Halloween Birthday Boy Q&A with ENMY’s Brady Reis
Happy Birthday Brady Reis!
Most people get cake and balloons on their birthday. Brady Reis of ENMY gets pumpkins, ghosts, costumes, and a nation-wide excuse for candy overload. That’s right, ENMY’s lead singer was born on Halloween, making him the ultimate “Halloween Birthday Boy.” While fans are out trick-or-treating, Brady’s celebrating with his own brand of spooky fun (and probably some extra candy). We sat down with him to talk about what it’s like sharing your birthday with one of the world’s most haunted holidays and of course — which bandmate would survive a horror movie.
Born on Halloween — do you ever feel like you won the birthday lottery, or is it tough competing with ghosts, goblins, and candy for attention?
A Halloween birthday definitely beats a Christmas birthday! All ghosts, goblins, and candy are welcome at my party. I enjoy when I have birthday parties that people come dressed up in their costumes, it definitely puts a twist on things. Actually, when I was born my god parents showed up in their Tarzan and Jane outfits.
Growing up, were your birthday parties just regular birthdays with cake, or full-on Halloween costume parties?
I’ve got at least one picture of a birthday party that my mom took of a bunch of kids in the basement dressed up. All of the food was Halloween themed and we played games where you’d stick your hand into a box to guess what the item was. Spaghetti or worms, jello or brains, all that good stuff haha. I remember playing pin the head on the Skelton as well. My mom was always super crafty so she would make custom cakes for me and my siblings, mine were just a little cooler, Frankenstein heads, cemeteries, etc. 🤘🏼
Be honest: Do people ever forget to say “Happy Birthday” because they’re too busy saying “Trick or Treat”?
If I’m out with other people I accept trick or treat greetings but if I have friends around, they’re quick to inform anyone that it’s also my birthday, so shout out to them!
Trick-or-Treat time: which bandmate is most likely to hog the candy, and which one’s brave enough to go for the scary houses?
I’m probably the one who’s most likely to hog the candy, sticking a few extras in my pocket. I’m a big fan of KitKats, 100 Grand, Rolos, Snickers, Oreos and if there’s a spooky house that I know has the giant candy bars you better believe I’m goin in!
Do you think being a Halloween baby makes you naturally drawn to the darker side of music?
I’m not sure but I’ve always been curious about that! I will say growing up I was never a fan of “The Monster Mash” whether it was because of the goofy style of it or the Frankenstein sound clips added to it, something just always rubbed me the wrong way haha. Put on some Alakline Trio, Misfits, or Type O Negative and I’ll be much happier!
What’s your go-to Halloween movie, and does it double as a birthday tradition?
I don’t really have much of a tradition when it comes to my birthday but over the years my close friends usually invite me over to watch b-side horror movies (the worse the better) or standards like Return of the living dead, Phantasm, Poltergeist.
If you had to dress up as another rock singer for Halloween, who would it be and why?
The first that comes to mind is Freddie Mercury just because his outfits are iconic, or a Justin Hawkins (The Darkness) jumpsuit maybe?
On a scale of 1 to “haunted house,” how spooky do you think ENMY could get if you leaned into the Halloween vibes for a show?
I think we could lean into it pretty hard, especially with some of the interludes between songs, pulling clips from different movies or having sections that are homages to horror movie themes. I’m just imagining having our local venue decked out in Halloween decorations, coffins and skeletons, steaming cauldrons with signature drinks, that’s not a bad idea!
And finally — it’s your birthday wish! If you could summon one thing from the Halloween spirits for ENMY’s future, what would it be?
I think playing with Rammstein, Avenged Sevenfold, or Ghost would be high on the list but if not those, I’d say playing more festivals like Louder Than Life. I don’t know… Welcome to Rockville or Shiprocked?
As the candles flicker and shadows dance, Brady Reis reigns supreme as ENMY’s official Halloween Birthday Boy. Beware, fans: behind the cake and confetti lurk tricks, treats, and maybe a few eerie surprises in ENMY’s next moves. After all, not every frontman can claim to celebrate their birthday while keeping an eye out for ghosts… and still shred like a monster on stage.
