Music Q&A with John Rejba of Wet Tropics
Photo courtesy of John Rejba
Last month, Wet Tropics released a single titled “Rat Shredder” and it’s the first in a series of singles. John Rejba is the person behind Wet Tropics and he was also in celebrated midwest emo bands, Boys Life and The Farewell Bend! In this Q&A, John talks about the series of singles, how Wet Tropics has been different from his other bands, where he would love to play, and more!
Congratulations on the release of “Rat Shredder”, the first in a series of singles! Each single will be released in the classic “O” card cassette style and in 2022, the singles will be released on vinyl as a collection. What made you decide to release the singles in the classic “O” card cassette style?
It came about a little by accident. I was originally planning for the single to be released only digitally. Rob at Friend Club asked if I would entertain doing a physical version. I assumed it would come out on a J card, but I secretly wished Rob would do an O card. When he told me we would do an O card, I was stoked. I loved O card singles when I was a kid and collected them. I actually worked at a record store called Musicland in high school, and that fed my love for buying cassingles and records on tape. So being able to do one finally after all these years of doing physical releases in every format only made total sense to me.
How did the pandemic affect the making and creative process of the singles, if it did at all?
The pandemic did cause some disruption in the creative process, but it wasn't too difficult to get it done. Mostly it was rehearsal time and preparation for recording that the pandemic messed with. Fortunately, everyone involved in the process was healthy and we got a chance to get into the studio to track and mix before the D variant kicked in and caused a mess of everything.
How has making music under Wet Tropics been different from making music in other bands you’ve been in?
I would say the process is kind of the same but different in some other ways. In my other bands, we were highly collaborative since we basically jammed simple ideas and then turned them into songs. We never documented through demos or wrote down that this part would end up being part A, part B, and how many times we would play it, etc. We would just play and play and play until it came together. Wet Tropics still does that now, but the big change is that I come in with the riffs, lyrics, and basic song structure. Once something that could resemble a song comes together, along with the energy, it gets a demo treatment.
If you could change one thing in the music industry, what would it be?
I think it goes without saying that I wish streaming royalties benefited the musician more than the streaming platforms. That's a big change that's needed in the music industry.
What country would you like to visit and play in someday?
I would love to play Japan and Australia.
What's the best piece of advice another musician ever gave you?
"Don't worry, there will always be music."
We all have our days where it may not be going as well as we’d like. People deal with their worst days in different ways. What helps you get through the bad days? How do you stay positive?
Well, FaceTiming with my 5-year-old nephew always makes the day better if it's been a bummer day. I also have a killer collection of Lush bath bombs and I'm known to hit a warm bath with some candles (and a beer) if things get really bad!
Thank you for taking the time for this Q&A. Any last words or final message for the readers?
These last three years have been very difficult for all humankind. The best we can do is treat each other with kindness and remember that we will get through this together.