Best known for his thundering bass playing on Flogging Molly‘s punch-drunk rave-ups, Nathen Maxwell isn’t the first member of the band you’d think to launch a solo career. Mostly content to reside in the background laying down rock-solid basslines, Maxwell has laid low until recently, when he traded the Celtic rock beats for rocksteady reggae with Nathen Maxwell and the Original Bunny Gang.

With the blessing of his fellow Flogging Molly members, Maxwell has taken a side-venture into reggae-tinged folk rock. And while it might initially seem an unexpected departure, it’s an idea that’s been percolating for Maxwell for quite some time.

“It is something that I have been thinking about for a while,” Maxwell says, “and it finally became clear to me that now is the time.”

Taking inspiration from the reggae greats of yesteryear — Bob Marley, Burning Spear, and Gregory Isaacs – Maxwell’s debut White Rabbit evokes some of the political outrage of those forbears as well. Transporting the righteous fire of early reggae cuts to contemporary concerns, Maxwell touches on issues of poverty and social justice that echo those of his reggae heroes. It’s far from a bitter treatise, however, as Maxwell finds inspiration and perseverance in his outrage, keeping the tone ultimately positive and hopeful. For Maxwell, it’s all about “love and solidarity,” and he adds, “I am still working on how to write a good song that uplifts and inspires.”

Echoing that theme of love and solidarity, Maxwell kept this project a family affair, to the point of recruiting his dad to play drums on White Rabbit.

“Working with my father was a great experience,” he says. “We play together very naturally.” So naturally, in fact, that he has tapped his Dad to join his touring band. “He will be touring and performing with me, and I know from our last little four-show Colorado run that it is going to be a time that I never forget. Being able to do something that you love with your family is a wonderful feeling.”

While many punk kids would have avoided being seen with their Dad at shows, Maxwell’s has played an integral role in his career from the outset. In fact, he was introduced to Flogging Molly through his father, of all people.

“He has been playing in the L.A. music scene for a long time and knew Dave and George of Flogging Molly,” Maxwell says. “He recommended that I watch them perform, and eventually I was asked to join.”

It’s this familial tie to his music and community that ensures that even though Maxwell has been bitten by the solo bug, it won’t be long before he returns to his main concern: playing bass in Flogging Molly: “Everybody in Flogging Molly has been completely supportive, there have been zero conflicts,” he says. “My commitment to Flogging Molly will never change.

“I never left the band,” Maxwell emphasizes. “I look forward to much more ‘solo work’ and many more Flogging Molly albums and tours!”