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Jackyl sticks together on road

Many bands approaching their 30th anniversary are touring these days with as few as one original member still on the road.

When Jackyl performs “The Lumberjack” Wednesday, three of the four guys on the Robins Theatre stage were there when it was recorded for the band’s 1992 debut album.

Lead singer Jesse James Dupree has a simple explanation for that unity — “Nobody else will have us.”

He insists there’s some truth behind that joking answer, and he used The Who as an example. Roger Daltrey isn’t a traditional lead singer. Pete Townshend is more of a rhythm guitarist, while John Entwistle is almost a lead bassist.

“And (drummer) Keith Moon just played with recklessness,” Dupree said. “But you put ’em together and they make a band, same as Jackyl.”

Jackyl — original members Dupree, lead vocals, guitar and chain saw; Jeff Worley, guitar and backing vocals; and Chris Worley, drums; with bass player Roman Glick, formerly of Brother Cane — sold a million copies of that self-titled debut album with the help of rock radio favorites like “Down on Me,” “When Will It Rain,” “I Stand Alone” and “The Lumberjack.” The followup, “Push Comes to Shove,” was certified gold.

The band has been road warriors every since, maintaining a heavy touring schedule — until 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic closed most venue nationwide. Even then, Jackyl didn’t go more than about three months without playing show, and the band played South Dakota’s Sturgis Motorcycle Rally last summer. Dupree is a business partner with Michael Ballard in the Full Throttle Saloon and was part of the TruTV / Destination America reality series filmed there for six seasons.

“Even in the pandemic, we had 600,000 here,” Dupree said during a telephone interview from South Dakota. “I have all the respect in the world for the virus, but we celebrate the fact that 600,000 people came to this town of 5,000, and this town was fine. They crawled all over everything, touched everything, and the town was fine. We feel very fortunate to celebrate that.”

While touring may have been limited, Dupree had no trouble keeping busy during the pandemic. Back in 2010, he started Jesse James Spirits, which manufactures American Outlaw Bourbon Whiskey and other distilled spirits.

“Lord knows I sold enough for other people,” he said. “I decided to sell some of my own.”

He also has deals with Harley-Davidson and Zippo Lighters, he’s worked with Sidney Frank, the businessman who made Grey Goose vodka and Jagermeister.

“Marketing and branding, I have a knack for doing that.”

When asked what else is on his bucket list, Dupree joked, “If I pass away without doing at least one open-heart surgery it’s going to bug me because I’ve done everything else.”

Jackyl’s last studio album was “Rowyco” in 2016. Dupree said there aren’t any immediate plans for a new album, but the band does have some new songs that may be released as singles.

The band occasionally road tests new material to gauge crowd reaction. For the Warren date, Dupree promised, “They’ll hear everything they expect to hear, and we expect them to sing loud and proud.”

If you go …

WHO: Jackyl

WHEN: 8 p.m. Wednesday

WHERE: Robins Theatre, 160 E. Market St., Warren

HOW MUCH: $60. robinstheatre.com

Starting at $3.23/week.

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