Ike Reilly brings his ‘Hard Luck Stories’ to Iota

Not that Reilly needs anyone to supplement his workingman’s musical blues that range from the war in Iraq to the war on drugs and everything in between with a whole heap of wordplay and humor worked into the mix. “I wish I could tell you that I start out with a creative goal,” Reilly said of his writing process. “I will tell you how it happens; I write a lot and I record a lot and I was working and recording and soon I had enough recorded — probably 20 to 25 songs — for an album. I wake up in the morning and I’m miserable and I have to write a song. That’s what I do what I do.”

Lucky for music fans yearning for something beyond the sugar-coated pop that lines the airwaves these days. Reilly’s R&B-meets-pop and rock music is intelligent storytelling at its finest with just a touch of humor swirled into the mix.

Not only does Reilly not write or record by rote, but he sometimes needs to take a step back to sequence his songs — even before the albums — so the stories are cohesive. “Hard Luck Stories” was a lot like that. It wasn’t until he had all the pieces — sort of a giant musical jigsaw puzzle — that he saw how they fit together.

That’s because his songs are pieces of his life and the Chicago musician isn’t about pretense or mystery. You can tell that by his weekly podcast, and the time he spends with fans that attend his shows.

If that doesn’t give you a clear picture of why Reilly’s music is so much fun, perhaps his views of mingling with fans will.

“If I was a fan of a musician and he responded directly [to an e-mail or came to the merchandise table] I’d be a fan forever,” he said. “The reason I didn’t do that more was I was embarrassed. There’s just so long you can be the belle of the ball. Playing guitar and singing and then walking around. When you’re raised Midwestern Irish Catholic you don’t feel you should be that much of a big shot.”

You can’t ask for much more down-to-earth than that.