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Joe Reilly
Infinite heart
One crisp fall night in 1989, some friends and I wandered into
a cramped, stinky bar and stood three feet away from the Red Hot
Chili Peppers, a band that none of us, until that very moment, had
ever heard of. We sat right on the stage while they frothed and
pumped out music unlike anything we'd ever seen. It was frenetic
and fierce, with a positive message.
Believe it or not, I felt the same way when Joe Reilly first
played his music for me. Well, except he wasn't wearing a
bondage mask and giant diaper, like bassist Flea, and nobody got a
nose broken. Okay, and he's not an entire funk/rock band either,
just one guy with an acoustic guitar. But I did experience the
same sensation — that I had discovered something incredible.
For me that initial moment came when I interviewed him for my
radio show. I was struck by his wisdom and humility, but after he
played his first song, I was literally left speechless. Despite
the unassuming nature of this young man armed only with a simple
guitar, Reilly zeroed in on something very powerful and sent it out
into the room. It caught in my chest and stayed there for a long
time:
You are the best medicine and
You are my most intimate companion you are
The strongest remedy
You are the truest friend to me.
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Reilly came to town from Kalamazoo as a U-M student. Both his
parents are musicians, and at fourteen he had begun songwriting and
playing guitar. He would make a good American Idol candidate:
he's got the looks (he's Italian and Cherokee) and actual
talent. Luckily, however, instead of partaking in acts of corporate
mainstream idiocy, Reilly has immersed himself in the teachings of
spiritual masters and elders, musicians, and social activists from
across the globe.
Reilly's music and lyrics are clever and poetic and often
playful. He blends hip-hop, blues, gospel, world rhythms, and
traditional American Indian styles, and I find the combination of
deep spiritual truths with hip-hop to be brilliant and satisfying.
For instance, the groovy, soulful "Infinite Hearts" has
become a regular prayer for me when I'm giving in to the dark
side:
The room in my heart is infinite,
there's no limit to what can fit in it and if
love is what I give, love is what I get.
It's the balance between my body and
spirit.
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Joe Reilly makes music that flows through us — calls us
closer to who we want and need to be. It's joyous, humble, and
clear — and no one gets a nose broken. He celebrates the
release of his new CD, Planting Gardens, at the Friends Meetinghouse
on Friday, September 29. He'll also appear at Crazy Wisdom on
Friday, September 8 (see Nightspots).
—Charmie Gholson
Photo by J. Adrian Wylie
[Review published September 2006]
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