Photos By Brooke Striewski

For some reason I was initially hesitant to brave the Bike Week crowds and catch Jackyl at Destination Daytona for a second year in a row (‘How different could it possibly be this time?,’ I originally thought). But I was glad I ignored those early instincts and had my wife/photographer grab her gear and get ready to cover them again for Rewind It Magazine this past Saturday, March 12. It was all the more special having our teenage son, as well as a friend of the family, with us to experience it this time around (not to mention running into some familiar friendly faces while there as well).

Maybe it was the surprisingly cold weather that night, but for some reason the vibe was much more laid back this time around. This was apparent when the Georgia-based openers and neighbors to Jackyl, The Angie Lynn Carter Band, took the stage. The six piece group had a definite Fleetwood Mac feel to them (and even covered one of their songs, “Dreams”). Other standouts were covers of The Allman Brothers’ “Midnight Rider,” and originals like “Rumors.” But to be completely honest, although the band was tremendously talented, I’ve never been much of a fan of that era/genre of rock, and was more than ready for some Jackyl by the time their set was finished.

Right at the nine o’clock hour, Jesse James Dupree and company took the stage to rock yet another Bike Week audience. Starting off with a virtual repeat of last year’s set, the band opened with a trio of heavy hitters in the form of “Blast Off,” “My Moonshine Kicks Your Cocaine’s Ass,” and “Mental Masturbation,” before debuting a brand new song for the first time, which for the life of me, I can’t remember the title of.

It wasn’t long before the guys got back down to business with more classics in the form of “Screwdriver,” “Down on Me,” “Back off Brother,” “Push Comes to Shove,” and one of my personal favorites, the blues-ly ballad “Secret of the Bottle,” which was omitted from their set last year. Afterwards, the band once again brought out a Harley and several contestants on stage, with yet another Wisconsin-based rider taking home the prize (if memory serves me right, I think the winner’s name was Tim?).

Once that business was settled, it was back to business for the band, with an array of hits that included “I Stand Alone,” “Dirty Little Mind,” “When Will it Rain,” and “Redneck Punk,” before finally closing things out with “The Lumberjack,” complete with Dupree’s chainsaw solo and onstage carnage of a bar stool, which he once again set on fire before promptly smashing on stage. This was capped off by yet another blast from his custom shotgun microphone stand. It was another epic conclusion to yet another great time hosted by Jackyl – an event truly worth witnessing firsthand if you haven’t yet had the pleasure.

Jackyl at Bruce Rossmeyer’s Destination Daytona in Ormond Beach, FL on 3/13/21 By Jesse Striewski/Photos By Brooke Striewski

Last night, heavy metal southern rockers Jackyl raised some much-needed hell at Bruce Rossmeyer’s Destination Daytona in Ormond Beach, the first time the band had shared the stage together in well over half a year according to lead singer/madman Jesse James Dupree. And judging by the size – and enthusiasm – of the rowdy crowd on hand, they were definitely more than welcomed to do so.

Tampa rockers Stonegrey opened the festivities with their ’90s-tinged styles and sounds. As soon as the band took stage, it was apparent everyone in the audience was in for a good time, as the the band’s lead singer almost immediately produced a bull horn. Covers and original tracks (and hopefully I get all of the titles correct here) like Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Saturday Night Special,” “What Are we Fighting For?,” “Walk Away,” Led Zeppelin’s “Dazed and Confused,” and “Take Me Down” were just some of the notable songs the band had to offer.

The mighty Jackyl (which, in addition to Dupree, also consists of original members/brothers Jeff and Chris Worley on guitar and drums, and former Brother Cane bassist Roman Glick) quickly took stage afterwards (as they have many times before for Bike Week) with relentless energy, opening with “Blast Off” and breaking out such fan favorites as “Down on Me” early on in their set. Not long after, the band brought out and honored a 97-year-old World War II vet on stage, which quickly prompted chants of “USA!” from the patriotic crowd. A couple more tracks in the form of “Push Comes to Shove” (from the extremely underrated album of the same name) and “Just Because I’m Drunk” followed before the music was paused once more for a brief contest that saw a Harley wheeled out on stage, and one lucky contestant walk off the stage with a trip to Sturgis.

Once the band got back to business, it was an onslaught of fan favorites (along with a quick verse of AC/DC’s “Back in Black” thrown in there for good measure) from the band’s 1992 self-titled debut album, including “I Stand Alone” (famously remembered for its music video which saw the group performing in front of a Georgia Kmart), “When Will It Rain,” “Dirty Little Mind,” “Redneck Punk,” and “She Loves My Cock” (the very song that saw said first album removed from Kmart stores nationwide, and caused Jackyl to shoot said video outside of one in response).

And finally, frontman Dupree brought out his trademark chainsaw to do some damage on a wooden stool for their performance of “The Lumberjack.” After thoroughly dismantling it with his saw, Dupree continued to set it on fire, before finally smashing what was left of it on stage. The band then went out with one last literal “bang,” as Dupree picked up a custom built mic stand with a shotgun attached to it, and fired off a round above the audience. At that point, it seemed like the only fitting ending to an already wild show.

Jasmine Cain and Afterlife at Dirty Harry’s Pub in Daytona Beach, FL on 3/6/21 By Jesse Striewski

The 80th Annual Bike Week officially kicked off in Daytona last week, and so did the many live shows it brings along with it every year. Although I made it out to Dirty Harry’s Pub & Package this past Saturday, March 6, I must come clean before I get started on my ‘official’ critique of the show; I might have been there past the barricades the whole night, but not only did I not have my main photographer (who also happens to be my lovely wife, Brooke), but I was also lacking a professional camera on hand with me. Hence the reason for just one (very mediocre) live shot here in place of a full photo gallery.

But as the old saying goes, the show must go on (in this case, with or without good pics), so I’ll do my best to describe Saturday night’s show in full detail. Local rocker Jasmine Cain is someone I’ve been following for some time now, but had still not had a chance to see live yet. After finally witnessing one of her sets firsthand, I can finally see what all the fuss is about.

Cain actually opened her set with a number of originals (one that sticks out specifically was “1995”) before going into a host of covers. Some not-so-surprising, like Heart’s “Barricuda” or Pat Benetar’s “Heartbreaker.” But it’s when Cain dug a little deeper that things really got interesting. Cain and her band then took on the likes of Ozzy Osbourne’s “Bark at the Moon,” Megadeth’s “Symphony of Destruction,” White Zombie’s “Thunder Kiss ’65,” Metallica’s “Enter Sandman,” and Skid Row’s “Monkey Business,” and with total ease. Cain even ended her shift on a high note by jumping off the stage and briefly crowd surfing.

By the time Afterlife took the stage, the temperature outside had clearly dropped, and rain began to steadily creep in. However, the well-intoxicated crowd did not seem to mind one bit by this point. Before I analyze the band’s set, I will weigh the pros; the musicians were all extremely talented (especially their lead guitarist with his noticeable handicap) at what they did, and the songs they played were nearly identical to the originals. But it was the majority of the songs/bands they chose to cover that I just don’t care for much (and to be fair, I understand having to ‘play for your crowd’). Most of the material the group entertained were the type of overplayed rock songs I tend to immediately change the channel as soon as they come across the radio. And their singer may have been good at handling the likes of Godsmack or Alice In Chains (which each appeared to be his specialties), but a lot of the material from time to time seemed out of his vocal range.

And I would honestly be completely content if I never had to hear another cover band take on such forgettable tracks as Nickelback’s “Figured You Out” or Limp Bizkit’s “Break Stuff” ever again, but that’s just what Afterlife offered. And not only that, they also committed one of the biggest ‘no-no’s’ in my book of rock; performing some of the same songs as the other band on the bill. This was not only done once or twice, but THREE times when they covered the same tracks by Ozzy Osbourne, White Zombie, and Megadeth that Cain previously had. Maybe the conversation of who was playing what that night never took place, but it probably should have.

The crowd of course didn’t mind at all though, as long as they were given more of what they are used to. It seemed like the later the night went on (Afterlife actually played two full sets), the more unbearable the attendees became (there were even several drunken patrons who saw me on the other side of the barricade that actually asked if I could get them on the stage, or if I would relay a ‘song request’ to the band, as if that were how it actually works!). But the biggest shocker of them all came at the very last song of the night; a rendition of Drowning Pool’s “Bodies” caused the audience to rage in such a frenzy, said barricades were dangerously close to being knocked down by, well, bodies. I don’t think I was ever more relieved for a show to be over by that point, and left grateful to still be in one piece.