JJ SPEEDBALL // Unleashes New Single ‘Flood Relief’

There’s a lot of darkness surrounding our recent floods, but Brisbane rock royalty JJ Speedball has brought some light with his latest single, Flood Relief.

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It was created amid the crisis and is bound to be as cathartic for you as it was for JJ himself. We caught up with the legend to chat about how it came together and more.

Hysteria: Let’s dig into the experiences that shaped Flood Relief and what the track means to you.

JJ: Floods are tough. I’ve been through 2011 and 2022. Life is relentless enough without dealing with the experience of a flood. Anxiety, heavy lifting, more anxiety, more heavy lifting, watching your house get inundated, then afterwards the cleaning up, damaged personal items, fixing your home, depression kicks in … It’s not the end of the world, but it’s a complicated experience.

So when the river was rising in early 2022, I was making trailer trips from the family home, relocating items. I moved what I could and let the Brisbane River take the rest. I actually already had studio time booked for the next day to finish off some albums. The day I went to the studio, the flood levels were still stagnant; it was a good time to do it. So I went down to finish off a bunch of songs and took the opportunity to record Flood Relief. The next day I was back up to Brisbane cleaning up the aftermath.

I would not have recorded Flood Relief if I hadn’t already had the studio time booked. As anyone who has been through intense experiences knows, a welcome distraction is treasured. For me, it was an awesome release and temporary distraction from the devastation.

If you really step back, the primary purpose of this song is not merely to raise funds; it is a huge outlet of creative, emotional and physical energy.
[ JJ Speedball ]

It must’ve been such a scary experience dealing with the floods again; how are you feeling now?

I wouldn’t use scary, but anxiety overload is appropriate. It’s a weird experience because you are a walking bullet of mixed emotion, trying to do a zillion things while other residents who aren’t affected by the floods don’t feel the same pain. It’s a weird one. For me personally, since I dealt with all of the business of the 2011 floods, these 2022 floods were not as tough to deal with. The damage and depression were still there, but you know it was just a process. The effect these floods have had on people are quite varied. I’m still helping other flood-affected friends.

We hear you’ll be donating the proceeds from the track. Tell us about where that’ll be going.

I have done countless fundraisers for all kinds of things–community radio stations, people’s illnesses and deaths and many more things. I have also done fundraisers for charity organisations where I have no clear idea where the money is actually going. So I dug deep from the old-time sayings “Charity starts at home” and “God helps those who help themselves” and did something on an individual level. It’s an independent initiative by myself to create something, let it fly, spread the joy and raise some funds for my own flood outlays. Realistically, the very modest proceeds will go towards reconnection fees, plasterboard and basics. If you really step back, the primary purpose of this song is not merely to raise funds; it is a huge outlet of creative, emotional and physical energy. The proceeds will be a bonus.

We’re stoked to have the JJ Speedball band at Halloween Hysteria. What can punters expect to see there?

JJ Speedball performing at The Mansfield Tavern will be like Fonzie making a welcome return to Arnold’s Restaurant. Being a senior member of the Halloween Hysteria fraternity and a long time “Southsider”, having this festival at The Mansfield Tavern is pretty special. It is the holy “ROCK” mecca of the Southside. All of the greats have played there, from The Cult to Wickety Wak! The last time I played there was 26 years ago! JJ SPEEDBALL has created a tailored set for the Mansfield show. We are using every second of our playing time to generate a cherry rock spectacular. We were recently termed as “Jivebunny on steroids”.

Anyone you’re keen to see at the show?

Yes, besides the headliners, I’m looking forward to seeing a whole bunch of bands I haven’t seen. These festivals are a great place to kick back, people watch, observe bits of all the bands and catch up with friends.

Purchase JJ Speedball’s Flood Relief here.

JJ Speedball play Halloween Hysteria at Mansfield Tavern on Saturday April 2nd with Spiderbait, Clowns, King Parrot and many more.