BeatRoute Magazine AB Edition September 2019

BRCOVERSTORY
BRYYZ
Once I discovered I
could write songs, it
really replaced a lot of my
other bad habits. I was
less interested in drugs and
drinking. In a weird way,
it was a good addiction.
-SARA
k CONTINUED FROM PG. 23
Digging into their past led to the discovery
of the first songs they wrote at 15. “Once I
discovered I could write songs, it replaced
my other bad habits. I was less interested in
drugs and drinking,” Sara says. “In a weird
way, it was a good addiction.”
When others took notice of their music,
Tegan was brazen with confidence, while
Sara wanted to weigh the options. “Tegan
was like, ‘If they don’t get it, fuck ‘em.’
And I was like, ‘Hm. If they don’t get it,
I want to understand why. Are there vulnerabilities
and weaknesses in what we’re
doing, should we consider that?’” But she
admits that it was her sister’s enthusiasm
and entrepreneurial spirit that won her
over. “We had grown up in the punk and
alternative scene of the 1990s — if you
made a dollar, you were a sell-out; your
music sucked; and you were shit.” Her
voice is lighthearted. “And Tegan was like,
‘let’s just make some money. We gotta pay
the bills.’ She sort of recognized the privilege
of even being able to decide that your
art shouldn’t have value.”
The twins wrote more than 40 songs in three
years, 12 of which made the album. Hey, I’m Just
Like You is a time capsule of teen angst, emotion,
and defiance—a real-life soundtrack to their High
School memoir. Lies, love, and broken hearts
run the course with satisfying melodrama and
head-bobbing nostalgia. “Hold My Breath Until I
Die” captures the life-or-death stakes that youth
injects into relationships, while the title track is
a colourful celebration of friendship. Held up to
Tegan and Sara’s present-day selves, the songs
retain their punk heart while the album’s pop
production is a testament to the twins’ musical
evolution.
Now idols of entrepreneurial savvy and queer
resistance, the duo are still trying to reconcile
individual identities with an award-winning career
built heavily on their twin image. “There
are strong parallels between being a twin and being
famous,” Sara says. Even in strollers, people
would swarm the Quins. Their parents started
taking the toddlers out separately to avoid attention.
“Sharing a face” had its upsides, though, like
when they transferred to a new school in third
grade. “I knew we could use each other as power.
We could go to this new
school and if we were
together, people were
gonna be interested. We
wouldn’t be invisible.”
That superpower became
“claustrophobic”
over the years — a “trap”
that oppressed individuality,
yet made the pair
distinct. Does Sara still
struggle with it? “Absolutely.
It almost intensifies
with age,”
she says. The infan-
TEGAN AND SARA
Saturday, Oct. 5
The Vogue Theatre (Van.)
Wednesday, Oct. 9
Myer Horowitz
Theatre (Edmonton)
Thursday, Oct. 10
Bella Concert Hall
(Calgary)
Thursday, Oct. 11
Bella Concert Hall
(Calgary)
Friday, Oct. 12
The Garrick (Winnipeg)
Tix: Sold out
tilization that a “fluke of science” invites is a
point of contention for her. “People will ask
in interviews, ‘Do you still live together?’
And I’m like, ‘Do you live with your 40 year
old sibling?’” Her voice has spiked an octave.
“People try to ask us the ‘classic twin
questions.’ Like, I’m not gonna give you
pull quotes about whether we can read each
other’s thoughts. Give me a break. If I could
read Tegan’s mind, we’d be in Vegas doing card
tricks.” Her tone drops. “Why are there certain
rules for non-twins we don’t allow for twins?
Or why do we treat famous people like they
don’t get the same privacy and respect that
you want?”
While writing both book and album, Sara
rediscovered poignant confessions sprinkled
among “asshole adolescent” notes. She was
failing classes, but afraid to admit she didn’t
want to go to post-secondary. “I was a deeply
closeted, suffering, confused teenager.”
She scribbled notes about living up to the
expectations of my parents. “Especially my
mother, who was risking it all, going back to
school and working a job full-time and raising
us. I can barely deal with my life and
my cats.” Her mother isn’t so sure, and
worries the memoir doesn’t showcase her
well. “I think that’s her own self criticism
because most people read the book and
think she was fantastic. And she was.”
For their birthday on September 19,
Tegan and Sara will be working. Maybe
indulge in a “nip of scotch” before bed.
It’s a far cry from the experimental days
of their youth, but Sara doesn’t mind. “I
just wanna stare at a bird and tree, and
sleep really well.” That giggle again. “I
feel like it’s a nice period of my life to
be creative and quiet.” Funny, since
Tegan and Sara will be playing to sold
out venues across the continent
this fall. On second thought, the
kids turned out alright. Sara’s
smiles into the phone; “I
think my mom’s really
proud of us.” ,
26 BEATROUTE AUGUST 2019