Interview with Reggie And The Full Effect: Final Boarding Call

So what are your plans for after the tour?

Fluxuation full-length, which is done. It’s just a matter of when it’s going to come out. Solo record of just stuff that I’ve written. The other stuff I can’t really talk about because it’s still up in the air. But no, there’s still music coming out.

What’s the solo stuff like musically? Is it similar at all to Reggie?

Yeah, well of course there are similarities to it, but I’m a piano player and I don’t think of myself as a singer. I think of myself as a musician, as a piano player, a percussionist, all that. I just don’t have the chops to compete with the singers these days because I smoke too much and I’m too old.

But I have friends who are great singers and people that I’m going to work with on songs and stuff. Basically, stopping Reggie And The Full Effect, I’ve now opened the doors for whatever else, which is cool. Reggie’s always been that way too; I could kind of do whatever the hell I want, but now I can really do whatever the hell I want. I mean, I might become a rapper. You never know.

Really?

No.

Have you ever rapped before?

Oh yeah, sure—drunk at a wedding.

[Laughs] That could be another persona.

Well, yeah, we’ve already come up with that one because on the tour bus, because everybody wears all black these days, I’ve started wearing all white.

Like Puff Daddy.

Yeah, but my hip hop name is Plasma Donor. That’s how you pay for your weed habit—just by donating plasma because it pays better than blood.

[Laughs] Well, it sounds exciting.

No, it’s not exciting at all. It’s fucking horrible and stupid, but that’s the thing—to me, that’s fun. Just the freedom to do stuff like that is fun and the fact that kids have jumped on the bus with Reggie, the ones that have been hardcore forever, they’re the most amazing people because they get it and they understand what I’m trying to do. I’m not trying to be the emo king, I’m not trying to be anything else other than myself and just have a good time. There’s no reason not to. Why would you want to do something that was horrible?

Reggie And The Full Effect will perform at the Highline Ballroom in New York, NY, on Sept. 7 and at Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, NJ, on Sept. 12. For more info, check out myspace.com/reggieandthefulleffect