Considering they have yet to scratch the surface of their 30s, it may be hard to believe that Jessikill’s core unit of diversified lead vocalist Jessica Espinoza Alejo, shrewd shredding guitarist Jyro Alejo and bassist / vocalist / business entrepreneur Arturo Knight are entering their 10th year as a band. Considering their list of accomplishments, litany of metal mainstays for which they’ve opened, and festivals they’ve played, today’s official announcement may arguably be their greatest achievement.
Jessikill has landed a national spring tour opening for Swedish guitar maestro Yngwie J. Malmsteen. Due to Malmsteen having headlined the Tobin Center last Aug. 1 (coverage here), there are no Texas dates scheduled this time around. Nevertheless, the all-theatre 21-show trek that runs from May 1 through June 4 (see all dates below) marks an incredible moment that, Covid-19 pandemic notwithstanding, will forever be etched in Jessikill’s annals individually and collectively.
“It’s going to be totally badass,” Knight told Alamo True Metal this week. “Even though this is the biggest thing that has ever happened for Jessikill, I could see this also not being the biggest thing happening in the future. Because the tour hasn’t even started yet, but we’re already getting some PR people and some booking managers contacting us. It’s kind of like going from zero to a hundred.”
Kurt Deimer, who opened for former Queensryche vocalist Geoff Tate on Nov. 5 at the Aztec Theatre (coverage here), will also be on the full tour, while Culprit will appear on about half of the dates. But it’s Jessikill’s inclusion that’s sure to blow away fans in the tour’s cities who may not have ever seen the group perform live. Of course, an added interesting twist is that the Alejos and Knight also take part in Sacred Star, a tribute act dedicated to Malmsteen and Ronnie James Dio that includes the former’s classic songs “Rising Force,” “I’ll See the Light Tonight” and “I Am A Viking.”
Knight, who handles Jessikill’s business affairs and made the connections with Malmsteen’s manager to help land the tour, acknowledges that Sacred Star is “literally the only tribute band that exists in the entire world (to Malmsteen). No one can play like Yngwie except for Jyro.”
But is Malmsteen, who’s painfully protective of his unique style of guitar playing, aware the musicians he’s about to take on tour have a spinoff tribute band partially dedicated to him?
“I’m not sure how Yngwie is going to take it,” Knight said. “I’m sure we’ll find out. Jyro learned everything he knows on guitar by being inspired by Yngwie. Our styles are similar, but a lot of people have never seen Jyro play on a national stage.”
Jessikill has opened for countless national and international acts throughout Texas over the years. The group served as the backing band in 2016 for former Judas Priest, Iced Earth and one-time Malmsteen vocalist Tim “Ripper” Owens (see 34-photo slideshow below) and played Rocklahoma on a pair of occasions. Naturally, they’ve played San Antonio festivals such as Fiesta Oyster Bake and Siesta Fest. The upcoming tour, however, may outrank them all when it’s said and done.
But that’s not the only thing Jessikill has going on.
The band competed last Friday for the first time in the third Wacken Metal Battle San Antonio Regional, attempting to be the singular artist from the United States that will go on to play the prestigious three-day German festival this summer. Jessikill and Donella Drive advanced to the state final Sunday, March 20, at Come And Take It Live in Austin. They will compete against defending 2020 state champion Hanna Barakat, fellow Austin Regional winner Sadistic Force and victors from the Lubbock, Corpus Christi, Houston and Dallas regionals.
“The show was really amazing,” Knight said. “The reason we didn’t do the battles last time was we thought it was sketchy with the promoters behind the scenes. We decided to do it this time because we got the offer, and for the publicity of it, and to get more fans.”
Although Hanna Barakat won the State Battle at Come And Take It Live on March 14, 2020 (coverage here), the Austin band was shut out of the national final that May in Los Angeles due to the Covid shutdown that ensued the following week throughout the country. The 2021 Wacken Open Air festival was canceled, so there were no battles last year. Now, in 2022, a slew of bands will take another crack at it.
But next month’s state final may be a moot point for Jessikill. Should they win and go on to represent Texas bands in Los Angeles for the right to play at Wacken, that West Coast event scheduled for May 7 would conflict with the Malmsteen tour. That night, Jessikill is scheduled to play clear across the country at the legendary Gramercy Theater in New York. The following day, Jessikill and Malmsteen take part in the annual M3 Festival outside of Baltimore.
Whichever road Jessikill travels, Knight and the Alejos will be accompanied by often fill-in drummer Marcel Biel. Full-time Jessikill drummer Jordan Ames recently had a baby, so Biel — who rounds out the Sacred Star tribute band anyway — performed at the Wacken Regional last week. Knight said Biel is slated to do the Malmsteen tour too.
Knight acknowledged Jessikill will have a hometown headlining date during an off night from the tour Memorial Day weekend Sunday, May 29, with several local openers at a venue to be announced. But there’ll be another hometown show two weeks prior to the trek when Jessikill, along with Byfist, supports Riot and Ignitor.
Jessikill has jammed with Riot bassist and San Antonio’s own Don Van Stavern on several occasions and often plays Riot’s “Sign of the Crimson Storm” during tribute or cover shows around town. But the concert scheduled for Friday, April 22, at Vibes Event Center (tickets here) figures to be extra special with Jessikill supporting Riot.
“We’ve been looking forward to that one for many years,” Knight said. “It’s been a good five years that we haven’t played with them. But of course we’re really good friends with Donnie, so we’d always see him. We’ve been talking about Jessikill with Riot, so now that we’re on the bill, it’s going to be a really kickass show.”
As if all that isn’t enough, Jessikill continues to work on the follow-up to Another World. The band released the video for “Lightning” last November (watch it below), and it was one of the songs Jessikill performed at last week’s Wacken Regional to impress the panel of judges.
“We have at least 10-plus songs in our database that we prepare and write beforehand,” Knight said. “We’re going to release something before the Yngwie tour so we can take something with us on tour. Depending on our schedules, we might be able to release a (full-length) album, ‘cause we’re really fast in the studio. But we also want to make sure the music is really, really perfect. It might be an EP or it might be an album. The new music’s definitely different but not too different. We’re definitely trying different styles of music so we’re not playing the same thing.”
Another song Jessikill performed at the Wacken regional was “The Beast,” the lone Jessikill tune that features Knight on lead vocals for the first verse.
“I wrote it when I was, like, 15 years old, and I’m 28,” Knight said. “Honestly, every single time we play it, sometimes I still mess up. It still feels brand new. Jessikill rehearses a lot. Basically, we’re playing like KISS — we’re playing the same set. But sometimes you still mess up. It’s because our music is really, really technical. It also depends on our physical abilities, how much we rehearse. It’s much more than just playing the song. The song is really old, but we try to add new stuff to it too.”
In addition to his duties on stage, Knight is in charge of the group’s business activities. It’s a gig within the gig, so to speak, that he relishes.
“Oh yeah, I really love the business part of it,” he said. “That was one of my dreams growing up. When I was in one of my younger bands, I had to choose. Do you want to be in extracurricular activities or be in music? It just so happens that music and business are together in this, so I’m doing what I love while also on the business part of it I’m able to grow the band and the brand. The fact that we’re able to make money doing it is just icing on the top.
“For me, doing business and being able to book, I love to always accomplish stuff. Jessica and Jyro, they promote like hell. They’re out there doing their thing, doing the ground work. When someone does come up to them and says, ‘Hey, I wanna talk to someone to get this done,’ Jessica and Jyro both bring them to me. I make sure things are closed, and I also don’t like to take B.S. A lot of times, people like to take advantage of local bands. We don’t take that.”
And speaking of Jessica and Jyro . . . what’s the secret to the trio’s relationship and friendship flourishing after all these years — even before Jessikill existed? It goes beyond the stage, whether it’s in Jessikill, Sacred Star or other tribute acts such as Iron Maiden’s Seventh Son or Dokken’s Dokkit.
“I’ve known Jessica for many, many years, since I was, like, 9 years old,” said Knight, who performed with RockStar Riot opening for Loudness in 2008 at Randy’s Ballroom at age 15 (see slideshow). “When I was 8, 9, 10, when I first got on stage, one of the very first people I met performing, which was at Fiesta, was Jessica and her sister. And her dad, who did sound for us. Me and Jessica have been friends for a long time. And Jessikill has been around since 2012.
“We’re really just friends having a good time. We don’t really take things too serious, which might be a bad thing. But we truly enjoy what we’re doing. We’ve experienced some of the biggest points in our lives with each other, next to each other. And on top of that, we do get in fights. We do argue. We’re like brothers and sisters, which I think is a big thing that every band has to have if you want to be comfortable with each other.
“A lot of bands work very professionally where all you know is their first name, last name and how many kids they have. But it’s not really, really true chemistry that you’re able to build like a brother or sister where, even if you get in a fight, you know they’re still your brother or sister. Within the band, with me, Jessica and Jyro, we never worry about one another doing anything that will hurt us. Because we have full trust in each other and loyalty. Jessica has turned down record labels and other bands and tours just to play with us. Same here. Me and Jyro have turned down things just because we really only want to focus on Jessikill. We’re really loyal to the band. We are together every single day, but we give each other our space.”
It’s all led to a tour that’s certain to be memorable for three “kids” from San Antonio who are in the prime of their musical careers. But will Malmsteen, who’s often regarded as a musician who doesn’t pay much mind to those supporting him on tour, take notice?
“Out of 30 days,” Knight said, “we’re bound to have one date where we talk with him!”
It’s also bound to be part of a whirlwind next four months in the life of Jessikill. So excuse Knight if he lost track of the fact the band has existed for a decade.
“You’re right,” he said. “I didn’t even think about that!”
YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, KURT DEIMER, JESSIKILL TOUR DATES
05.01.22 HARTFORD, CT INFINITY HARTFORD
05.03.22 PATCHOGUE, NY PATCHOGUE THEATER
05.04.22 LEESBURG, VA TALLY HO THEATER
05.06.22 NORWALK, CT WALL ST THEATER
05.07.22 NEW YORK, NY GRAMERCY THEATER
05.08.22 COLUMBIA, MD M3 FESTIVAL
05.09.22 CHESTER, NY SUGAR LOAF PERFORMING ARTS
05.11.22 TOLEDO, OH STRANAHAN THEATER
05.12.22 ST. CHARLES, IL ARCADIA THEATER
05.13.22 HOBART, IN HOBART ART THEATER
05.14.22 CLEVELAND, OH THE ODEON
05.16.22 DENVER, CO ORIENTAL THEATER
05.18.22 RENO, NV VIRGINIA ST. BREWHOUSE
05.19.22 AGOURA HILLS, CA CANYON AGOURA
05.20.22 MONTCLAIR, CA CANYON MONTCLAIR
05.21.22 FRESNO, CA TOWER THEATER
05.22.22 SANTA CLARITA, CA CANYON SANTA CLARITA
05.24.22 TEMPE, AZ THE MARQUEE
05.25.22 TUCSON, AZ RIALTO THEATER
06.03.22 ORLANDO, FL PLAZA LIVE
06.04.22 FT. LAUDERDALE, FL PARKER PLAYHOUSE
