Purveyors of: Stiletto-pop, new wave, arpeggios and songs that are universal in appeal
File next to:  Pop duos, one half of whom is conspicuously more glam than the other: Goldfrapp, La Roux, Eurythmics, etc.
Playing: WL 579 a.k.a. “Halloween You! Sexy Monster: A Slow Scary Riot for New Zombie Kanada,” Thursday Oct. 31 at the Monarch Tavern.

Light Fires follow in the grand tradition of electro-pop duos comprised of an outré front-person and a non-descript dude that prefers to remain in the shadows of said frontperson’s wig. In this case, Regina The Gentlelady – a.k.a. the drag alter-ego of indie rocker Gentleman Reg, a.k.a. Reg Vermue – is the high-energy singer, and James Bunton – a.k.a. Jamie, a.k.a. that guy from Ohbijou – is her songwriting and producing partner. Together they composed Face, a debut album that transposes Vermue’s smart and wry lyrical observations on life into unabashedly effusive synth-pop anthems. The whole thing is available to purchases ethically and legally via Bandcamp. Kevin Ritchie recently caught up with Reg/Regina to discuss dressing-up and other dualities looming large over Wavelength’s Halloween Night show.

How will Regina approach Halloween? If her whole look is “real girl” drag, how will the real girl do Halloween?
Good question because I haven’t figured out my costume yet! But the typical real girl would be something sexy and I do like to bring in a little sexiness regardless.

So you are not opposed to the sexy Halloween costume?
Well, you know... It’s different when I do it! It’s less of a cop-out, I think. But yes, I saw a sexy cob of corn in a photo the other day and I was like, what is happening? It’s the epitome of non-creative costumes: anything can be sexy! Even doing drag on Halloween, it’s so funny to see how regular straight people get when they actually see good Halloween costumes. Walking home on Saturday night to catch a cab – because it took an hour to catch a cab – people were like “Oh my god, what are you?” I was like, “I’m a girl.”

How is Regina received in the indie rock world versus the gay club world?
To be honest, I do more of the rock world because that’s where I come from. That’s what I enjoy more because it’s more about the music, which is ultimately what Light Fires is about. Drag was always a secondary thing. The band started before I had even invented Regina and then I thought, maybe I should bring Regina into the band? The drag aspect is more about the live show because I’m not necessarily in the mindset of Regina when I’m writing songs. I’m so far removed from that part in Jamie’s studio basement. We just want to make some great pop songs.

But it is so different in the gay world. Performing at Woody’s, which I’ve done twice now, people don’t know how to take me because they want familiarity. There are always people that appreciate [what I do]. I definitely get a lot of people coming up to after whispering in my ear – as if it’s a secret – like, “Thank you for doing that!”

Can you tell me about the album title, Face? That definitely has connotations in the gay world.
It very much has a voguing/runway connotation because I have been taking a lot of dance lessons. I’m a non-dancer but I take contemporary street dance lessons so I’m learning voguing, whacking and cutting. I want to get into breakdancing too. Whacking is big, intense arm movements. Some of the stuff I do in the show is whacking but you can mix it up with voguing. Cutting are little tiny hands and finger movements that I’m just starting to get into now. I take some of the lessons with Ill Na Na, this amazing queer dance company. Sometimes the class will be in heels and sometimes they’ll teach runway stuff so it’s tailor-made for a drag queen.

Of course, Face is also a reference to the transformation of Regina. We really wanted to showcase her. That’s about as deep as it goes.

What would you say are the primary differences between your songwriting for Light Fires and Gentleman Reg?
I write the Light Fires songs with Jamie so often they will start with a piece of music that he gives me and then I write to that. Except for the songs “If You’re Bored” and “I Like to Work” – I think I wrote those without him first and we worked on them later.

Lyrically, Light Fires is way less confessional, way less first-person and much more outward-looking. “Let’s Get Divorced” is totally universal but still unique. There are no love songs or heartbreak songs, for example. That’s not what the kids want to dance to.