The Wake

Twin sisters Tegan and Sara stopped at the Pantages Theater on Nov. 30, amidst an extensive tour of the United States. During a stop in Carrboro, North Carolina, Sara took time out from her busy schedule to discuss everything from Death Cab for Cutie’s Chris Walla to National Public Radio. The duo has been touring in support of their great new album, The Con. If you happen to hit up Australia this December, you can catch the girls down under. Otherwise this is as close as you’re going to get.

The Wake: So you guys are currently in Carrboro, North Carolina. Ever been there before?

Sara: We have been here once before. I don’t really remember the show. It was a really long time ago.

The Wake: How has the trip across America been so far?

Sara: The tour has been great. I really loved the show in Austin. I think we’ve only done one other show in Austin that wasn’t associated with South by Southwest. So it’s nice to be in the city when it’s just you, and not you and a thousand other bands. For the most part, all the shows on this album cycle have been really amazing. We’ve been really lucky to play amazing venues. We took enough of a break that people are excited for us to be back.

The Wake: It seems like you guys probably get a lot of girls at shows. Where are all the guys?

Sara: It’s weird. I don’t look out at the audience and think about that. I definitely have seen a change in the crowd in the nine years that Tegan and I have been playing live. There’s a tendency when women are playing music- women more naturally take to them. There’s more apprehension (with men), not just in music. I’m a big reader and writer. It’s funny when I talk to my guy friends; it’s very, very rare that a guy will be naming a woman (as their favorite author). I think that men relate to men more; where women are more open to seeing an action movie or having a favorite band that has boys in it is not a weird thing. But I definitely think that, that is changing and I see guys out there.

The Wake: I feel like there are a lot of closet Tegan & Sara Fans. I know a few myself.

Sara: Yeah. I mean we meet those kinds of people all the time. For the longest time it wasn’t the indie bands supporting us; it was hardcore bands and punk bands. You know, initially, I was surprised that those guys were confident enough to be namedropping us or putting us in their top ten lists. I think that opened up our audience a lot. It was like, “Yeah we get you. We like your albums and your songs,” and then guys are like “Yeah I like them too. I think they’re a good band.”

The Wake: Let’s change things up again. What is your favorite food on the road?

Sara: You know I always get excited if we’re in a neighborhood where there’s a great Indian or Thai restaurant or an organic vegetarian restaurant. Because, we end up eating a lot of what we call burger and fries type restaurants.

You know, it’s like there is an American brand restaurant everywhere and we end up eating a lot of chicken burgers and salads. So anytime there’s something that gets thrown into the mix that you know is from a different country or is really healthy we all want to go and eat it like ten times in a day.

The Wake: What do you when you’re in a city for a day?

Sara: It’s hard sometimes, nothing against this city. But I’m always like, “I wish we could stay a week here.” Like we have a lot of friends and family in Atlanta so it’s kind of a bummer when you’re only spending a night there and you want to hang out more. I mean I know the city, because I spent some time there when I was a kid, growing up – I know the city in a different way than, say a Philadelphia or something. I would say, at least fifty percent of the places we play, the show is the big highlight. I can’t remember where we were and there was like one street where there was something to do. So we had the day off and I was like, “I would do anything to have a day off on any place on earth, besides this place.” There was nothing to do, nothing at all. That can be a downer. If you’re in a city like New York, San Francisco or L.A., you want to get in and get out and go back on the road as soon as possible. It’s just too expensive

The Wake: My girlfriend and I watch a lot of Sex and the City. I’m heading to New York for the holidays, is New York really like that, or is it more akin to Home Alone?

Sara: (Laughs) I think I’d relate more to the “Home Alone” scenario. I really like New York. It grew on me over time. It just stressed me out. You know, you come in there with your van and your band; you can’t afford to stay in the city. You can’t park anywhere. It’s a fickle place, because there are so many journalists there. For the first years it felt like we were only playing for journalists; not real people and bands. But, I’ve really grown to love it. We also have a lot of friends in New York now and we’ve spent more time in Brooklyn and Queens. It’s such a cool city. So I don’t know. What I’d get to represent New York now probably isn’t either Home Alone or Sex and the City. But I’d still go with Home Alone.

The Wake: You get pinned into certain categories, because you are twins or you are lesbians, I kind of hate that when critics go down that road. It’s just lazy journalism.

Sara: The weird thing is that we are twins and we are lesbians. So when people talk about it, it’s mostly the implication of what they’re saying. I’m obviously proud of who I am and think that I’m a cool person. I think we’re good song writers. I think we’ve had an interesting career. I’m really proud of all of our accomplishments. I mean the feedback we get from our friends and our peers; that’s what makes us go. When we were working with Chris Walla, I care more about what he thinks about these songs than what Pitchfork says about them. So I don’t know who those people are. Maybe I hate there music questions, maybe there douche bags, I have no idea. For a long time it bothered me when I would read something that I didn’t feel was representative of who we were or if I felt like it was slanted. They would make us out to be some kind of fictional creation out of some weird mans mind. It’s ridiculous. Anybody who’s actually paying attention, knows who we are and knows what we’re about. But at some point I decided it wasn’t worth my energy and that at this point in our career there is respect for what we are doing.

The Wake: There has definitely been a shift in the way music is written about.

Sara: It’s a weird thing. I think music journalism has really changed. It’s sometimes disappointing, or disenchanting, to go and read magazines that used to blow your mind. I loved reading Rolling Stone or Spin when I was in middle school and high school. I know that things are changing. But now I just look at it and I just think that we’ve dumbed it down because we think people can’t understand being intelligent or being articulate about something. Then there is a new cynicism about music journalism. Even when you like it you don’t critique or you’re being cynical because you’re some kind of asshole, because you like it too much. It’s not cool to say, “This cool, this is really great.” It’s almost a competition to see how mean you can be.

The Wake: I think that’s the Pitchfork affect.

Sara: The internet has festered the sort of idea that you can say anything and there is not accountability for it. There’s no one saying you can’t say that. It’s definitely problematic.

The Wake: So let’s get back to the music a bit. How did Chris Walla (Death Cab for Cutie) end up producing The Con?

Sara: We had actually approached John Vanderslice about maybe working with him in his studio in San Francisco. At one point we actually met with John and he told us, “you should meet with Chris Walla and that he would love to record you guys.” And we set up to hang out with him and I really liked him.

We had like 16 or 17 songs at that point, which we sent to him. We had demoed quite extensively and recorded drums and bass and keyboards and everything. They were pretty crazy and pretty epic. After a month he called us and told us that, “I’m totally on board. I love them; I love the songs and just keep doing what you’re doing.” At that point I knew it was going to be a cool, collaborative, kind of relationship, because he was very exuberant from the beginning. I also loved working with Jason McGerr from Death Cab – played drums on the album. And they were both so cool and such nice people. Really, really professional, but not weathered. They are still excited about making music.

The Wake: Both your bands have been around for about the same amount time. But they seem like elder statesmen.

Sara: I think that in America they have been more established from the get go. There first album was on Barsuk. They were a part of that initial indie rock movement. I think there is a tendency to think we’re a newer band then they are, but I think that we have clocked about the same amount of years as a band. But they’ve all been in other projects too. When I’m around them they’re like older brothers or camp counselors, or something.

The Wake: I saw that you have a link to This American Life on your website, great radio program, how did you get into this delightful piece of Americana?

Sara: The girl I was dating for five years, she was American and she came from upstate New York. When we first started dating she always talked about her NPR addiction and all the programs she loved. One of them was This American Life and at some point I really got into it. It is absolutely one of my favorite things in the world. There are times now when people say, “If you could take one thing to a desert island, what would it be?” and I’m like, “who would I take?” and I say Ira Glass (host of the show). I just love him so much. I love the program. It’s like my goal in life to convert as many people as possible to it. I think it’s so interesting and innovative. There’s not one program on it that I’m not interested in. Every time it comes on, I love every episode.

The Wake: It humanizes Americans in a very real way. I really think everybody needs to hear it.

Sara: It’s so completely different then what is shoveled out on American television. American radio. American magazines. It’s really the antithesis of that. That world is so gross and glamorous. Fake. It’s just not authentic. And I think about This American Life and that is the average person’s story. There’s something very endearing, sweet and wonderful about that program.

Tags: Chris Walla, Sara, Tegan, Tegan and Sara, This American Life