Album Notes

CD BABY
Rock: Surf Rock
EDITOR'S PICKS

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Bio:

Speedball JR consists of Fre 74 and Scorchin' Sascha on guitar, Beatgirl AleXandra on Bass, Freaky Frank on drums, El Gonk on Hammond and Go Go Wednesday as gogo girl.

The band was formed in the summer of 2000 during Ghent’s (surfcity Belgium) famous surf explosion.

They originally played more traditional surf rock like Dick Dale, Bobby Fuller Four, The Chantays, Ghastly Ones, Surfaris, the Ventures, Lively Ones and Blue Hawaians. You can hear these influences on their first studio session which was recorded at the end of 2000 at Peter De Veires yellow tape studio.

Later on they developed a more trashy sound with more garage and sixties influences and started to write their own tunes. Some of which were even used for publicity clips and for soundtracks by a local cinema chain and a German hot rod magazine.

The High spot of 2001 for the band was when they did the support for British Garage Gods The Prisoners, but the band also gigged with a number of cool surf bands like Jon & The Nightriders, Slacktone, The Wangs among others, all the time they were honing their sound and finding their own place among these contemporaries.

The first full CD “Whiplash” was recorded in 2003 at Zamans Catfarm studio and was released by Drunkabilly Records. The Sleeve design is a masterpiece of hotrod trashart by Mighty Sam the renowned graphic artist. This album also includes a video which was shown on the TMF, the Belgian MTV.

The second album “For the broad Minded”, recorded 2006 at CCR and released by Green Cookie records is selling like hot! The album consists of seven self penned tracks some of which are already considered classics, and five covers from the dutch Treble Spankers, Huevos Rancheros, Dick Dale & the Chantays. The artwork, again, by the great Mighty Sam.

Speedball JR continue to Gig all over Europe, bringing their intense reverb soaked liveshow to festivals and venues near you! So put on your shrunken head necklace, steal your grannies ironing board and surf on down to a venue near YOU!!!


Ike Andrews,
Cafe the fairplayers,
Ghent, 2006

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Sounds Like:

Fifties-sixties inspired surf, wild guitar riffs with stompin' drums and hightempo bass licks

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Speedball Jr. play with unending intensity and volume. They are louder and harsher than Dick Dale these days. This is not your father's surf. For The Broad Minded is a complete energy drain. You may not be able to take it all the way through in one sitting. Aggressive, intense, and way over the top! the final track on the disc is a Christmas vocal called "Rudolph's Secret."

Phil Dirt - Reverb Central
PO Box 7240, Santa Cruz, CA 95061-7240 USA
http://www.reverbcentral.com/

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Only few bands possess the art of making a surf album that excites from start to finish. Belgian outfit Speedball Jr is one of those.

www.planettrash.nl

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Seven self-penned tunes and five covers fill this high speed, nitrogen-injected album to burst out your speakers with each spin!

www.billybop.be

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I’d like to say that Belgium’s finest surfband have hit the crest of their wave with their second release. But I think there are bigger waves to come, they deserve it.

Scootering magazine (UK)

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