
Hi Tegan,
I was wondering how the sound-check process works. Do you play a couple songs as a full band, or is one by one, instrument by instrument, mic by mic? It seems like a tedious process to me.
Hey Barbara,
Soundcheck is a bit different each day depending on our needs as a band and depending on the venue. Usually the crew loads in by 11am and hangs the lights, focuses etc. Then the crew loads in all the gear and sets up the stage. Then our front of house guy Doug rings out and tunes the PA system. Then Chandy our monitor guy rings out the monitors on stage. THEN Johnny and Shaun go on stage and check their drums and bass. Then Sunny and Al, our guitar techs check all the guitars and keyboards. After all of that the band plays The Cure and THEN after all of that, Sara and I join them on stage and play a song that allows us to check each of our acoustic lines, electric lines, vocal mics and keyboard positions.
All in all our technical side is on stage for 7-8 hours setting up. We are usually on stage for an hour from 3-4pm.
Thanks for the question!
Tegan
Shazia asks:
Do you and Sara plan on releasing a live or acoustic album in the future? Your live shows are very dynamic and engaging. Do you think you would you put songs from various tours or just one specific tour? Would you consider releasing a series of live concerts?
Hey Shazia,
YES! We want to try to shoot a live DVD this year. I'm thinking we'll record 3-4 nights at one venue and pull together the best stuff for a live DVD. I'd also consider then putting out a CD to accompany it with the best songs/stories.
Thanks for the question!
Tegan
Jess asks:
Hey Tegan,
I really love the new video for Alligator! Who came up with the concept for it? Also, who are the back up dancers?
Jess
Hey Jess,
Sara and I came up with the concept together. I wrote the actual treatment and Sara found images to accompany the treatment. Then we picked a director we liked and he adapted it to make it work for the screen! The back up dancers were all from Toronto. One even went to high school at the same time as us. We'd known her since we were 15. Strange and odd coincidence.
Hope you like it!
Tegan
Nadege asks:
What is your favourite guitar? And what advice would you give to someone wanting to improve at guitar playing?
Hey Nadege!
My favourite guitar is a Martin that I got from Neil Young when we signed our record deal in 1999. Right now I have a couple Melody Makers that I am sort of crushing out on. One of them is really old, a 66 or 69 I think. Chris Walla found it for me. Then I got a brand new one and I LOVE IT. Its very light, has great range and tons of body. Advice for improving on guitar....well..play, as much as you can. I have never taken more than a few lessons and it didn't work for me. I needed to teach myself. Writing songs allowed for me to play a lot without feeling like it was "practice".
Good luck!
Tegan