WAYLAND ROCK BAND: A show worth seeing!

Recently, I headed to the Lincoln Theatre in Raleigh, North Carolina to see my friends in a band called Lexx Luthor and try to get in touch with Jesse James Dupree who is the lead singer in headlining act Jackyl. Jesse is one of the main characters in the Full Throttle Saloon TV show on TRUTV.

Back in the 80s, Jesse James Dupree was the lead singer in rock bands Pegasus Roxx and PG-13 before joining Jackyl. We used to hang out in the “My Club” rock club in Rocky Mount where I worked as a DJ in the early 1980s. My Wednesday DJ show was called the “Night of Jackle” and he used say I had the coolest last name. So almost 30 years later, I wanted to see if Jesse remembered the club and hanging out, and whether my last name was any inspiration for the “Jackyl” band name. Even before talking to Jesse, I found out that the band Jackyl existed before Jesse joined the band so I was not an inspiration. When I asked him about the club, he responded with a smile on his face: “Damn that was a long time ago!”

The lineup this evening was:
Automag: A Southern Hard Metal band from NC. I will be sharing some shots soon. Awesome band and cool people!
Lexx Luthor: Any band that plays early Queensryche and Iron Maiden and does it well is a great band in my book. Going into the night, this band was the main musical reason I attended the show.
Wayland: These guys were amazing on and off the stage.
Jackyl : Any band that Jesse James Dupree is involved is always top notch. This was the first time I saw Jackyl and they owned the stage and bonded with the fans. Jesse was like that in the early days even before Jackyl.

One of the unexpected surprises of the evening was Wayland. These guys had great energy and great songs. If you get a chance to see them, do not miss out! They truly are passionate about what they are doing and I wish them the best of luck. The good news is that they are managed by the veteran Jesse James Dupree. He will help them get their music to the masses.

Here are some of my favorite shots from their set.

Their dynamic and energetic lead singer Mitch Arnold owned the stage and incited the fans.