Greg Rekus has played nearly 100 shows this year, and it’s only November. With the goal of spending half the year on the road, the Winnipeg punk/folk singer-songwriter just wrapped a tour on the west coast and now brings his fiery live show, and his signature stomp board that he hauls with him, eastward. “As an artist not many people have heard of, playing live is the biggest part of being a musician,” says Rekus who’s also celebrating the release of his full-length release, the cleverly named The Dude Abides, an album that covers topics from personal to political struggle, and gives a nod to the Cohn Brothers’ The Big Lebowski. Once a member of punk outfit High Five Drive, Rekus’ solo project reveals a rebellious outlaw country influence he tapped into while working as a sound guy at a Winnipeg bar. “Before that I thought country was exclusively mainstream and kind of lame, but its roots are badass,” he says.
Sat November 5, with Squidge, The Hunt Club, 5640 Spring Garden Rd, 9pm and Sunday November 6, Coburg Coffee, 6085 Coburg Road, 2pm
This article appears in Nov 3-9, 2011.