Ike Reilly’s latest single began life as the “The Card Counters,” a story about some friends who traveled from casino to casino counting cards at blackjack tables until they were inevitably booted off the premises.
“I never really dug where the lyrics ended up, so I set it aside for a while,” says the singer, songwriter and bandleader, who plies his trade 38 miles north of Chicago in his hometown of Libertyville.
Months later, Reilly was intrigued when producer Ed Tinley sent him a version of the track with the vocals muted. “I thought I should revisit the song with a new lyrical approach,” he says of the shift that eventually led to “At Least Another Day.” “I thought I’d keep the ‘gimme more time’ chorus and change out the verses and the narrative to something more meaningful to me.”
Over the past two decades, Reilly’s pointedly poetic storytelling has earned raves from critics, not to mention the likes of Stephen King and fellow Libertyville native Tom Morello. The no-nonsense noise he makes with his band, the Ike Reilly Assassination, is the roots-rock equivalent of a low, steady rumble, drawing on everything from the Ramones to Johnny Cash to B.B. King. Perhaps most importantly, Reilly is Midwestern through and through.
In keeping with that theme, “At Least Another Day” is a tribute to another city by the lake. “It was inspired by my time in Minneapolis, the people I love up there and the people I’ve lost from up there,” says Reilly. “We’ve performed at First Avenue on Thanksgiving Eve for more than 20 years. I really love that city and the general warmth and strength of the people. They also take their rock ’n’ roll seriously, and their appreciation of our band and my songs has fueled us.”
We’re proud to premiere Ike Reilly’s “At Least Another Day.” Look for a new album from Reilly sometime next year.
—Hobart Rowland
