Thank the rock and roll gods there are still people like Ike Reilly in music. Reilly is a no bullshit, man of the people and he had been away from music for far too long.







The Ike Reilly Assassination will play Club Cafe on July 11.







Reilly is currently on tour in support of his seventh studio album, "Born on Fire." It's his first album since 2009's "Hard Luck Stories." Those in-between years were spent putting together a show for AMC eventually never picked up. The network's loss is the music world's gain as Reilly returned with a tight set of songs that comprise "Born on Fire."







The Swerve Magazine recently talked with Reilly about the last six years and more.







The Swerve Magazine: It has been close to six years since your last album. Television pulled you away from the studio for awhile, what kind of show was it that you were working on?







Ike Reilly: It was going to be like the old Jack Benny Show but in rock and roll, you know. A failed, local performer with stories about the road and being stuck in a small town. I had a bunch of characters that were funny and cool. It was called "Where is My Goddamn Medicine?"



We developed it, and it was fucking great. I couldn't possibly begin to tell you the why or who of TV.







SM: So it was a developmental deal with AMC?







IR: Yeah, there was. We had a developmental deal, and they didn't put us on the air. It sucked a lot of my time up.







I had done a bunch of podcasts called "Where is My Goddamn Medicine?" with a dude I know Max Anderson. He was the foil in it. I changed it as it was he and I talking really about music. He kind of built his character as a self-centered guy that wanted me to be successful, so he could make a little money.







It was funny. It was cool. Who knows what will happen.









SM: Is there any chance that another network could pick it up?





IR: Well, they owned it for a couple of years. I decided to start making music because it took a lot of work. It ended up costing me some money with legal fees just to negotiate contracts for the show before it was even released. You know what, man? You want to bring me straight down, let's keep talking about this.







SM: Ok, then, moving on. Let's talk about the new record. Six years in between "Hard Luck Stories" and "Born on Fire." The new record is put out with Rock Ridge Music and Tom Morello's Firebrand Records. How did that come about? I guess Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine/Audioslave/The Nightwatchman) is from your hometown of Libertyville, Il.







IR: He is from my hometown. I knew him casually as a kid, but not very well. Rick Ruben tried to sign me years ago, and he and Tom were friends. Tom realized I was from Libertyville. Tom and I became really good friend about 15 years ago.







(Morello) started this (record) label this year and I was working with Rock Ridge and we were able to put a joint deal together. It is very exciting.







SM: And he plays on the album too.







IR: He plays on one track ("Paradise Lane"), yep. We let him, you know.







SM: Just the one track.







IR: ‘You only get one, Tom. You don't need any more success' (laughs).







SM: Getting back to the time between "Born on Fire" and the last album, I read where you had 15 songs or so that were done…







IR: They weren't done. They were recorded unmixed. They were at a storage unit that went away. That was right before we started working on the show. Around 2012, that shit went away, and I started working on the show.







SM: Did any of those songs make it on "Born on Fire?"







IR: I don't think so. To be honest, I don't think so at all.







SM: With everything that was going on, did you find that going back to music, writing and recording "Born on Fire" you were able to get some of the frustration out?







IR: Nah, I've been frustrated my entire life that is nothing new.







This record is great because I was able to capitalize on how great my band is. Some of the other records, I started alone and then I'd bring those guys in. This one, the timing of everything worked, where I was able to work with Phil (Karnats), Dave (Cottini), Pete (Cimbalo) and Adam (Krier).







SM: You have a hard-core fanbase, does making it on the radio or getting played there matter as much now?







IR: To answer the question, I do care, but I can't control it.











I know the way I wrote "Born on Fire," it had a different feel, and a more blues orientated song. I just had a bunch of songs. We started playing them. We decided to work on the best ones that we liked that came together.







I used to think that you got to slam people over the head with the most rock and roll songs at the beginning. My kids started listening to (The Rolling Stones') "Beggar's Banquet" and I realized how that first side… They go from rock and roll to a mellow song.







I love the way that some of the songs sounded in sequence (on "Born on Fire"). That excited me. The more introspective songs, like "Am I Still the One for You" comes off "Do the Death Slide." I knew we had a good vibe going. Phil directed me in the way the song went. For the most part, the songs certainly don't sound like the 80s or 90s rock, but they could have been made in the 60s or 70s or 40 years from now. It is not trendy. And none of my shit is.







I care about being able to survive. I feel and I've never doubted anything about what we do, ever as far as being relevant or vital. I'm out playing strong to union rallies. I got kids coming to see us. I don't get upset if someone doesn't like me. I want everyone around me to be successful. I think we are going to be successful whether or not the radio plays it. Our shows are fucking ridiculous. I haven't been out there playing, and I got 30 dates coming up.







It is exciting. "Born on Fire" is going to be in the new Chris Farley documentary which is cool. And people are responding to the music in a real, fresh way. Morello and I were out on the street (for the record release) selling the record out of the trunk of my car. It was fucking hilarious.







I did get an email from a disc jockey in Chicago from WXRT saying why didn't we send some records over the record station (laughs). I'm like ‘Shit; I thought maybe somebody did.' So I looked into it, and we sent some records over. You can't get played on the radio if you didn't send them the record.







SM: I have to ask about the song "Let's Live Like We're Dyin.' It has that great line in it, "I used to want to die young, but it's too late now."







IR: I do notice when we play that, and I sing "I used to want to die young, but it's too late now," I always notice people laughing. Of course, it's too fucking late.







I like that song. It is done in a John Lee Hooker kind of way. The guitar lead on there is mind boggling. It's got a good vibe and an easy concept for people to understand. It is a pretty traditional blues song.







SM: Have you had a chance to play some of the songs live or is this tour going to be the first time for them?







IR: Some of them. We played a handful of shows in the Midwest, but it will be the first time where we played them that anyone heard them other than where we did play them. If we do some show and there are 500 hard-core fans there and we play a new song, they are trying to follow along, but they are not familiar with it. Hopefully, they will have the record for a month or so. I've never performed "Death Slide."







We have so many songs that we like to play, but it is great to go out now with a real buzz happening. We got the new songs, and we have 100 songs to pick from. Hopefully, they will shut me up, and I won't be playing 30 of them a night. I'll keep it to around 20.







These ticket prices are so cheap to see compared to other bands. I'm like, ‘What the fuck? You're paying 12 bucks; you're going to get 12 songs' (laughs). Actually, it would be about a quarter a song. For 12 bucks, we'll probably give you 24 songs at 50 cents a song that is pretty good.







SM: That is a pretty good deal, maybe not for you though.







IR: Considering it cost about four bucks to put the song out on the road.







We have fans from Pittsburgh that follow us everywhere. They won't have to drive now.



It will be great, and I hope we get more with the new stuff I hope they come out.









