Photos By Brooke and Jacob Striewski

At this point seeing Jackyl at Bike Week is becoming an annual tradition for Rewind It Magazine. And while we weren’t expecting to see too much change as far as the set list goes (can pretty much call the order of the tracks by now), our third straight year catching the guys at Destination Daytona this past Saturday, March 11, was by far the most unexpected and entertaining show of theirs we’ve caught yet.

Last year, the guys brought along a fairly generic cover band from Georgia (whose name already escapes me), but this time they pulled out all of the stops. After an introduction by new Destination Daytona owner Teddy Morse, Nashville, TN’s Beau Braswell kicked things off with a surprising mix of rock and country, introducing himself to the crowd with the twangy original “Whiskey I.V.” and a cover of Johnny Cash’s “Flosom Prison Blues.” He followed this up with the slightly corny (yet more than appropriate for Bike Week) “Bikers, Babes, and Booze.”

“Drinking Alone Again” sounded like something I might have wrote myself back in my playing days. A cover of The Georgia Satellites’ “Keep Your Hands to Yourself” followed before closing with another barroom anthem in the form of “I Need a Drink.”Braswell and his band then took their bows, and you could hear the sincerity in his voice as he thanked the audience for their time.

Three stunt bike drivers then entered the “Globe of Death” one-by-one located in the center of the pavilion as the danger-ridden sideshow served as an intermission in between acts. A couple of lovely female dancers also showed off their acrobatic skills for the crowd around this same time (to the delight most male attendants), too.

And finally, the mighty Jackyl emerged once again with a triple whammy that included “Blast Off,” “My Moonshine Kicks Your Cocaine’s Ass,” and “Get All Up in It,” with the typical banter from frontman Jesse James Dupree mixed in as usual for good measure.

A one-two punch of “Down on Me” and “Back Off Brother” from their first album followed before seguing into “Push Comes to Shove” and a cover of Grand Funk Railroad’s “We’re An American Band.” It was at this point the band paused to award a Harley Street Glide to one lucky contestant with the right key. Once again the winner’s name escapes me (sorry!), but I do know it was the very last of ten contestants that ended up driving off a lucky winner.

The band then came back to play some classic country with a cover of Hank Williams Jr.’s “A Country Boy Can Survive,” as well as their own “Just Because I’m Drunk.” But it was after this that things got truly interesting, with one of the most epic surprise guests in the history of Bike Week. Hip hop pioneer Darryl “DMC” McDaniels of Run-DMC fame came out to blow the roof off the joint.

Surprisingly, the band actually launched into a new song with DMC; of course I once again did not catch the name (I want to say the title was along the lines of something as simple as “America”), but McDaniels and Dupree assured fans it was something they were “hearing for the very first time.” As if that was not enough, the five musicians then tore through the classic Run-DMC hits “It’s Tricky” and their version of the staple Aerosmith track “Walk This Way.”

The night could’ve easily ended right then and there on that high note, but it wouldn’t be a true Jackyl show without hearing “I Stand Alone,” “When Will It Rain,” “Dirty Little Mind,” “Redneck Punk,” and of course “The Lumberjack” (complete with Dupree’s chainsaw-wielding frenzy that finds him annihilating a bar stool every time). It was, is, and always will be the only fitting way to end a Jackyl show.

Jackyl at Destination Daytona on 3/12/22 By Jesse Striewski/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.