by Kenneth Morton

The Rekoning is a three-piece punk rock band from Riverside, CA who has just released their debut CD for Strike First Records entitled The Road Less Traveled. Fans of Flogging Molly and the Dropkick Murphys are sure to find much to enjoy about the rambunctious tunes from this dynamic trio of musicians. Due to play Facedown Fest on April 4th in Pomona, here is a brief interview we conducted with one of the Rekoning dudes…

What city are you from and what is the music scene like there?
We’re from Riverside Ca. The music scene is very active out here. There is live music of all different styles at nearly every bar grill, pizza place, or coffee shop. The hardcore scene is alive and well down here and the punk scene is growing back again, which we’re really happy about. The kids are rowdy and they show up from all over the place. We definitely have a great group down here. We have been extremely lucky with that.

Describe your music to a very elderly relative…
It sounds just like The Beatles but with a slightly faster tempo.

How did you wind up being signed to Strike First Records?
Strike First is one of those labels that we always thought that if we were going to sign with anybody it would be them. We like what they stand for and what they've been doing over the years. We've met Jason, the owner of Strike First and Facedown Records a handful of times at shows and I guess we harassed him enough with letters and demo submissions to have us be a part of such an awesome lineup of bands.

Is there any story behind the band name The Rekoning?
I was watching the movie Tombstone one day and in the movie Doc Holiday says, "It's not revenge he's after, it's the reckoning." Then I found a scripture in the Bible in Isaiah 10:3 about a day of reckoning which hits kind of hard to the heart, which is fitting for us. We then decided to change the spelling of the name to The Rekoning since there were about 30 Gothic Metal bands with the regular spelling and a polka band that had the copyrights to it.

Where do you get the ideas for some of the lyrics you write?
All of our lyrics come from our experiences, individually and as a band. We touch on experiences we’ve had on tour, people we’ve met, family members in prison, our love for music, and certainly our faith in God. We are a very honest band and I think the lyrics really show that.

How influenced are you by bands such as Flogging Molly and the Dropkick Murphys? What other bands influence you?
Both Flogging Molly and the Dropkick Murphys have definitely been a big influence in the way they blend Irish folk music into a punk rock rollercoaster. Both of those bands also influenced us by how they play live. They always play with a lot of energy and you can tell that they are having a blast up there every time. We have a lot of influences and I think they really show in particular songs. A lot of the folk music parts that we have are influenced by songwriters we grew up with like Dwight Yoakam, Neil Diamond and Paul Simon. And then I think our love for bands like the Bouncing Souls, The Deal, CockSparer, The Pogues, Toy Dolls, and other punk and rock n roll bands just finds its way in there.

How influential is Christianity on your music? Being signed to Strikefirst, would you consider yourselves a Christian band?
All of us are Christian guys and because our beliefs are very important to us it definitely comes out in the music, it’s just a big part of who we are. To us, we would consider ourselves a Christian band, not because we’re on Strike First but because of our mutual faith. But it all depends on what your definition of what a Christian band is.

Are you looking forward to playing Facedown Fest this year? Some of the bands are a bit different than your band…
Yeah, we’re really excited about playing at Facedown Fest this year. Because I live in California I have been able to go to almost all of them over the years, so to be able to play at this one is going to be very special. Our style is definitely a bit different then most of the bands on Facedown and Strike First but we love to mix up the styles and play with all different types of bands. But we’re also really excited because we’re big fans of a lot of these bands, so we’re looking forward to hanging out and enjoying the show.

What was it like opening for US Bombs? Did you get to meet them and were they cool to hang out with?
It was a fun and crazy experience all at the same time. All the guys were really cool and fun to talk to. I remember during their set Duane started throwing beer on people and it was just one of those classic US Bombs shows.

Were any of you in previous bands prior to The Rekoning that we may know?
Tommy was in a band called The Sandbox Bullies who played together for a while. Shawn and I were both in and out of a few bands that never really played more than a few shows. Although after seeing old pictures of Shawn in the early 90’s, I am pretty sure he played for The Scorpions at one point.

What could one expect from a live The Rekoning show?
A lot of energy and a lot of people singing along with the anthems and just a good-ol-fashioned fun time along with the occasional/accidental foot in your face.

Have you guys done any touring and/or do you plan to do so in the future?
Yes, we have done a 3 week west coast/mid-west tour and have gone out to Illinois for the Cornerstone festival in past years. This summer we will be heading out to TomFest in Washington State, Cornerstone in Bushnell Illinois, and then we will also be doing a mini tour out to Texas.

Why should someone run out right now and buy the new Rekoning CD?
Because it’s time to listen to something different and because if you don’t, we will find you!

Any final words of wisdom?
Yes, be on the lookout for albums by A Plea For Purging and The Great Commission which will be coming out next month. It will rock your faces off.

The Rekoning links

The Rekoning on Myspace: The Official Myspace Page for The Rekoning!
The Highwire Daze Home Page: Return to the Main Page!

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