Jackyl did break out the chainsaw every night and that fucker was LOUD and smelly. Jesse, the singer would carve up whatever was around, usually a stool that they would bring out as a prop but sometimes it would be an amp or part of the stage. If they didn't get their guaranteed money after a show, there would be a rumble and I mean serious fighting, where people end up really bloody. They had a couple of guitar tech/roadies that were the meanest, toughest sonsofbitches I've ever come across. They used kicking your ass as a really powerful bargaining chip, it usually worked.
To be very honest, we had a lot of involvement with this band as they were on the same management company (Tuttle Management). Jesse took over at some point and was sort of our manager, yes, I know... very strange. The guy is an extremely shrewd and calculating business guy. He was signed to Geffen by John Kalodner and is/was very close friends with the guy so you kind of get a drift for the world he was associated with, and us inadvertently I'm afraid.
A funny side note on the pomposity of the record industry: whenever Kaldoner is credited on an album his credit reads:
John Kalodner - John Kaldoner
So, he took us out on tour several times to 'bust our cherries.' He would piss on your feet if he caught you in a shower (or worse). He would lock you out of your hotel room naked if possible. He showed us his privates a lot (the cornish hen) and asked us if we would like to blow him, we repeatedly turned him down of course.
His nickname for me was Dicks Ahoy because he thought I looked like a gay sailor.
He knew the Jackyl fans would hate us and that probably amused him. We still had fun playing with them and every once in awhile would win over some of their fans, only to find out that really wanted to meet Jesse. There was a couple that followed Jackyl everywhere and they would also follow us around and eventually typed weird stalker letters to our manager's office.
These guys were sex, drugs and rock and roll to the MAX (although Jesse is completely sober and always has been). We witnessed a lot with them. I was shocked at the things that the women that followed them around were willing to do, lots of cheese whiz, whip creme and weird junk like that. They had a lot of big sex orgies where everyone was screwing and stuff. Jesse was divorced and single at the time and on one seventeen date stretch he was laid sixteen times by a different woman every night/town. The one day off was a Sunday night when we were snowed in in Detroit. These women weren't all groupie types either, lots of regular looking girls. I can't tell you how many times I watched a boyfriend bring his girlfriend to the tour bus and wait patiently as she got pounded or gave head to one or ALL of the guys. She would then emerge with an autographed picture and they would walk hand and hand to their car. They also had a lot of groupies that were lesbian couples, or a threesome of girls.
We got to see ZZ Top with them, but it sucked because we found out that they play along to pre-recorded music that Frank controls from triggers in his drum kit. Bummer.
It's worth noting that Tom Bettini and Jimmy Stiff, both original members are now born-again country preacher types.
This is Jesse caught in an embarrassing moment on the Tom Green show, although I don't know that the man could ever really be truly embarrassed, I'm sure he walked away without a second thought.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlwQwMrOD98
If you ever meet him, don't tell him I wrote all this stuff on an internet forum as I don't want to get killed by redneck punks.
Jesse still plays with Jackyl and is now an MTV reality show producer (Two-a-Days) and owns a studio that recorded that Gnarls Barkley record. Those guys commented that he didn't seem 'trustworthy.'
Hah!