They recently returned to Chicago after a successful tour this past summer with k.d. lang. Out on the road the duo called in for a Nunn on Two interview.

Windy City Times: Hello, Barbara and Ethan. Where in the world are you right now?

Barbara Gruska: We are in Austin, Texas, currently.

WCT: So you are a brother-and-sister act. How did that happen?

BG: We are. We always grew up playing music but separately. I'm six years older than Ethan so we never collaborated when we kids or even when I was young adult. Literally, he graduated high school and we started the band.

WCT: Where did you grow up?

BG: Los Angeles.

Ethan Gruska: We are L.A. kids.

WCT: Did you study music in school?

BG: Yes. I went to Oberlin College for a year and CalArts for two years for jazz drums.

EG: I went to CalArts for composition.

WCT: How long have you been together as a band?

BG: About three years.

WCT: How did you come up with the very adorable "Losers" video?

EG: We didn't have much to do with the concept of the video. It was our first video. We had never done anything like it. We were just looking at directors. A few people we had worked with recommended David Altobelli. He came up with this concept. We watched some of his other videos and the way he made things look was really cool and emotional. We were definitely down to hang with dogs all day because we are dog freaks.

WCT: Do you have pets?

EG: We do. Barb has a pet named Yaffa who I have adopted as my soul mate. She is the craziest being on the planet but she is awesome.

WCT: You don't live together just work together, correct?

BG: Last year we lived together. This year we practically lived together because we were on the road together all the time. When we lived in the same house we lived in separate rooms now we have the same room every night.

WCT: So now you are going to be on the upcoming Twilight: Breaking Dawn Soundtrack. Are you fans of the movie or books?

BG: I have never been a Twilight head but now I am a fan.

WCT: Are you going to see the movie?

BG: Hell, yeah!

WCT: Then you can see where the song plays in the movie. What's the name of the track?

BG: It's called "I Didn't Mean It."

WCT: What is it about?

BG: It's about somebody who says something they didn't mean to somebody they love out of jealousy and really regrets it.

WCT: I saw you open for k.d. lang at Ravinia.

EG: Yes that was fun!

WCT: How did you wind up on her tour?

EG: She is part of Nonesuch Records, which is what we are on. We have a few people in common that we work with but a mutual friend played her our CD and she was a fan of it. Somehow we all hooked up. It was out of the blue on our end of it. We were ecstatic when we found out that we were going to spend a few weeks with them. We are not only fans of them, but her and the band are the greatest people on the planet.

WCT: Is there more of a LGBT angle to The Belle Brigade than opening for k.d.?

BG: Other than the fact that I am a huge gay person and entirely homosexual, no. [All laugh.]

EG: There is not a LGBT message to our music but we are definitely cool with that.

BG: Gay people are pretty all right with me.

WCT: Are you single?

BG: I'm not. I have a fiancé.

WCT: Well, hopefully gay marriage will happen for your state.

BG: I think it is coming soon for California. I have a feeling about it.

For more on The Belle Brigade visit www.thebellebrigade.com .