A billion beers later

He’s such an eager beaver.

Greg Rekus is coming to town

Article: Robyn Tocker – A&C Editor

[dropcaps round=”no”]E[/dropcaps]very child has a dream, and in his mid-teens, Greg Rekus decided his dream was to play music, plain and simple. For the Winnipeg resident, Rekus grew up playing the piano, and while it isn’t exactly the coolest instrument to boast about when you’re young, it gave him a great start. Rekus bought his first bass guitar, then electric guitar, and the rest is history.

“I started jamming with a few people…I saw a local band called the Bonaduces every week and I realized I really wanted to play in a band and try to do this.”

Since then, Rekus has played in a band and branched out into a solo career. His new CD, Punkoustic, is complete, and to celebrate, Rekus and his partner, Lyndsay Penner, will be heading on a Western North American tour, stopping in Regina on Jan. 11.

He explains how there were many inspirations for Punkoustic, but he knew he wanted there to be politically conscious undertones in all the songs, if possible. One track called “Red Woe,” in particular, talks about a man panhandling on the street and how he ended up there.

“Anyone can do something stupid and next thing you know you’re the one asking for change.”

This isn’t the first CD Rekus has put out, and he’s learned a few things since he last went through the process. He says his interaction with the audience during live shows got lost in the shuffle when they took the CD home. The interaction and energy was missing. He encountered a few solo artists who have a band on their CD and it was a direction he decided to take.

“It was the right thing to do. I’ve gotten really great feedback. We drank about a billion beers and fired out a great album.” His band mates, who will not be on tour with him, include bassist Nick Kouremenos and drummer Jamie Carrasco.

When asked about the tour, Rekus says he will be stopping in at least 22 places, some locations as prominent as Vancouver or Seattle. But, that doesn’t mean he plans to leave out any small cities in the United States, either. His love for our southern brother isn’t something the musician is willing to hide.

“If you look in mainstream news, people in Canada have the misconception that everyone [in the United States] has lots of guns, loves war, and loves NASCAR. It’s not really like that. Every friend I’ve made has been kind, generous, and smart about the world. I love going there and visiting them.”

For anyone thinking music might be the route they want to go, Rekus has some helpful advice.

“Don’t have unreal expectations … a lot of people have this image that it’s easy and everything falls into place.  [Music] is rarely like that. If you aren’t doing it just because you enjoy playing, it’s going to get tiring fast.”

If being the next great band is what you want to do, Rekus says make sure everyone in the band in on the same page with that goal, and if you’re touring, make sure you have a job that is flexible with time off.

Rekus will be playing at the Lancaster Tap House at 9:00, with no cover charge.

[button style=”e.g. solid, border” size=”e.g. small, medium, big” link=”” target=””]Image: LP Hoopla[/button]