Jason Reeves owes much of his success to MySpace. "The Internet's amazing," he says. "All the stuff that happened to me and most musicians these days is coming from the exposure it gives you."

He's got a lot of ideas for his next album, but Jason Reeves doesn't want to rush it, especially since he's going to be on the road for awhile.

Not so long ago, mellow folkie Jason Reeves was a serious guy in a baseball cap performing in Iowa City when his music found the ears of someone who could help him.

The aural advisor was hot producer Mikal Blue, who operates out of Revolver Records in Westlake Village. Blue convinced Reeves to follow Horace Greeley's advice and "Go West,'' where he right off met Colbie Caillat and helped the singer write her hit single "Bubbly.'' He also sings on her tune "Realize" and will join Caillat on a college tour starting April 10.

Reeves, named one of the top indie singer-songwriters of 2007 by iTunes, is now living in SoCal, with a new hat and a fervent following of fawning female fans. He'll bring his vast repertoire of five albums worth of folk-rock chill music to Zoey's in Ventura on Friday night, with Emy Reynolds opening.

It's definitely sit-and-listen music. Reeves' light-rock relationship songs have earned him a different following from his Reeves namesakes: George, Martha and Keanu, once upon a time Superman, Vandellas supreme and he of that most excellent adventure.

Reeves' MySpace page is oozing drama over the importance and meaning of his lyrics, which is clearly doing what music is supposed to do for many. His latest album title provides a not-so-subtle clue: "The Magnificent Adventures of Heartache.'' The album is No. 10 on iTunes' Top 10 folk chart.

The soft-spoken Hawkeye discussed the latest during a recent phoner.

What's new in Jason's world?

I'm about to go on tour with Colbie in April, then I'm going on tour with Tyrone Wells, so I have a lot of shows coming up. I'm also working on songs for my next album. I write a lot but want to wait until it all makes sense because I'm going to be on the road for a long time.

Has the new one made you a rich rock star yet?

No, not quite. Not yet.

Does bad love make for good songs?

Definitely, always.

One of my favorite writers, Rhett Miller, wrote the following lyric: "I believe in love, but it don't believe in me.'' Any response to that one?

I can understand that feeling.

Who goes to a Jason Reeves show? Do you get brokenhearted romantics? English Lit majors dressed in black taking good notes?

Oh man, I don't know — it's different . A lot of young people, I guess — teenage, college-age and students, yeah.

What does Jason music sound like?

I'd say new folk.

Where do you fit into the folk tradition, or do you?

I don't know how I would fit in, but two of my favorite writers ever are Bob Dylan and James Taylor. They're two of the reasons that I started in the first place.

What's the story with your famous friends? How did you encounter Mikal Blue and Colbie Caillet?

I came out here to record with Mikal from Iowa. He got my music from his manager, who found it — I didn't have MySpace yet — through CD Baby. So I came out here to record, and Colbie was the first person I met. I never went back to Iowa, and she became my best friend, and basically we just kept writing.

How did you happen to write "Bubbly"?

For that song, she had the idea and brought it to me. That's how a lot of the songs went — we'd finish them together or something. That song took a couple of days.

How 'bout them Hawkeyes? What's happening in Iowa City?

There definitely is a good music scene back there, especially now that it's about to get warmer — all the festivals and outdoor shows happen in the spring. I started playing there because of that; there was so much music around, it was just something to do.

Who are some of the famous Iowa musicians we should know about?

Um, Greg Brown and his daughter Pieta Brown are from Iowa. Bo Ramsey is also from Iowa.

Any memorable Zoey's adventures?

I've been there a lot. Colbie and I started playing there, and I've played there by myself a couple of times, too. That place is awesome; every show is good.

When did you know you wanted to be a musician?

I wanted to be Michael Jackson when I was real young, then took a break from that idea until I got to high school and heard James Taylor, Pink Floyd and, I guess, Led Zeppelin. I don't know what made me want to do it, but something did.

How do you account for your fervent MySpace following?

The Internet's amazing. All the stuff that happened to me and most musicians these days is coming from the exposure it gives you. I don't think either of us — and I'm talking about Colbie — would be in the same situation without MySpace. We didn't even know what it was, then everybody out here had it.

Any advice for the musical maybes?

You can't give up, and you have to give it everything you can — you can't just go for it partially or halfway because that won't lead you anywhere.

Little-known fact?

That's hard — I think everyone knows everything about everybody these days. Every move you make ends up on MySpace or Facebook.

— E-mail music writer Bill Locey at blocey@pacbell.net.