Lauralee and Ryan constitute the Lovely Killbots. They are the band. Lauralee sings and plays piano, and Ryan plays drums and backs up Lauralee's vocals. It's pretty straightforward which is good, because I'm a pretty straightforward guy.

Next is IndieCredit No.1. Basically, it's a fundraiser via Kiva, and all the money raised will go to entrepreneurs in developing countries. I knew that this Kiva thing wasn't as straightforward as who-does-what in the Lovely Killbots, so I decided to meet up with them. Since they are headlining the show January 29th, at the Rancho Relaxo, I thought that maybe they could explain the fundraiser better than I.

On a frigid evening, we settled into the Victory Cafe. Ryan ordered the poutine and we all had a round of beers. Then, we discussed the upcoming IndieCredit show.

"It [the IndieCredit show] is for Kiva, and Kiva is a micro-lender. What you do, is you go on their website and you can make a donation -which is really a loan. And you can go through all of these entrepreneurs and have conversations with them, and then decide who you'd like to send money too. The donations are in increments of $25, and what you have to remember is that they are actually loans, so you'll be paid back. Today I invested in a guy who's making furniture."

Lauralee: "Oh did you? Good for you!"

Much better at explaining it than I. At least six times better. Ryan actually started giving me a history lesson on micro-lending, but by then I had lost interest.

2008 has been a busy year for the Lovely Killbots. From playing their first show at The Boat, to releasing their debut album -Primrose Lane- in November. Ryan talked to me a bit about recording the album.

"We did it in blocks [of time] in Ottawa. A friend of Lauralee's family has a studio and he's established himself over the years doing a lot of interesting recordings. I think the first time we went up there he was doing a flute quartet. Not necessarily rock, but he definitely has an ear for music."

Lauralee: "He definitely helped us out. He offered us a lot of help recording the album. It was definitely worth making the trip. I think we spent four weekends with him."

They will be playing IndieCredit with Wendy Leung and Wilderness of Manitoba.

The next opportunity to see them will be February 24, at the Horseshoe Tavern.

Two final important observations. Ryan really enjoyed the poutine, but couldn't eat it all. I also found out that Lauralee is not the kind of person that says they aren't hungry, but then nibbles at what the other person ordered.

Photo by Sevrina Fernandes