Jenny asks:
Hi Tegan!
The first concert I ever attended was The Rolling Stones back in the 90s. Every night on that tour they left a blank spot on the setlist and let fans vote online for the song they wanted to hear. I know you and Sara are hesitant to take requests, but if you had control over the options would you ever consider doing something like this? Like, perhaps for the show you're playing with City and Colour in August? (hint)
Thanks!
Hey Jenny,
We would love to do something like this in the future for sure. We are planning some smaller, more intimate, exclusive type shows for the fall (maybe sooner) and we would love to include some "requests" for those shows for sure. The hardest part of taking requests is playing songs that we don't a) know how to play anymore b) feel like we relate to anymore c) feel they fit in the set with all the other more current music we love to play. We try our best to play the "hits" and the stuff that satisfies the more artistic and creative parts of our band... but also what we think the audience wants to hear. After 12 years and 6 records this of course gets harder and harder to do. But we try. AND we are definitely interested in learning the "old and rare" stuff for the "special shows" we have planned... so... keep an eye out...
Thanks for the inquiry!
Tegan
Nick and Christine ask:
You'll be performing on your birthday this year. Are you excited about it, or would you prefer to celebrate at home? Are you planning anything else special for your 30th?
Hey! Um. Well. Honestly... I wish the tour ended the day before. Ha. So we didn't have to have our birthday on stage. It's a lot of pressure. As it's our 30th birthday I feel there is added pressure for sure. Typically I don't make a big deal out of my birthday so it feels ridiculously HUGE this year to be playing on our 30th. Personally, I'd like to pretend this year that my birthday is actually the 20th of September to take some of the pressure off. I'm sure it will be fun either way. And I fully intend on flying home and throwing a nice/reasonable 30th birthday for myself (I am a VIRGO!) soon after.
Take care,
Tegan
Christine and Jen ask:
Many thought that you and Sara would perform as special guests with Tiesto for "Feel It In My Bones" at this year's Coachella festival, like you did it once for the "Back In Your Head" remix. Did it come up at all? What were your thoughts watching Tiesto perform the song that you had collaborated with him on?
Hey Guys!
It did come up actually! We had talked a little with Tiesto and his management about performing together and it almost worked out, but our schedules sadly did not allow for proper preparation or rehearsals so it didn't happen. Honestly, performing "Back In Your Head" with Tiesto at Bonnaroo was one of the coolest things I have ever done in my life/career and so I was kind of glad not to have to compete with that and instead got to experience something totally different by watching from the audience at Coachella. It was still pretty damn cool to see tens of thousands of people dance to our song in the desert. Definitely felt pretty cool.
Bye,
Tegan
Realtin and Ellen ask:
Hi Tegan,
You talked about being on an episode of Yamma Mama and performing a kids' version of the song "Alligator". Has this aired yet? Any idea how can we find it? If not, are we ever going to hear the kid friendly version of "Alligator"? Thanks.
Hey guys,
I have no idea. Thanks for reminding me. I will be sure to ask about this ASAP and get back to you guys! Look forward to more information about this being posted soon!
-Tegan
Janay and Lee ask:
You've mentioned how hard "Don't Rush" is to play live. You said you have a hard time singing and playing the counter riff at the same time. In spite of all that it sounds really good live! Now it's been taken off the setlist. I was wondering if you guys would ever strip it down somehow and start playing it live again. Are there any other songs that you don't play on tour because they're too hard to recreate live?
Hey!
Great question! There are a lot of songs that are hard to perform live that I love and am sad we don't perform more regularly. For example : "Don't Rush", "Someday", "Arrow", "Are You Yen Years Ago?". Mainly its just the level of production that makes it tough to pull off live. We're such an organic band and because of the 12 years we've spent rocking out on guitars it hard to rely on keyboards, tracks or samples to drive a song. I think we're just self conscious about moving too far away from our roots and so we cut songs that aren't "guitar" driven when we're looking to shorten the set. Those poor songs never had a chance. Ha. We MAY strip them down or add them back to the set though. Often we play those songs in soundcheck. Right now "Paper Back Head" and "Like O, Like H" are getting a lot of airplay in soundcheck. I get a lot of pleasure from playing the songs even without an audience. Lucky me! Ha.
Thanks for the question!
Tegan
Taylor asks:
Since you guys sell your own reusable water bottles now, why don't you use those on stage rather than going through several plastic bottles per night?
Hey Taylor!
Great question! We've talked about this A LOT in our band internally! We are making the move to go completely plastic bottle free soon. Our first step was insisting that everyone in the band/crew use reusable bottles everywhere BUT on stage. We get water jugs rather than flats of water now on the rider! It's a very exciting first step. It's taking some time for everyone to adjust but we're almost there. I rarely even crack open my water on stage so for me it would be an easy transition. Hopefully we'll get there soon.
-Tegan