In last week’s Music Issue, we had a review of the hot new CD from gay musical twins Tegan and Sara. Now, our Chris Azzopardi sat down with the sister act for this one-on-one … or, one-on-two.

Sister Act

They’ve been on the verge of straight-up pop music for years, but Tegan and Sara are going all in with Heartthrob. Don’t think they’re all happy and stuff, though.

“It’s our most heartbreaking record,” says Tegan Quin. “It’s a great record for people who loved our past music. It’s just that they have to get past the sound.”

The sound she’s referring to was captured in all its heavenly bliss when their seventh album’s first single, “Closer,” instantly aligned itself with some of the best pop songs of the mid ’90s. We revisited that defining era in music — and even before then, when the girls were hanging New Kids on the Block posters in their bedroom — during our interview with the Quin sisters.

Dallas Voice: Are your house parties anything like the one in the video for “Closer”?  Sara: We were reimagining our teen years when we were putting this video together. In middle school and high school, we loved house parties. Our house parties then would’ve been an R-rated version of this. We were fairly disgusting and doing things that I would be embarrassed to have on camera. I’m like an old woman now. A house party for me now means more than two people over and me going to the store to get wine. [Laughs]

Tegan: Our house parties have gotten quite a bit less interesting than they were when we were younger. I still think we can throw down a pretty mean shindig, but we don’t generally do karaoke. And I’ve never had a costume party.

“Closer” could really be the theme song to somebody’s first kiss. What songs remind you of your first?  Sara: There’s something about Björk, because this girl I had a crush on loved [Post], and if I hear it now I’m completely transported back to high school. I never could have told her that I felt something for her, that I had a crush, so whenever I hear any songs off of Post I immediately go there.

Tegan: I remember discovering Ani DiFranco and really embracing the side of me that liked girls. I was also really into Ace of Base and I would sit in my parents’ huge Jacuzzi tub in their bathroom and fill up the tub after school and sit in it and talk on the phone [with my friends] and listen to that Ace of Base record over and over again. It’s so weird that I was naked the whole time. [Laughs]

Was your first kiss with a boy?  Tegan: My first kiss was with a boy. If anything, I loved having boyfriends because I could talk about how much I liked girls with them all the time. [Laughs] In my teen years I dated boys but I didn’t hate it. I wasn’t like, “Oh, gross.” And then I kissed a girl and was like, “One’s not right and one is definitely awesome.”

For this album you really immersed yourself in ’80s and ’90s pop music. What was the first pop album you owned?  Sara: My first choice as a child was New Kids on the Block. We had all the records, sleeping bags and posters. Everything you could possibly have. Then I branched into punk, grunge, rock and indie rock. It’s only recently, in the last six or seven years, that I’ve gotten back into what I would now classify as pop music.

Tegan: New Kids on the Block was huge for us. That first cassette tape that came out in 1986 was, besides children’s music, the first music that we picked ourselves. It was very empowering. Around that same time, I remember really getting excited about Michael Jackson, because he was on the radio all the time. In sixth and seventh grade it was Janet Jackson, Paula Abdul and Ace of Base. I think our parents were slightly horrified because we grew up with U2 and Bruce Springsteen, so we were much more blue-collar than that. Then came dance music — as much as we were total punkers and really into hardcore music, we were really into dance music, too. And then we got into Nirvana and we’d go to raves on the weekend. We were very confusing. [Laughs]

Why didn’t a full-on pop album come before this one? Are you just at a point in your career where you don’t really care what people think?  Sara: We’ve been around now for 13 years, and you almost do stop caring what people think. If anything, you try to stop caring because you think to yourself, “We made some of our best music when we didn’t have an audience. We didn’t think anybody cared about us. So maybe it’s best to go back to when you’re trying to excite yourself and the band, and ultimately people will gravitate toward that.”

Tegan: I think we were self-conscious. We didn’t think we could just jump right in, and I’m so glad we didn’t. I think we would’ve alienated our audience — and I also think we would’ve just alienated ourselves from our genre, as well. We were so indie rock that if, all of sudden, we made a pop record, they would’ve been like, “What the fuck?” This gradual evolution has been necessary. I don’t think we would’ve existed if we had tried to do it differently.

Did you worry about the hipsters who can’t really appreciate anything beyond that angsty indie rock?  Tegan: No. It’s not necessarily hipsters, but there is a certain type of person who is really interested in what’s cool and being hip, but they don’t actually buy records. So when we sat down to make this record with Greg Kurstin, we talked about our fears. He said, “Don’t worry about your fans. You wrote great songs. Who cares if you put a bunch of keyboards on it? That is what you’re listening to; it’s what you’re inspired by. Embrace that part of yourself and don’t worry.”

Heartthrob is that record where I just want people who love that record. We’ll take anybody. I don’t really care. If people from the dance world like it, great. If people from the indie world like it, great. If it’s those people who like Lady Gaga and Katy Perry, that’s fine, too.

Sara, feeling isolated within the queer community and not having LGBT role models is what inspired your song “I’m Not Your Hero.” But you had Tegan. Most people would think that would be the best kind of support. Is that not the case?  Sara: Certainly having Tegan in my life has meant that I feel inherently supported, because I have someone who is like me and who is going through a lot of the same experiences I am. My life would be entirely different if Tegan were straight. I’ve always had this person who reflects, for good and for bad, so much of me. We look the same, and we enjoy so many of the same things and have so many of the same ideas about the world. We have this band and we also share this culture and identity of being queer.

I can say all that now as an adult in my 30s, when I’ve built a whole language for myself around that identity — but when I was 15, 16, 17, I didn’t have any of that. In fact, I had no idea if I was really gay or if Tegan was gay. I didn’t understand any of that. I was astoundingly confused and blind about what was really going on, and there was lots of loneliness in that.

Talking about feeling isolated within the queer community is so hard. It’s hard enough when you just sort of exist within a community and sometimes you feel like they’re actually not representative of you or like that’s all you have. It’s complex, and there was a time in my life where I felt all of those things. It gets even more complex when you are a public person and now you represent both people. You feel sometimes there’s a burden there, and sometimes you feel proud and other times you feel like everybody is mad at you because you’re not saying the things they would say. It’s complicated.

Is it a double-edged sword to talk about being lesbians because you care about the gay rights movement but also because you just want to be musicians?  Tegan: I won’t deny that there have times in the last 12 years that I wish we never said we were gay. It overshadows the music, for sure. But honestly, and without coming off cheesy, every single day right now it feels like I run into someone who tells me a story about them or someone they know or their kids where they found comfort in that we’re different and we’re outspoken, whether it’s because we’re gay or because we’re women or because we have funny haircuts.

There seems to be people finding incredible comfort and inspiration and empowerment in who we are. We’ve had people be like, “Oh, they’re gay” or “Oh, that’s gay music” or “I don’t like gay people,” but we gain so much from being out that it kind of neutralizes that. Like, I don’t care. There have been moments where it’s been dark, where someone is really homophobic, and I just wanna, like, run away and hide. Instead I just pick up a 2-by-4, metaphorically speaking, and bash through it and keep getting up on stage and being proud of who we are.

I know so many people who are closeted, and I make fun of them. I’m like, “You’re so ridiculous. What career are you protecting? You’re supposed to be selling your art. You’re supposed to be projecting this image, and you’re just clouding your image because you are not proud of you are.” You have to be proud. In the end, who cares if I was cool or not. Did I make change? Did I help the world? That should be more important.

What’s more challenging: growing up gay or a twin?  Sara: I would say being gay. I had no other experience to compare it to. I always had a best friend. I always felt like I had someone who was someone I could check in with. We always had each other. But I think being gay is so complex and I felt incredibly isolated in that, in not understanding my identity. The world at large is projecting an image of heteronormativity all the time, and you’re thinking, “I’m not like that. I don’t behave like that.”

Tegan: Being a twin, because we didn’t come out until we were almost out of high school. I didn’t feel weird about being gay, because we had gay friends and we had a really alternative group of friends and my mom was a social worker. Being a twin and just always being grouped together — always having to share same stories, the same friends, everything — it was so hard. That was way harder.

If you’re having a disagreement in the studio, who wins that battle?  Tegan: It depends on who wrote the song. If it’s Sara’s song and she disagrees with me, she ultimately has veto power … which is annoying, because a lot of times I’m right. [Laughs]

Sara: We’re fairly democratic in the studio. We’ve never really had a huge blowout over a decision about a song in the studio. We’ve had blowouts about a lot of things, but it’s not usually like, “Hey, I think this guitar should be like this.”

What’s your biggest pet peeve about each other?  Sara: She’s incredibly stubborn, and there’s this impulsive go-for-it attitude — and sometimes that drives me crazy when it seems like it’s going against me. But when it’s in terms of bringing us to the next level, I love that confidence and bold-headed stubbornness. That’s when I think, “Yes, go for it” … as long as it’s not directed at me! [Laughs]

Tegan: It would take me 24 hours to tell you all my pet peeves. We’ve been doing a lot of vocal work —  lots of warming up and warming down — but she doesn’t warm up and warm down in her space or on her time; she does it right in the middle of the dressing room while we’re trying to talk before we go on stage. It makes me wanna tackle her.

Have you tackled her?  Tegan: When we were young. I haven’t physically attacked her in probably, like, 15 years.

You can reach Chris Azzopardi here.

BACK IN THE GAME

There are bad romances, and then there’s the kind that Rufus Wainwright had during the making of his latest album, Out of the Game. The troubadour got smitten with super-producer Mark Ronson, who added a pop bend to Wainwright’s classical leanings. Love at first sight? Just about.

“One day, we finally hung out at this party — at the U.N., of all places — and we were just completely enamored of each other,” Wainwright says. “Needless to say, we went into the studio and struck up not only a great musical relationship but a great friendship … and, at least from my end, a huge crush.”

And the singer doesn’t just give his love away: He recently slammed Lady Gaga for being “predictable and boring,” setting off a media (and gay mafia) frenzy.

In our interview, after the jump, Wainwright talked about those comments, the eyes that comforted him during his mother’s death and the evolution of his gayness.

Dallas Voice: How did this “love affair” between you and Mark Ronson begin?  Wainwright: I had heard of the legend of Mark Ronson for many years. In fact, we had done shows together in the past, but because he’s a DJ he was always on much later than I was, so we never really crossed paths. Then, word got out that I wanted to work with him and word got out that he wanted to work with me, and we were both very excited.

Is there a sex tape?  There’s not a sex tape. There’s an audio sex tape that we will make at some point and get to you. [Laughs]

Your classical and theatrical sensibilities are still present on the album, but what was it like to meet Mark, because of his pop leanings, in the middle?  As much as he’s involved and immersed and knowledgeable of the pop world, for really over most of the 20th century, I am, by the same token, involved in opera and classical music. We could both appreciate each other’s dedication to our respective musical genres, and that kind of ignited this exchange between us. I didn’t feel like I had to relate to what he was telling me and he didn’t feel the same with me, either; we just had to enjoy what we had to give, and there was no pressure in that respect.

Does songwriting come easier to you now than it did at the beginning of your career?  It doesn’t seem to have abated much over the years. I don’t know if that’s a personal decision or kind of a natural function. I mean, I do seem to hurl myself into these situations where I have to write songs or I have to learn new material or come up with something, so physically, it’s a job that has to get done. But it always gets done somehow. I don’t want to get too descriptive of it, because then it might disappear. [Laughs]

During “Sometimes You Need,” you refer to the effect of movie stars on our lives, on your life. Who did you have in mind?  I’m being very specific, actually. There’s a friend of mine, Quinn Tivey, and he’s Elizabeth Taylor’s grandson. I had just met him, and he’s a lovely guy and he has his grandmother’s eyes — those amazing violet eyes, Black Irish eyes … or at least they look Black Irish to me. At the time, my mother was very ill [Kate McGarrigle died in early 2010], and I went to L.A. to see him, and there was just something about staring into those Taylor eyes that I found incredibly soothing and distracting in the face of this horrific experience.

What’s the last movie that changed your life?  I was a big fan of Melancholia. I loved that movie. I really got it. You know, I didn’t necessarily get Lars von Trier’s last movie — the one with the bloody penis in it [2009’s Antichrist].

Tell us about the track “Montauk.”  It’s a postcard, shall we say, to my daughter Viva, welcoming her to her future home and hoping that she enjoys it. Superman has Krypton and Rufus has Montauk — that’s where I go to reboot.

And it also works as a commentary on gay parenting.  Yes. Arguably, that could be the first big major song about having two dads on a mainstream level.

You’re getting married to longtime partner, Jörn Weisbrodt, in August. What finally sold you on the idea of marriage?  I’m not on the fence about it, of course; it’s happening. But I do think we’re still in the process of defining what gay marriage is, and it’ll take some time. But you can really only define it by doing it, you know? [Laughs] So I don’t think anything is set in stone about what it means or how it’s going to go down, but I do think we need to move forward and figure that out.

For you, what’s the most important part of the ceremony?  I don’t know. I am in the process of picking who I want to marry me, meaning, do we want the priest, do we want the sheriff or do we want the pope? [Laughs] I don’t think we’re going to get the pope. So that’s where I am right now, figuring out who’s actually going to do the ceremony, and that’s bringing up some questions for me. I’m kind of shying away from the religious end of it at the moment.

Your idea of gay back in the day was this old-school personification, kind of like Oscar Wilde. How has your idea of gayness evolved from then till now?  I still love that Oscar Wilde persona and I haven’t put that to bed yet in certain ways, but I also think that my belief in maturity is more of a Hindu theory, where over the years you become all of these different people and by the end, you’re sort of this cast of characters. I learned a lot from those bohemian days and respect it tremendously, but nonetheless, I want to survive and go onto the next level and experience other things. It’s more of just adding things to the recipe.

You used to have a thing for cigarettes and chocolate milk. What are your current cravings?  My boyfriend just got a job in Toronto and I have this thing now for maple syrup. I just tip it into my mouth and guzzle it straight from the bottle.

Since this album is being called “your most pop album,” what contemporary pop do you listen to? We know it’s not Gaga.  [Laughs] I really appreciate what Arcade Fire has been able to accomplish, especially with all of their success last year. It was really fantastic to watch. Also, Adele is tearing everything up and really paving the way for both me and other artists who want to be a little different from the norm. I think it’s a good time.

Would you take back your comments on Gaga?  I don’t dislike her. There’s just not a single song [that I like] there. I can’t hum one of her tunes. And her whole, “You’re like me” thing? How can you say that with a piece of cheese on your head? I certainly had an appreciation for Madonna, but Madonna wasn’t like that. She wasn’t all, “You’re like me.” She was, “You’ll never be like me.”

Won’t it make it awkward should you and Gaga be at the same gay benefit?  Perhaps if she sings one of my songs, that would rectify it.

The video premiered tonight on E! Online. M.D.N.A. is set for release March. 26.

Even though Sia hasn’t quite made into the big time on the pop charts, she’s developed a strong following. The lez singer recalls the vein of Robyn, with smart pop music that keeps us coming back. She’s sold out here, but the venue has been releasing tickets so keep an eye out.

DEETS: With Oh Land and Ximena Sarinana. Granada Theater, 3524 Greenville Ave. 8 p,m. $24. GranadaTheater.com.

Take one part radio friendly diva, another part alt-pop queen and put them on tour together and bam, it’s like Candyland for pop music. Where Katy Perry delivers irresistible bubblegum treats, Robyn gives steely dance gems and the audience wins with both on hand the same night. DJ Skeet Skeet opens up the night for this stop of the California Dreams Tour.

Both artists weren’t too much in the interviewing mood, but we kinda dig Cat Downes’ faux interview with the two here.

DEETS: Verizon Theatre, 1001 Performance Place, Grand Prairie. 7:30 p.m. $45. Ticketmaster.com.

PS. If you’re a  fan of Robyn, catch her DJ set after the show at the Rio Room.

Your weekday morning blend from Instant Tea:

1. A Maryland Senate panel on Thursday advanced marriage equality legislation that now appears to have enough votes to pass the full chamber — but just barely. If the Senate approves the measure, it is expected to pass the House and be signed by the governor, which would make Maryland the sixth state to legalize same-sex marriage, in addition to the District of Columbia.

2. Training is under way in all four military service branches to prepare for the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell.” The Army, the largest service branch, kicked off DADT repeal training Wednesday and is expected to take the longest to complete it — until mid-August.

3. Another week, another big gay pop music release. Britney Spears’ new video for “Hold It Against Me” is above.

Lambert at his Palladium show in Dallas.

Dylan Lewis of For Your Consideration out of Australia talked with Adam Lambert in this video below about all things music. In it, Lambert reveals a possible November/December release for an acoustic album which would put it head-to-head with Justin Bieber’s recent announcement. I wonder who would rein supreme acoustically as pop music’s current king.

Lambert also discusses his desire to work with Christina Aguilera and plans for his sophomore release sometime next spring or summer. Actually, he’s just theorizing it at this point. Clearly this acoustic thing is just a “project” and not his second album. He says this acoustic album will contain stripped-back renditions of previously released songs.

The roster of players is always impressive with at least one band that should appeal to the finickiest of music lovers. But I got a little curious as to finding the gay angle to ACL, which really is just seeing who’s playing that also plays on the LGBT side of the fence. Plus, I hope you won’t mind just a couple of non-gay recommendations along the way.

Friday night — If you missed them Wednesday night, Vampire Weekend, below,  plays at 7 p.m. on the ZYNC Card stage. I feel like I’ve pointed to gay member Rostam Batmanglij a lot this past week, but really, the band’s live show has a reputation of greatness. I wouldn’t know. Although The Strokes don’t have any confirmed gay members, there was that gay porn incident.They play at 8 p.m. on the AMD stage.

Saturday — What’s up with all the bears in rock music lately? Bear in Heaven, below, isn’t really very bearish, but I’d recommend their sorta psychedelic pop. They perform at 1:30 p.m. on the ZYNC Card stage. The xx isn’t a porn rating at ACL, it’s the name of one of the bigger buzz bands of the moment. With good reason. It’s hard to put this any other way: Their sophisticated Brit new wave is the shit. Forget the dancey ’80s type of new wave, this is sexy stuff.

Saturday night is the night with The Temper Trap, Muse, Gogol Bordello and M.I.A. all performing, but I’ll select the must-see as LCD Soundsystem. Seriously, I would have, like, 10,000 of his babies because James Murphy, below, the man behind LCDS, is quite possibly the coolest guy on earth who has been making some of the more innovative pop music of the past decade. He plays the Budweiser stage at 6:30 p.m. With all the greatness playing tomorrow night, there isn’t much that reps the LGBT side. However, Ozomatli plays at the Clear 4G stage at 7 p.m. They released “Gay Vatos in Love” this year causing a stir with the pro-gay tune from a Latino perspective.

Sunday — Where Saturday’s lineup seems to fit all together, Sunday’s is a bit all over the place. This is a good thing, but again, not much gay. The band Gayngs isn’t at all but they could be a fascinating watch. They are like the Polyphonic Spree of rock with over 20 members onstage at times. Do see The National on the Honda stage at 7 p.m. At the risk of objectifying their brilliant smoky folk, which should be the soundtrack to Jim Jarmusch/David Lynch mashups, singer Matt Berninger’s baritone is one of the sexiest things to ever be recorded. Hey, just sayin’.

Dallas doesn’t find itself too often in the middle of a gay live music dilemma. This weekend, two musicians might get to bring their sounds to the masses. That is, if LGBT Dallas heads out to support their own.

Tommy Hernandez was mostly on the local music scene as a solo artist but his latest venture takes him away from pop music into a trancey realm. As one half of Museum Creatures, he and Stephen Holmes go the electronica route.

Museum Creatures is part of the Mercy for Animals Benefit at the Cavern on Lower Greenville. They share a heavy bill with Soft Environmental Collapse, Division of Power and more for the Rockout for Animals show.

Patrick Boothe approaches music with a raw attitude. In his latest release, Jump In, a five song EP, he explores his darker side.

Boothe relocated from Dallas to Austin partly to be near the music industry there. A lonely spell set in and provided inspiration for his newest set of songs. But he’s confident his gay audience will relate.

“I do have a mostly gay audience and they don’t listen to just the poppy music at gay clubs and bars you always hear.”

He’s alt-rock with a piano but more in the vein of Tori Amos. Yet, maybe a bit louder.

“It’s just me and a piano but it’s gonna be loud. I sing pretty loud and I’m not a classically trained pianist so it can get intense at times.”

He’s alt-rock with a piano but more in the vein of Tori Amos. Yet, maybe a bit louder.

“It’s just me and a piano but it’s gonna be loud. I sing pretty loud and I’m not a classically trained pianist so it can get intense at times.