Vancouver Crush

Hi all,

Thanks to everyone who came out to see us talk about CRUSH in Vancouver. If you weren’t there these are some of the questions we didn’t get to that night. Enjoy!

Sara

Q: Will you ever record the song from the Junior High book?

A: All music created for Junior High is included in the audiobook version. Tegan and our friend Kate Cooper wrote some music inspired by Crush, which we’re holding onto for a potential future project. So, what you hear now is all for the moment.

Also Kate is a genius and has made some of my favourite albums ever: AN HORSE or the band that brought us together originally IRON ON but also, COOPER

Q: What’s your favorite part of writing?

A: My favorite part is the initial creative phase, where it’s all unknown. That feeling right before everything clicks. I have a process but when the ideas arrive, it’s as if they’ve been plucked from some other dimension. It’s an incredible feeling.

Q: Are blue and orange your favorite colors?

A: I prefer green over blue and lean more toward pinks and purples over orange.

Q: What’s your writing process like as two writers working on one book?

A: It’s challenging, especially with fiction, because we have different voices and visions. We’re still figuring out the best way to merge our styles in a way that serves the story. Two pens and one paper. Its damn hard!

Q: Would you ever consider writing a business book?

A: I’m flattered by the idea. I don’t think it’s a no—maybe one day?

Q: Who were your favorite queer role models growing up?

A: My role models were musicians and artists like Ani DiFranco, Courtney Love, Kurt Cobain, and Billy Corgan—people who, whether they stated it or not, were LGBTQ+ allies. Later, I found queer community in personal connections rather than through celebrities. That was seminal to my growth but also in helping me to understand my own internalized homophobia.

Q: How has being twins and queer influenced your career?

A: These identities are part of who we are and couldn’t be changed. Our twinness and queerness made us unique, which has helped us stand out. And it made us feel comfortable in our skin and less affected by fame, which has helped us stay grounded. I find it difficult to imagine Tegan as a straight person, and so it’s challenging to think about how that might have changed our band. So much of what drew people to us was how similar our experiences were. In some ways it made us braver, which in turn, inspired so many people in our audience. Obviously, it goes without saying that you can be straight, and inspiring too.

Q: Favourite beverage to drink while writing?

A: Coffee, and it should be water.

Q: Favourite song you’ve written and why.

A: We spend a lot of time thinking about why this question intrigues people so much. Perhaps it would feel thrilling to know if we have the same favourite song as you (the listener) or as each other. Now that I’m thinking about it, I would be curious to know if Bruce Springsteen thinks Nebraska is his greatest album, or if Billy Corgan still marvels at the genius of “Today.”

I think most of what Tegan wrote for The Con is brilliant. “Call it off,” and “Nineteen” specifically. In some ways they were both songs of deep reflection, whereas her earlier work was more reactionary to situations and breakups she was dealing with in the moment.

Of my own? I find that harder to narrow down. I am going through a phase of loving Sainthood, and I think some of those lyrics resonate (still) very deeply with me. Downtown, from So Jealous, is transporting in a way that can knock the breath out of me. I love Yellow, and early demo versions of Back In Your Head.

Q: How detailed is the script you give Tillie Walden.

A: The scripts for Crush and Junior High were extremely detailed. Not just dialog or descriptions of setting, they also included clothing, facial expressions, emojis for texts, etc. It was so fun to get into the minutia of the art, and see which parts Tillie kept. She also went wild, adding her own layers, and expanding on what we included. It was a blast.

Q: Do you tend to recognize your consistent fans or does everyone become a blur?

A: There are definitely folks we recognize, especially if they come to a string of events, or shows in a row. Obviously, over the years certain fans have become recognizable, and familiar to us because we interact, or (re)connect during each album cycle. The vast majority are more of a “blur,” though I don’t know that I would describe them as such. For most of us (even lead singers in bands) the world is made up of mostly strangers, and there is only so many people we can hold in our mind, before we hit capacity. When I think of our fans, and the countless shows, events, and moments we’ve performed or spoken in front of an audience, it is a feeling, more than a visual that comes up for me. It's an energy more than a series of familiar faces.

Q: Who are your celebrity crushes?

A: I don’t currently have a celebrity crush. Which as I write that, feels sort of strange. But, in general I find it harder and harder to get crush feelings. Perhaps that is a sign of maturity, or I’m literally dead inside.