Greg Rekus touring in support of vinyl release of Punkoustic

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Winnipeg Folk punk Greg Rekus is ready for his annual January pilgrimage to the Owl Acoustic lounge, Monday Jan. 7 when he will be hosting the open mic.Greg Rekus returns to the owl Acoustic lounge to hos tthe Jan. 7 open mic. Photo by Richard Amery
The Lethbridge show is part of a tour which winds up in Hawaii on Feb. 5.
“ I played there in 2015. This time I have three shows there,” Rekus said from Woolsley , Saskatchewan en route to Regina.
 “January is a good  time of the year to be away from Winnipeg,” he said.
 He is touring in support of the vinyl   re-release of his second album “Punkoustic.”


 He always looks forward to returning to the Owl Acoustic Lounge.
“ I wish every town had an Owl. It is such a great venue and Steve is great guy to work with, he is always so supportive of bands. I think the reason it works is because it is also a restaurant rather than trying to make it just with music. We‘ve got a new venue in Winnipeg called Bulldog Pizza, which is a pizza restaurant. They do  deliveries and everything, but they also really welcome live music,” he enthused.


“ So I usually  plan to be in Lethbridge in January and again in September,” he  continued.
 Since his last Lethbridge visit, he has toured all over the United States in support of “Punkoustic” which  he re-released on a small independent record label based out of Sioux Falls South Dakota called Loud Broke and Dumb.


“ It may be the last record they released, so they threw some money my way to do it. I wanted to do  vinyl originally because the artwork on it is so amazing, but it wasn’t feasible. I’ve actually played with  one of the guys. We did three shows together in Minneapolis, Fargo and Sioux Falls,” he said.

 

 “ You have to support each other. people talk about DIT, but it is really Do it Together. If they help you set up shows there, then you set up shows here. A lot  of bands don[t do that. They’ll ask for help, but when you ask them to help, they’re too busy, ” he continued.

 


 After he returns form the tour, he is going to get to work on a new record, he plans to release in 2020.
“ I have five songs done already,” he said, adding he won’t be playing them on the tour.
“ I like to keep my cards close to my chest. I’m pretty much writing lyrics right up to when I record them. And a song isn’t complete until then. But the masterpiece never quite appears like it does in my head,” he said.


 He noted  the new CD will feature saxophonist Darryl Riley, who also played on his previous  two CDs and plays in his Winnipeg band.
 But Rekus is content to tour alone.
“I toured with them in my 20s It was really Fun. But it’s more difficulty to get people to tour in my 30s because everyone I know is tied down with mortgages, houses, and kids,” said Rekus, who makes  his living as an audio engineer and sound technician.
“ there is just something about getting into a van on your own and going on tour,” he said.


 Greg Rekus hosts the open mic at the Owl Acoustic Lounge, Monday, Jan 7 beginning around 9 p.m.

 

— by Richard Amery, L.A. Beat Editor
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 05 January 2019 11:04 )