Tegan And Sara
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Tegan And Sara Unpack Music & Identity answering-complicated-questions-simple-answers-tegan-and-sara-recount-music-identity
"Answering Complicated Questions With Simple Answers": Tegan And Sara Recount Music & Identity
Jennifer Velez
"In my final years of high school, I recognized that there was a passion. Music was so interesting to us, the culture of music was very interesting to us," Sara from Tegan and Sara told the Recording Academy in 2014 about a time way before they saw success as indie artists. "We just didn't know anybody that made music for a living."
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The sisters are now releasing a memoir titled High School that will recount the beginning of their music career, but also their upbringing, including their parents' divorce, growing up during the '90s rave and grunge culture and their experiences with their sexuality.
The GRAMMY-nominated twin singer/songwriters and musicians from Calgary, Alberta, Canada have become not only one of the most successful and well-known duos in the indie pop scene—selling over one million records and releasing eight studio albums—but also icons in the LGBT community as both have been open about their queer identity.
"How did you start your band? When did you know that you were gay? What were you like before Tegan and Sara? We have spent twenty years answering those complicated questions with simple answers," said Tegan and Sara in statement. "Writing High School gives us the opportunity to tell the intricate stories that shaped our relationship as sisters, musicians, and queer girls."
High School, a memoir by Tegan and Sara, to be published fall 2019. A transcendent story of first loves and first songs, it tangles itself up in the parallel and discordant memories of two sisters growing up down the hall from one another. pic.twitter.com/Z2FGsMC6jn
— Tegan and Sara (@teganandsara) December 11, 2018
The memoir will be written as alternating chapters from both Tegan and Sara's perspectives and will cover love, drugs, music and friendship during the years that shaped them the most.
The two artists began playing music during a time where indie artists didn't have the internet as a platform to share. Post high school, Sara remembers not knowing music could be a career. She reminisced with the Recording Academy:
"We were graduating in 1998, so this is very pre-internet, kind of days for us. I didn't even really realize that there were bands, like indie rock bands or whatever, making a living, so it really only started to happen maybe when I was in my early 20s, maybe 23, 24, 25 that I started to think, 'Oh my God, like, this is our career, like we're actually doing this, we don't have to go get another job now.' So, we sorta fell into it and I don't think there was as much pre-meditation as people have these days."
The book is scheduled to be released in Fall 2019. Their ninth studio album will begin to be recorded in 2019 also.
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A Bowie Celebration Announces Tour Dates bowie-celebration-announces-tour-dates
A Bowie Celebration Announces Tour Dates
A Bowie Celebration will tour cities in Europe in Jan. and early Feb., before hitting U.S. cities including Los Angeles, Houston and New York City
David Bowie's backing bands are heading out on tour to continue the GRAMMY winner's legacy for the third year in a row.
A Bowie Celebration will tour cities in Europe in Jan. and early Feb., before hitting U.S. cities including Los Angeles, Houston and New York City until March.
The tour is formed by Bowie's "longest-leading and most frequent band member" Mike Garson, guitarist Earl Sick, bassist Carmine Rojas, multi-instrumentalist Mark Plati, guitarist Charlie Sexton and vocalists Bernard Fowler and Corey Glover, according to Rolling Stone.
The magazine reports that the band has been joined by several guest vocalists in the past, including Perry Farrell and Evan Rachel Wood, and plays hits like "Rebel Rebel" and "Ziggy Stardust."
"One way or another, David is continuously there with us," Garson said in a statement. "He's on stage each night, in the audience and always in the very essence of each song. We do these shows for the fans who've loved David and his music, and for those who are new to his music-they're about to get hooked. Through this process of the celebration of his music, we do these shows for David who is a constant presence in our minds, hearts and soul."
For more information on the tour see here.
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Musicians Attend Nancy Pelosi's Swearing-In nancy-pelosi-newly-appointed-house-speaker-welcomes-musicians-ceremony
Nancy Pelosi, Newly Appointed House Speaker, Welcomes Musicians To Ceremony
Today marks beginning of Pelosi's second term as House speaker
Jan 3, 2019 - 4:39 pm
Newly elected House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been sworn in at the Capitol on the opening day of the 116th Congress, marking the beginning of her second term as House speaker.
GRAMMY-winning musical legend and Pelosi's longtime friend Tony Bennett and the Grateful Dead's GRAMMY-winning drummer Mickey Hart were among her guests, along with family members, at the ceremony on Jan. 3.
Attending the swearing in ceremony for @SpeakerPelosi at the Capitol today. pic.twitter.com/nNKOnSe4GO
— Tony Bennett (@itstonybennett) January 3, 2019
Pelosi, who beat Republican nominee Kevin McCarthy, is so far the only woman to have been elected House speaker. Her first term was from 2007–2011.
Bennett, who reportedly serenaded Pelosi the night before the ceremony at an exclusive dinner at the Italian Embassy, and Hart took to Twitter to show support for Pelosi, with Bennett tweeting a picture of himself at the Capitol. Hart, meanwhile, retweeted Pelosi with "Proud of our democracy and diversity today."
Proud of our democracy and our diversity today. https://t.co/i591rlkm95
— Mickey Hart (@mickeyhart) January 3, 2019
The new class of Congress includes a record number of women, 127 in total, and is one of the most diverse in its history.
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Australia's Pill Testing Debate Heats Up australias-pill-testing-debate-heats-following-music-festival-deaths
Australia's Pill Testing Debate Heats Up Following Music Festival Deaths
Authorities have threatened to cancel future music fests in order to decrease accidental on-site deaths, but others say pill testing could do more
The conversation over whether pills should be tested at Australian music festivals is intensifying after two recent deaths.
A man died on Dec. 30 of a suspected overdose at the Lost Paradise music festival in New South Wales, and another man died on Jan 1. of a suspected drug overdose after attending the Beyond The Valley festival in Victoria.
Pill testing is one possible solution to the overdose deaths continuing to happen at music festivals in Australia, according to medical experts. But the option has been met with resistance.
Although the Australian Bureau Of Statistics can provide date on the number of people who have died from drug-related cases, the data does not show how many occurred "at large scale public events," according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
In 2016, there were 1,808 drug induced deaths in the country, according to the Australian Bureau Of Statistics. Illicit drugs increased that year, with the death rate from Psychostimulants quadrupling since 1999.
Authorities have threatened to cancel music festival events; the New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said she would do "everything we can" to shut down the Defqon.1 festival after two people died in Sept.
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But some say shutting down festivals is not a realistic way of keeping people from taking illicit drugs and welcome pill testing as a way to decrease deaths.
In the past, Berejikian has had a zero tolerance stance on pill testing, stating: "Anyone who advocates pill testing is giving the green light to drugs. That is absolutely unacceptable."
But as other leaders in parts of Australia rule out pill testing at music festivals, following the recent deaths, the Premier is warming to the idea.
"If there was a way in which we could ensure that lives were saved through pill testing, we would consider it—but there is no evidence provided to the government on that," Berejiklian said, according to the Guardian.
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The country held its first pill test trial at the Groovin the Moo festival in Canberra in April. Participants were able to provide a small sample of their pill(s) or powder to volunteers, who then analyzed the m in a mobile laboratory.
Former Australian Federal Police commissioner has said that the governments have to consider all available evidence to save people's lives, including pill testing.
"Pill testing is not a silver bullet, but it's a proven and positive way to help prevent this kind of tragedy, has majority support from Australians and must be at least trialed on a pilot basis —if it doesn't work, then stop it," Palmer told the Australian.
After the death of the man in New South Wales, Brisbane Water Police district commander Acting Superintendent Rod Peet said, "the best safety message is don't take drugs."
ABC Triple J conducted a survey of 11,000 young people that showed 55% have brought drugs to a festival and 83% would use pill testing, if available.
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Remember These Unexpected GRAMMY Moments? unexpected-grammy-moments-little-richard-evanescence-more
Unexpected GRAMMY Moments: Little Richard, Evanescence & More
You never know what'll happen during Music's Biggest Night
Dec 28, 2018 - 8:42 am
Every year, noted music veterans, up-and-coming artists and everyone in between come together under one roof at the GRAMMY Awards to recognize some of the industry's most talented individuals. But with so many personalities in the room, you never know what could happen!
As 2018 draws to a close and we inch closer to the 61st Annual GRAMMY Awards on Feb. 10, we're looking back at some of the most surprising moments that have taken place on the GRAMMYs stage.
7 Unexpected GRAMMY On-Stage Moments
For starters, at the 30th GRAMMY Awards in 1988, pop icon Little Richard didn't exactly stick to the script when he was announcing the Best New Artist Award alongside proto-punk king Buster Poindexter.
Clad in a tan suit and aviators, Little Richard cracked: "And the Best New Artist is… Me!" Fortunately, the crowd loved it and broke into uproarious laughter.
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"I have never received nothing," he continued. "Ya'll ain't never give me no GRAMMY. And I've been singing for years. I am the architect of rock and roll."
Another unexpected moment happened when Taylor Swift was not present to accept her Best Pop Vocal Album win for 1989 during the 58th GRAMMY Awards in 2016. Jack Antonoff, who wrote and produced a number of songs on the album, went onstage to accept the award and phoned Swift to let her know.
"She's gonna freak, hold on," Antonoff says as the phone rings.
"Hello," Taylor answers.
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"Taylor, it's Jack. I'm not doing a bit. We just won Pop Vocal Album."
"What!?" she replies as the crowd cheers. "We won!!" Taylor can be heard over the cheering crowd.
What'll happen at the 2019 show? Tune in to the 61st GRAMMY Awards on Feb. 10 to find out, and click on the video above to watch more unexpected GRAMMY moments from years past.
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