INTERVIEW: Rhett Repko

1.) We’re very excited to have some time today with acclaimed indie artist Rhett Repko; greetings and salutations Rhett and thank you for taking time out of a busy schedule to speak with us here at Vents Magazine! Before we dive into the Q&A mosh-pit, how is 2025 treating you and yours?

2025 has been great so far and incredibly busy. I’m attacking it with music and stepping up all of my content to give fans more of me to dig into.  

2.) Major kudos and accolades on your crackling new single Somewhat Famous which is now available! Starting at the tip-top, can you talk about what inspired one of the very best new singles of 2025?

“Somewhat Famous” has been in the works for a couple years now. It took a while to get things right and I wasn’t sure if I would be able to make the vision come to life. But I got some gear upgrades a year ago and took a second stab at the arrangement of the song trying to really bring it to life. I used my new Oberheim OBX8 and Prophet 10 synths to blend synth horn sounds with real horn sounds to make it sound like a big band playing the low horn sounds. Lyrically the song is a continuation on the theme of a previous single of mine “How Cold”.  It talks about how a girl is well known, but that’s not quite as good as she hopes as I sarcastically sing about her being “Somewhat Famous”.  She’ll chase you, and she’ll break you.

3.) Who did the producing honors on the Somewhat Famous single and what did the in-studio collaboration between artist and producer look like while fashioning and shaping this new gem of a ditty?

“Somewhat Famous” had a lot of hands on it, perhaps the most out of any of my songs released as of now. I play a key part in the production of the song these days writing the core song and then making the main bulk of the arrangement on my own playing all of the parts.  We then took that really strong demo sound I had and went to Red Bull Studios in Santa Monica. From there Ryan Benyo, Noah Rodriguez, Monte Malone, and myself took it to a new level. We re-did all of my main vocals through their excellent recording gear. A Neumann U67 mic into a Neve 1081 Preamp into an 1176 Compressor. The vocals sound fantastic and remind me of some of my favorite records of all time that used a similar recording chain. We also added even more synths to the song to accentuate the parts I had given it. These were some nice horn stabs on the chorus with a Juno 106 and some underfill riffs from a Prophet 6 that transitioned from section to section. One of the last things we added was a real Fender Rhodes piano that was beautiful to record onto. You can hear that bad boy on the intro, solo section, and outro of the song.  From there I had my friends at Zodlounge in Nashville add their spice to it by recording real drums and giving that big larger than life sound. The final hand it landed in was Mark Needham who did the final mix. He’s mixed previous acts I love such as The Killers, Imagine Dragons, Dolly Parton, and way more.  I’m not sure how he always finds a way to make it better but he does. He has a gift with mixing and brings the sound I hear in my head to come out of the speakers perfectly.  

4.) Listening to Somewhat Famous, we can pick up on the sweet refrains of such artists as The Strokes and Nick Lowe, all incorporated into your own indelible musical style! How important were those artists (and others) in encouraging your own musical pathway? Were they a big influence on you?

I can’t say they had too much influence on this song in particular. But they and similar artists of that nature  certainly influence my writing and production. They have a certain rawness and honesty to them. It’s something that took me forever to learn that sometimes a take that isn’t quite perfect or doesn’t have the best guitar tone actually IS the perfect take you want. Because it will stand out and be more memorable. I think for the inspiration on the vocals of this song I was inspired by Prince especially the Falsettos on the chorus being so smooth and sarcastic.  For the sound itself, I wanted a 1920’s big band with horns playing this swampy beat that gangsters would listen to in a speakeasy bar.  Something easy to listen to and nod your head with but also has a driving beat that pushes forward. I mixed that in with some gritty guitars from my alternative mindset and blent it together to make “Somewhat Famous”.

5.) In your humble opinion, what differentiates Somewhat Famous from the Distinguished Competition on the 2025 music scene?

Honestly I’m not even sure “Somewhat Famous” sounds like anything else and I don’t know if that’s good or bad. I can’t tell if it will easily fit onto a specific genre playlist or radio station. It’s not quite full-on pop. But it’s not full-on alternative rock. It’s a weird mix between the sounds I genuinely like. I wanted the song to sound organic, dynamic, and be fun yet easy to listen to. I think I accomplished those while making this track so now it’s up to people to decide where it fits for them. 

6.) In the wake of the April 25 release of your new single Somewhat Famous, can fans look forward to even more music from you as the year marches on, possibly in the form of an EP or LP release?

Yes I am releasing a new song every 2-3 months. So fans can consistently expect new music from me. I put out an album last year called “Tell Me That It’s Not Over” so I’m not looking to put out another album immediately.  But after enough singles add up I might put them all together and throw in some bonus songs for another album. Maybe later this year, more likely sometime in 2026. 

7.) What does your touring/performing dance card look like in the coming weeks and months?

I’m looking to play more shows this year and build up my touring schedule again. I have a show coming up on May 28th in NYC.  I hope to have more scheduled for later this year.

8.) As a rightly lauded singer/songwriter, which generally tends to come first for you during the creative process – The lyrics or the music?

Almost certainly the music comes first. A lot of my melodies come from me playing around on piano or a synth until I find a melody I like. From there I record it into Pro Tools and start building and building around it.  I’ll throw some placeholder lyrics in to work around and change those near the end. With the placeholder lyrics I normally end up keeping around 50% of what I sang in that first initial take off the top of my head. 

9.) How is your past music such as Before She Knows similar to Somewhat Famous? How is it different?

I’m not sure. “Before She Knows” is probably one of my hardest rock songs if not THE hardest one.  It’s the first song that I didn’t produce by myself, I had gone to Nashville to produce it so it has that similarity of having more cooks in the kitchen to help build the song to be as good as it can.  I’ve recently thought about going back to my roots such as “Thnx for the Ride” or in this case “Before She Knows” but I don’t know. At the same time I like going somewhere a little new as long as it sounds organic and great.  I’ll get back to even harder rock I’m sure but for right now I’m having fun in this alternative pop soundset. 

10.) At the end of the day, what do you hope audiophiles and music lovers walk away with after giving many-a-listen to your beautiful new single Somewhat Famous?

I think it’s an easy song to listen to and pretty enjoyable from the moment it starts. That’s how I look to make music.  I like to cut any fluff that might get too boring or drag on, so I like my music to always be pushing forward until the song ends. And as far as audiophiles go, I keep stepping up my recording and production process to make things as high quality as possible. So if you listen to this song on headphones or even better big speakers I think this song will be a treat for you. Those drums and falsettos feel like they’re coming right off the speaker at you. 

11.) Final – SILLY! – Question: Favorite movie about the music industry – Almost Famous, The Buddy Holly Story, This Is Spinal Tap, Ray, Walk the Line or Hustle and Flow?

Those are all REALLY good movies, and I’m a huge Buddy Holly fan. I have to pick Walk the Line as I just think it’s a perfect movie and extremely well made.  I love Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon in it. But between Johnny Cash and Buddy Holly as an artist, Buddy Holly all day or “Everyday” perhaps I should say!