Rock star's son ready to change music scene

Breaking into the music business can be tough for a second-generation performer. Just ask Julian Lennon, Frank Sinatra Jr. or even Hank Williams Jr. before he was able to break out of his father's shadow.

But Nigel Dupree, son of Jesse James Dupree, who has fronted the band Jackyl since the early 1990s, said he has no intention of living off his father's success.

"If it weren't for my dad, I wouldn't have had the opportunities that have come my way," Dupree said. "But I'm not piggybacking on his name. People who expect ‘Jackyl Lite' will be coming to see the wrong band."

Dupree, 23, will appear tonight with the Nigel Dupree Band at Schock's Pub in Scott City. The lead singer and guitarist for the group, Dupree is perhaps best known for performing on truTV's "Full Throttle Saloon" in addition to playing dates on the road.

"We get to places in a van, not a tour bus," Dupree said. "But I'm certain that a tour bus is in our future."

Dupree knows a little about tour busses. As a young boy, he had plenty of "tour-bus time" traveling with his father when Jackyl was opening for headliners like ZZ Top, Damn Yankees, Motley Crue and Aerosmith.

"I sort of grew up on a tour bus," he said. "Steven Tyler [the lead singer of Aerosmith] would take me with him to appearances and introduce me as ‘the kid.' Vince Neil [the lead singer of Motley Crue] took me to my first baseball game. The sad thing is that I don't remember a lot from those times because I was so young."

It was that early exposure to the road and his father's work that led Dupree to experiment with musical instruments while he was growing up. He formed a band during his freshman year in high school after he figured out the basic elements of rock.

"I went to high school in Kennesaw, Ga.," he said. "My bandmates and I just started playing what we knew everywhere we could,"

Dupree graduated from high school a year early so that he could devote his time to making music. With bandmates that included those who had been with him since his freshman year, the Nigel Dupree Band was formed and signed to a recording contract. Their album "Attraction" was released in 2009, followed by "Up To No Good" in 2012.

"The sound of the band has been hard to define," he said. "We're a little bit of everything. There's 1970s influences from Ted Nugent and Led Zeppelin. There's also ‘80s influences from U2 and Motley Crue. Really we just do the basics of rock. If you need more than that, something's wrong."

While there always will be some who connect him with his father, Dupree said he's serious about being his own man.

"I want to be the next guy who comes out and change the scene," he said. "Rock has been static for so long. At the shows we do, people tell me that it's good to have heard great rock music for a change. We're not political or anything; we just do straight-up rock shows."

Members of Headley Grange, from left, Kenny Fisher, Scot Kluesner, Derrick Shipp and Lamar Holdiness, pose Aug. 24, 2011. The band will play before the Nigel Dupree Band takes the stage tonight at Schock’s Pub in Scott City. (Laura Simon ~ lsimon@semissourian.com, file)

A straight-up rock show is what people can expect from the band at Schock's Pub, according to Paul Schock, the pub's owner.

"I think it will be a great event for people to come and check out the scene," Schock said. "Along with the great music, they can get a small taste of the Full Throttle Saloon and Sturgis, South Dakota."

Schock said Scott City has been supportive of his effort to bring the Nigel Dupree Band to his place.

"The street in front of the pub will be blocked-off and reserved for motorcycle parking," he said.

Shock's Pub is located at 116 E. Hickory St. in Scott City. Headley Grange, the opening act, is scheduled to perform at 9 p.m., followed by the Nigel Dupree Band at an undetermined time. Admission is $10. For more information, contact Paul Schock at 587-1404.

klewis@semissourian.com

388-3635

Pertinent address:

116 E. Hickory St., Scott City, MO