Grace & Tony Greenroom Sessions: Ike Reilly, ‘The Black Kat’

Grace & Tony's labelmate Ike Reilly is taking on Greenroom Sessions duties this month, sharing a new original song, "The Black Kat," with The Boot's readers.

The singer-songwriter and former hotel doorman and gravedigger (no, seriously ...) has a new album, Born on Fire, coming out on Tuesday (June 16), and "The Black Kat" is one of the tunes included on the 13-track project. However, as Reilly tells The Boot, the album version of the song is "much different from this version."

"It has a heavier groove laid down by the Italians [David Cottini and Pete Cimbalo of Reilly's band, the Ike Reilly Assassination] and features an incredible anti-lead from Phil Karnats," he explains.

Still, Reilly's stripped-down version of "The Black Kat" is plenty infectious, and it gives the Libertyville, Ill., native a chance to show off his harmonica skills in addition to his guitar-playing abilities.

Born on Fire will be Reilly's seventh studio album since he made his major-label debut in 2001; it is available for pre-order on iTunes. The record traverses R&B, punk, blues, folk and rock 'n' roll in songs that "use humor to combat despair [and] tell tales of love, lust, struggle, drugs, drinking and the underdog," according to his website.

Check back to The Boot on July 15 for another new Grace & Tony Greenroom Sessions video!