History
Tegan and Sara were born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. They initially played as PLUNK and lacked a drummer andbass player. In 1997, they used their school’s recording studio to record two demo albums: Who's in Your Band?and Play Day. They had three demo albums called Orange Demo, Yellow Demo, and Red Demo. In 1998, they made an early breakthrough by winning Garage Warz Battle of the Bands, a local music competition in Calgary.Since then, the two have toured extensively. They are signed to Neil Young's Vapor Records in Canada and to Sirein the United States as their previous label, Sanctuary Records, is no longer releasing new music in the United States.
When they were competing in Garage Warz, they were known as "Sara and Tegan" because that is how their mother registered them on the competition forms. The competition was held at a local bar/club in Calgary, and since the twins were only 17 at the time, they were actually not able to go inside without adult supervision. Their first album, Under Feet Like Ours, was initially released under the name "Sara and Tegan".
While both twins are similarly involved in vocals and playing instruments, the singing of the lead melody usually goes to whichever twin wrote the particular song.
Their fifth album, The Con, was released on July 24, 2007. It was co-produced by Chris Walla. Jason McGerr of Death Cab for Cutie, Matt Sharp of The Rentals (who was with Weezer during The Blue Album and Pinkerton), Hunter Burgan of AFI, and Kaki King appear on the album.
Tegan and Sara are currently wrapping up the production of a new album, produced by Chris Walla and Howard Redekopp, planned to be released on October 27, 2009. It will be called Sainthood.
Accomplishments
Tegan and Sara have been profiled in a number of magazines and their albums have been included on several notable "best of" lists. In the fall of 2003, they graced the cover of ROCKRGRL magazine issue #49, which focused on a tribute to duos. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine named their album So Jealous on their list of the best 50 albums of the year.
Tegan and Sara were nominated for a 2006 Juno Award for Alternative Album of the Year alongside Hot Hot Heat, Metric, The New Pornographers and Broken Social Scene. They were also nominated for 2008 Alternative Album of the Year alongside Arcade Fire, Wintersleep, Holy Fuck and Patrick Watson. The 2008 Junos were presented on April 6 in Calgary, Alberta and they lost to Arcade Fire.
More recently, they appeared on the cover of the Summer 2007 issue of Under the Radar, the March 2008 cover of Alternative Press magazine and Spinner.com placed them at #7 on their list of Women Who Rock Right Now.
In January/February 2009, Tegan and Sara graced the cover of WonkaVision's "Women in Rock" issue, also featuring the likes of Feist, Amy Millan and Kate Nash.
Tegan and Sara were on the cover of the July/August issue of Curve Magazine.
Punk band NOFX's 2009 Album, Coaster, contains a song titled "Creeping Out Sara" (Appears as "Creeping Out Tegan" on Frisbee), which is an obvious reference to the twins.
Personal lives
Tegan currently resides in Vancouver, BC.Although their sexuality is rarely the subject of their songs, the fact that both sisters are lesbians has been the subject of some interest in the press. Both of the twins have repeatedly expressed disappointment that their sexuality is so often focused upon in reviews of their music.
Sara currently resides in Montreal, QC.
Touring
Tegan and Sara have been touring since 2000 (the first being with Neil Young), and finished their 2009 fall US tour to record their latest album. They have recently released new Europe tour dates on their website.
They are famous for their onstage banter; their stories and commentary about their childhood, politics, and life on the road have become an indispensable part of their live shows.
Opening bands like Northern State and An Horse have become household names among Tegan and Sara fans.
Notable touring mates include Neil Young, Rufus Wainwright, The Pretenders, Ben Folds, The Killers, Cake, Gogol Bordello, Hot Hot Heat, Ryan Adams, Death Cab for Cutie, City and Colour, and Weezer. They also performed a show at Sarah McLachlan's Lilith Fair.
They've also been seen on numerous festival lists, including the 2008 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, Austin City Limits, Southbound Festival, Coachella, Cyndi Lauper's True Colors Tour, and most recently Rifflandia.
Publications
Tegan and Sara are releasing an accompaning three volume book set to the album Sainthood, which is to be released on October 27th, 2009.
| Publications | Title | Year |
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| ON, IN, AT | 2009 |
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Television and film
Tegan and Sara have made many television appearances, including Vicki Gabereau's Canadian talk show, CityTV's "Ethnosonic", The Late Show with David Letterman (on more than one occasion), The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, MuchMusic's The New Music and Brad TV, Sonic Temple, Jonovision, Late Night with Conan O'Brien (on more than one occasion), Jimmy Kimmel Live (March 23, 2005) and The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn (November 11, 2004). They also played "Monday Monday Monday" on ZeD, and thus the song appeared on the 2003 CD ZeD: Live Off The Floor. The twins have also featured on the hit TV show the L word.
Their songs have appeared on several soundtracks, including those for the films Monster-in-Law and Sweet November. Tracks are also found on the television shows Grey's Anatomy, Being Erica, The Hills, What's New Scooby Doo, Ghost Whisperer, The L Word, Veronica Mars season 2, One Tree Hill seasons 1 and 2, and jPod. On The N's channel, their song "The Con" was played repeatedly between television programs. Many of their tracks from the CD So Jealous have been used on Grey's Anatomy, particularly in the early seasons. Recently appeared on british tv show Hollyoaks.
In 2006, Tegan and Sara appeared in the L Word episode Last Dance (Season 3, Episode 11).
In the spring of 2008 Tegan and Sara appeared on the kids music television show, Pancake Mountain. In addition to acting in a skit they performed the songs "Back In Your Head" and "Hop A Plane", as well as an acoustic version of "Walking With A Ghost".
