By: Josh Kitchen / October 18, 2024
Photo by Abby Orons @abbyorons
Rex DeTiger is a renaissance man—drummer, producer, and proud Regal Crown Club member. He's been playing drums alongside his sister, Blu DeTiger, for several years, including on her outstanding debut album, All I Ever Want Is Everything, which was released earlier this year. 2024 has been busy for the DeTigers. They’ve spent the year touring the new album, and I was lucky to catch the excellent show at the Troubadour in Los Angeles this past May. As they crisscrossed the United States, they opened for ODESZA at Madison Square Garden and are now gearing up for a tour of Australia and New Zealand to close out their biggest year as collaborators.
In addition to drumming and playing with Blu, a major passion for Rex is his business cards he creates for every situation. From time and date specific movie screening encounters to chance restaurants meet ups, DeTiger's business cards are individual art pieces, playing on the way we interact with eachother and build relationships. I sat down with Rex this June the morning after he DJed a club in New York City. We had a wide-ranging conversation about what it’s like to perform at iconic venues like the Troubadour versus Madison Square Garden, the experience of making music with his sister Blu, his trademark business cards, and the beauty that can be found at the movies.
How was your DJ set last night?
It was great. I actually crushed it in the end. A lot of people came up with positive feedback, and the room was pumping. It’s always a little nerve-wracking, especially when you’re starting off the night as a DJ.
How do you start your sets?
I usually start with something disco-ish, around 108 BPM, if it’s early. If I’m starting later, like at 12:30 when things are already going, I just have to keep up the energy with whatever’s in front of me.
It seems different from playing a band set where you have a plan, a setlist. With DJing, it feels like you’re constantly adapting to the situation.
Yeah, exactly. When I DJ, no one’s there for me specifically. I’ll post about it on my story or whatever, but it’s just a club where people come every weekend. So I’m really there for them, like a comedian: if they’re not into it, I’m doing it wrong. I can’t go in with a huge ego—I need to satisfy the crowd, the club owners, and everyone else.
You’ve been playing shows with your sister, Blu [DeTiger], on her tour to support her excellent debut album, All I Ever Want Is Everything. I saw your Troubadour show this spring, which was sick. You also supported ODESZA and did two shows at Madison Square Garden. How has the tour been, and what’s your take on playing intimate shows versus massive arenas?
The tour was awesome. These days, a headline tour feels like a celebration of the music. Fans are so engaged, and it’s great to meet new ones. There were some new faces this time around, which was exciting—it feels like we’re building something. It’s also great to bring the album’s music to life. Blu has a pretty extensive process for creating live versions of her songs, with new arrangements, solos, and more. So that’s always fun.
Blu DeTiger & Rex DeTiger by: Jordan Curtis Hughes @jordhughesphoto
As for the difference between small shows and arenas, it’s interesting. When you’re an opener, even if you’re a big act headlining somewhere else, there’s always that "opener energy." But playing somewhere like MSG, especially since we’re from New York, was incredible. It gave us a little taste of what it might be like to headline a place like that one day. We’ve always said Madison Square Garden is the goal, the dream.
I want to switch gears and talk about your business cards. I've been lucky to get a couple, and they’re such a unique and creative play on the way we create and build relationships . I read the piece you did with Office about the "REXTROSPECTIVE," exhibition, but I want to dig deeper. Tell me about the first card—how did that idea come about, and how has it become part of your identity?
The first card idea came up when Blu was booked to DJ at Art Basel in Miami. I figured, "I should go too." We’re always hustling, so I thought I should make some business cards. I had the idea to make it event-specific, like “It was a pleasure meeting you at Art Basel 2017.” I wasn’t thinking too deeply about it at first, but once I started making them, I had fun with it. I made the cards a little quirky, with different things on them, and the reaction was great! People loved them, and it became a thing. Now, it’s almost become an obsession—getting really specific and creating these fun, little moments of synchronicity. When someone gets a card that says, “It was a pleasure meeting you at [a specific event],” they think it’s meant to be. It’s lighthearted but taps into this idea of magical moments.
That’s exactly what I love about them. It’s more than just a handshake—it’s a memory, a piece of art. My favorite one is the one from the 7:20 screening of A Quiet Place at the AMC in Times Square.
Yeah! I did that for a movie screening, and it worked one time. Sometimes I don’t meet anyone at the theater, but once, I gave a card to someone, and she couldn’t believe I had a card for the movie we just saw—it was for Dune 2.
On the flip side, does it stress you out if you don’t have a card ready for something spontaneous?
Yes! I get so anxious if I don’t have a card ready. That’s why I carry a stack of different options. My desk is a mess with cards like “It was a pleasure meeting you at [specific bar]” or something more vague like “It was a pleasure meeting you in New York City.” People are bummed if the card isn’t super specific, though!
Screengrab taken during my interview with Rex DeTiger
It’s amazing how much thought you put into it. Do you print them yourself?
Yes, I have a printer, and I’ve got my cards organized alphabetically by place or event. I even save some of the cards from past events as mementos. I’m constantly updating them too. It’s like an ongoing art project.
You’re not making money from it, but you’re creating connections and memories.
Yeah, it’s not about making money—it’s about creating these moments and relationships. Some people have suggested I automate the process with AI, where I could just type in what I want, and it prints out the card and T-shirt. But I still like to design each one manually.
Are you planning to do another REXTROSPECTIVE exhibition?
Yeah, I’d love to do another, maybe in LA this time. The first one was fun because I had to “art-ify” the card experience for a gallery display. I made replicas, put the cards in glass boxes, and had a whole authentication station. It was a cool mix of realness and artifice.
Photo by: Sophie Gurwitz @sophiegirwitz
Speaking of the music, what are your favorite moments on All I Ever Want Is Everything?
I really love "Latency" and "Expensive Money." "Latency" in particular is a track that I’m really proud of. The outro is one of my favorite parts—it’s so raw and edgy. The whole song goes so hard, and every time I listen to it, I’m like, “Wow, this really has some serious energy.” It’s bright, brash, and unrelenting in a way that really stands out. It’s one of those songs that, when you compare it to other rock tracks, you realize how clean they sound in comparison. Latency just has this grit, this roughness, that really grabs you.
The drumming on that track was intense. It’s one of those songs where you feel the push and pull of energy, and live, it hits even harder. When we perform it, we can really bring that edge to the forefront. I’m always surprised by how powerful it feels live compared to the recording, which is already pretty wild. I think "Latency" is one of those songs that represents everything I love about playing with that raw intensity, where the energy kind of spirals out but still stays controlled enough to keep the song tight.
Have you had any songs that grew on you after touring them?
Yeah, "Moxie" is a big one for that. Blu always jokes that I didn’t like it at first. I didn’t hate it, but I just didn’t connect with it the same way she did. Blu believed in "Moxie" from day one—she always knew it was fire. But for me, it was more of a sleeper hit. Once we started playing it live, I realized how much people loved it, and that’s when it really clicked for me. It’s become one of the highlights of our live shows.
What’s fun about playing "Moxie" live is how we mess with the tempo. Every night it’s a little different, like we’re pulling it back in places or pushing it forward to create this elastic feel. It’s always a bit of a new experience every time we play it, which keeps it exciting for us. I didn’t expect it to resonate so strongly with audiences, but it’s definitely one of the crowd favorites now, and I’ve grown to love playing it.
You and Blu grew up in an artistic family. How do you view your musical relationship now?
Yeah, Blu and I have been playing music together since we were kids. It was such a natural part of our lives. Our family was always artistic—our parents weren’t musicians, but they really supported anything creative we were into. Growing up in New York, there was always something inspiring around us, so we were always exploring different ways to express ourselves. We had this old upright piano at home, and Blu started learning bass pretty young, while I gravitated towards the drums. It just kind of clicked for both of us.
We weren’t like other kids who were just into sports or whatever. We were those kids who spent hours jamming in the living room, trying to play along to whatever music we were obsessed with at the time. I remember Blu learning how to play her first basslines, and I’d be on drums, just figuring things out. It wasn’t formal at all—just us experimenting and making noise, really. But looking back, those were our first steps into understanding how to collaborate and work together musically. Even then, we were developing that natural push-and-pull that we still have today when we perform or work on a song.
You’ve both grown as individual musicians, but there’s always been that shared familial connection that's so unique. Do you think that makes your collaborations stronger?
Definitely. We’ve always had this unspoken understanding of each other musically. I think it’s because we grew up together, so we know each other’s instincts. When Blu’s working on something, I already have an idea of where she’s going with it, and vice versa. It’s not like working with a stranger where you have to figure out how they think or what they want from a track. With Blu, I know how to complement her ideas, and she knows how to complement mine.
But at the same time, we’ve developed enough as individual artists that we can bring fresh perspectives to each other’s work. It’s never just one of us leading and the other following—we’re both contributing equally, and we respect each other’s creative voices. Blu has a very strong sense of what she wants musically, and she’s so detailed in her production. I’m more focused on rhythm and arrangement, but we both push each other to go further. That balance of knowing each other so well but also challenging each other is what makes it work.
That’s really special. Some of my favorite records comes from sibling collaborations, like Oasis or The Kinks. There’s something about that familial relationship that brings a deeper connection.
Definitely. We can speak very honestly to each other, which helps creatively.
Tell me about Bits.
Bits was another project I did with Blu, where I was the singer/rapper. The songs were comedic, like “DJ Parlez-Vous Français” or “It’s Summer,” which was about me wearing all white for a year. It was fun and ridiculous, but it never really took off. Still, there were some interesting seeds in there.
There’s definitely a lot of humor and playfulness in that early music between the two of you
Yeah, I think that’s coming back into the zeitgeist. I’ve always loved pop songs that have quirky or unexpected lyrics, like in Hit Me Baby One More Time. It’s not a phrase people say, but it sticks out in a cool way.
I know you're a proud fellow Regal Crown Club member. What are you watching these days?
I’m excited to start the new season of The Bear. I just watched Inside Out 2, which was awesome, and I rewatched Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes—it’s underrated! I left the theater thinking, "Wow, that was heavy." It was way more real and honest than I expected from a big action movie.
I know a guy who has the Regal pass and literally goes to the theater every day at noon. He told me he just sits there and watches whatever’s on—he doesn’t even care what the movie is, it’s just part of his routine now. He said he’d rather be in the theater than doing anything else. It’s almost like his version of "work"—he goes in, grabs a seat, and just stays for a couple of hours. He’s so dedicated that he knows the schedule inside and out, and he gets excited about movie days like they’re part of his job. It’s like his own personal escape from everything, and he’s turned it into a ritual. I love that.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is streaming now on Hulu and Disney +. You can often catch Rex DeTiger DJ at Harriet's Brooklyn Bridge and he'll join his sister Blu at the Dusk Music Festival in Tucson next month before they go down under for an Oceania tour in December.
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