Sara Interview With Union Tribune

"I'm not a religious person, and I really struggle with the terminology to describe this because people always laugh,” admitted Sara Quin. “We knew instinctually how to make music. We somehow knew that we would be able to succeed. There was a relaxed faith in what I was doing. As soon as I picked up the guitar, I started writing songs. To this day, when I write songs, it's still this very strange chemical reaction that I can't really explain." Click for full article.

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October 25, 2007

Artists often describe the moment of creation – the flash of inspiration that seemingly flows through them rather than from them – in passionate, revelatory language.

For sisters Tegan and Sara Quin, the 27-year-old identical twins had their quasi-religious experience in the basement of their Calgary, Canada, home. They were a couple of teenagers who stumbled upon their stepdad's old guitar. With acoustic in hand, they intuitively knew how to play and write songs.

"I'm not a religious person, and I really struggle with the terminology to describe this because people always laugh," admitted Sara Quin. "We knew instinctually how to make music. We somehow knew that we would be able to succeed. There was a relaxed faith in what I was doing. As soon as I picked up the guitar, I started writing songs. To this day, when I write songs, it's still this very strange chemical reaction that I can't really explain."

The chemical reactions coming from Tegan and Sara make the sisters one of indie rock's best songwriting duos. After the discovery of the acoustic guitar, all the pieces naturally fell in place for a career in music.

"We created our own scene because we were too young to be a part of any other scene," remembered Sara, whose effervescent personality comes through in her music and lyrics. "We played in garages and backyards and basements. We made our own demo tapes and my mom copied the album artwork at her work. Even then, when we were our own little community, I never thought it was going to substitute being a teacher or a lawyer or a social worker. For Tegan and I, the career was built around us before we knew we even had one."

Through a 12-year run, the musicians recorded five albums of indie pop brimming with swirling keyboards and mingling of sweet harmonies. With the early days in Calgary in the review mirror, the sisters now live on opposite sides of Canada, Tegan in Vancouver and Sara in Montreal, adding logistics to the already difficult process of song creation.

They send each other stripped-down versions of song ideas, feedback flows from Vancouver to Montreal and back again, and a song is shaped via long distance.

Most demos are recorded in portable home studios, and they sound like it. Capturing ideas is more important than sound quality. Normally, demo tunes are later polished in a pro studio space.

That's how Tegan and Sara pieced together albums, until they met Chris Walla. The 31-year-old Death Cab for Cutie guitarist signed on to produce Tegan and Sara's 2007 release, "The Con," and he brought a few original ideas to the table.

First, Walla wanted to pick the 14 best songs from the possible demo songs and put them in the order they would eventually appear on the record. He additionally wanted to record the songs in order, creating a concept album feel to songs that were created independently.

Finally, Walla pulled selected vocal and guitar from the demos and used them in the final album mix. With the help of star-studded guest spots that feel natural and unpretentious (from The Rentals' Matt Sharp, Jason McGerr of Death Cab for Cutie, AFI's Hunter Burgan, Kaki King and Walla himself), the album crackles with inventive pop songwriting and spot-on musicianship.

For those planning on attending Tegan and Sara's Tuesday show at Spreckels Theatre downtown, expect lively banter and stories between songs, a trademark of their two-hour shows: "I just want the people who like our band to like us as people. I don't want them to just like our music."