Out alternative-rock multi-instrumentalists and twin sisters Tegan and Sara are touring behind their latest album — the gloriously synthpop-drenched “Love You to Death” — performing in our neck of the woods Nov. 3 at The Fillmore Philadelphia.
The album’s first single, “Boyfriend,” written by Sara, struck a chord with the group’s fans as a song inspired by a bisexual love triangle in which the narrator feels sometimes like a lover and other times like a friend.
Tegan said at first they didn’t think the song was going to connect with fans across the board like it did.
“Obviously, we love the song and thought it turned out really great, but it wasn’t what we thought was going to be the first single,” she said. “When the label suggested it as the first single, Sara wrote this big e-mail to us wondering if the label was sure and explaining it’s a pretty progressive song thematically. I suppose it’s a good thing that we’re not obsessed with how people react to songs with potentially a message that is more alternative than what is out in the mainstream. The reaction to the song was so funny and awesome across the board. We got a lot of tweets from dudes saying they said the exact thing. But then a lot of people from the LGBTQ community were reaching out and saying they had the exact same thing happen to them. It was this amazing uniting experience. We’ve all been in that position where you really are invested in somebody and they’re treating you like their boyfriend but they are not locking it down with you. So it was kind of cool.”
When Tegan and Sara started out as Canadian indie rockers, they each wrote songs on their own to bring to the group.
On their more recent albums, that creative process has changed as the two have started writing together.
“Every song we’ve written has been registered 50/50,” she said. “Sara and I have always been partners in that sense. With me with ‘Closer’ and with Sara with ‘Walking With A Ghost’ — which were our two biggest radio songs in America — we both have to do the same amount of work so we’ve always left it as a 50/50 split. With the last few records, it was obvious that when we collaborated we were able to add a different vision and voice. We play almost, like, an editor role with each other, which we would have never done early on in our career. Oh my god, if Sara would have made a suggestion I would have had a full-blown meltdown. But I think as we’ve gotten stronger and more evolved, we’ve become really focused on our craft and want to write great songs. I think because we’re so focused on the songwriting, it’s easier to collaborate because I feel like she’s helping.”
Outside of the group, Tegan and Sara, individually and as a duo, have collaborated with a wide range of artists, from DJs Tiësto and David Guetta to hard rockers like Against Me and members of AFI.
Tegan said many of these collaborations come from genuine mutual admiration.
“It’s kind of like meeting friends or dating,” she said about the artists with whom they collaborate. “It happens in very different ways each time. With Tiësto, he reached out after he had done the remix of ‘Back in Your Head.’ This was before every artist on the planet got remixes. We loved it and we’d been big fans of Tiësto so we were pretty stoked. We were still an indie-rock band. We saw how huge it was. He was out playing to 10,000 people a night and he was playing our music video with our remix. He had us come up and sing our remixes at Bonnaroo. It was incredible seeing 25,000 people going nuts. So we just opened the door to it. Instead of saying no when artists wanted to collaborate or write with us, we would do it. Other relationships happened more organically. With Against Me, I was backstage at Warped Tour in Vancouver in 2006 and Much Music — which is like the Canadian MTV — asked if I would interview the band. And just in the middle of the interview, I said, ‘If you ever need a female vocalist, I want to join the band.’ And then they reached out. They were in the studio and had me come in and sing.”
In 2014, Tegan and Sara performed at the closing ceremony of WorldPride in Toronto, an event that drew well over a million revelers to the city.
Tegan said they were “super-stoked” to be invited to perform at the festival.
“It was thrilling,” she said. “We’ve done big festivals and opening slots for other bands. So there was something really exciting about the fact that it was WorldPride and it was in Toronto. We haven’t done a lot of Pride events because most of them unfortunately don’t have the money or the ability to bring in big bands. The fact that WorldPride was so heavily supported by the government and the community, it was just a thrill for us to be able to be there and celebrate with our community.”
As Canadians who spend a lot of their time professionally and personally in the United States, Tegan and Sara have an interesting perspective of the current climate here — and how it is perceived by our northern neighbors.
“We’re very, very in touch and following what’s happening in the States,” she said. “Especially in this political atmosphere, it would be completely irresponsible of us not to take a stand and say something on stage every night. We’re reminding people that they need to register and vote. Obviously everyone can probably guess how we’d want them to vote but it’s not just about that. It’s about being involved and understanding the ballot and knowing what other bills are on the ballot. It’s really easy to tweet your political opinions about things but that is not social change. People need to get involved. We consider ourselves activists and we are working very hard behind the scenes to help move things forward.”
She added that Canada’s population and political structure make for a different environment.
“We’re just a smaller country. We have less people in Canada than you do in California. We’re not as polarized as a country. We have a multi-party system. There’s more representation. There’s less of a divide in our country. I feel that internationally people look to Canada when it comes to social change as an example and I hope we’re influencing America in a small way. America is a great country. Our partners are from America. We spend more time in America than we do in Canada. Our families live in America. I love this country and it’s really sad what’s happening right now, and I don’t think it’s representative of half of the country. So we’re following it closely and I have all my fingers and toes crossed for Nov. 8.”
Tegan and Sara perform 8 p.m. Nov. 3 at The Fillmore Philadelphia, 1100 Canal St. For more information or tickets, call 215-625-3681 or visit www.teganandsara.com.