Ike Reilly (born Michael Christopher Reilly) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and writer as well as frontman and founder of the rock band the Ike Reilly Assassination. He started his music career with various rock bands near his hometown of Libertyville, Illinois, playing guitar for groups such as The Drovers in the late 1980s. After working for a time in music production, in 2001 he released his debut solo album through Universal Records. He afterwards released several albums with The Ike Reilly Assassination, including the well-received Sparkle in the Finish in 2004, through Rock Ridge Music. He released his eighth album of solo material, Crooked Love, in May 2018. According to Mario Mesquita Borges of Allmusic, "Reilly has followed a trail separate from most of today's singer/songwriters -- unlike other such artists, Reilly prefers the harshness of intrepid rocking riffs, sustained by ingenious melodies and exalting words." David Carr of the New York Times said, “Ike Reilly is a kind of natural resource, mined from the bedrock of music. All the values that make rock important to people—storytelling, melody, rage, laughter—are part and parcel of every Ike Reilly show I have ever seen." Early life and education Michael Christopher Reilly was born at the United States Naval Hospital, Naval Station Great Lakes in Illinois. He was raised in nearby Libertyville, where he graduated from Libertyville High School, known for notable alumni Marlon Brando and Tom Morello and excelled in cross country running. It was in middle school that he started writing songs and became adept at playing the harmonica, booking his first paying gig at age 13. Reilly learned to play guitar while working at Ascension Catholic Cemetery, a job he held every summer through high school and college. He started by cutting the grass, and then moved on to digging graves. Following high school, Reilly attended Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where he majored in Theology and enrolled in the Marine Corps. officer training school. Music career First groups (1990s) Reilly formed his first band, Captain Budget and the Loan Sharks, while a student at Marquette University. After graduating, he moved to Chicago and formed a band called the Eisenhowers. Reilly dropped the M from his first name and officially became known as Ike. He quit the Eisenhowers to join The Drovers, a Celtic rock band active in Chicago. He subsequently founded the band Community 9, with bandmates such