Page 93 - JanFeb 2024 ION Indie Magazine

Interview by Tim Board • www.ionindiemagazine.com/eye-on-jamz-radio
Music by wht.rbbt.obj “Keep You Like A Secret (Tidal Wave)”

Frank and River Rabbitte are the husband wife duo that make up wht.rbbt.obj. What was supposed
to be a secret side project has turned into the couples “main musical outlet.” They released the five-
song EP Whiskey Hotel Tango in 2023 and are already working on a follow up EP. Wht.rbbt.obj was
kind enough to answer some questions about the group and talk about their EP.

Tim Board: What are the origins of wht.rbbt.obj?

wht.rbbt.obj: wht.rbbt.obj started as a secret side project. That is the reason the band name is written as
“secret code.” We are a married couple, and we were both in other projects before this started. We had this
unwritten rule that “what is yours is yours, and what is mine is mine,” and we would kind of stay out of each
other’s music. But one day in the winter of 2018/2019, Frank was writing a song for his old band when River
walked in and declared, “You are playing the bass line wrong.” Frank handed her the bass and said, “Fine.
How would you do it?” A couple hours and a bottle of wine later, a song was born called “Unlucky 13.” Two
weeks after that, it was on a local radio show on WKQX in Chicago. A couple of days later, there was an article
in a local blog asking, “Who is wht.rbbt.obj?”

We thought we would just have some fun; release a single every now and again. But it seemed people liked
what we were doing, and this became our main musical outlet, and it has been amazing. We get to do what
we love, with who we love, and we think that really comes through in the music.

TB: How would you describe your music?

WRO: We get asked that question a lot. We like to say we are just “honest.” Is “honest” a genre? We do what
we want, when we want. We have so many diverse influences, and they pull us in different directions. We get
inspired by everything from The Ink Spots to The Hives. As a result, we pay little attention to “genres.” The
easiest thing to say is that we are a femme-fatale-fronted, guitar-driven, alternative blues-rock band…but that
really is just the part of the iceberg you can see.