A graceful post-flood recovery
Hayley Grace’s response to post-flood PTSD, was to look at life and healing in a different way, then come through the other side writing about it – her new single ‘Mary Jane’ is the result.
Hayley and The Bay Collective, a raucous seven-piece big band – featuring a full horn section, guitar, bass, keys and percussion – will launch the song this week and play some shows to get it out there.
Seven spoke to Hayley on the weekend to get her POV on The Bay Collective and recovery.
So call me an old hippy, but is the song ‘Mary Jane’ about pot?
Kind of – it’s about plant medicine. I used the ‘Mary Jane’ reference, because I guess it’s something I have experience with. And when I wrote the song, it just came out like that. I wrote the song during the time I had PTSD from the floods. I was being offered pharmaceutical medications, but I went on a bit of a plant medicine journey to try to improve my mental health. And it worked. I felt amazing. It really helped me. I’m definitely out the other side.
So I guess if we are going to start a conversation with this song, it’s meant to be a sophisticated conversation. It’s not meant to be about abusing drugs and getting stoned. It’s meant to be that – okay, so maybe there are some ailments that we as humans suffer from, that if we look to natural resources and what the planet provides for us, potentially, there’s a better way to treat these things
I definitely don’t want to condone the abuse of drugs, or anything like that. I just would like to potentially start a conversation that’s based on my personal experience. This is what I suffered from, and I got some help with that.
Do you feel that as an entertainer you have a responsibility to talk about the sorts of issues that are important to you?
Absolutely. But all I can do is speak from my personal experience. And, for me, this subject is so taboo, you know, and there’s a lot of judgment around the use of plant medicines in the mental health arena. So if I can start a conversation about it, and it helps someone, it reaches someone where they are – that’s great.
Is ‘Mary Jane’ a precursor to an EP or an album?
Yeah, we’re going to release a bunch of singles this year.
And going on tour?
Yes – in March we’re hitting four venues and we’ve got a few more to be announced as well. We’re just trying to get out there and get in front of some new people. Obviously, having that three-year break, we’re really only just starting to gain some momentum again. It’s just about meeting as many people as we can, and sharing our pure joy of music.
Tell me about The Bay Collective?
The Bay Collective is a seven-piece lineup – Hayley Grace, MsEleneous, Felicity Lawless, Chelsea Skyeater, Daneel Cram, Niko Martin and Beck Flatt. Most of the performers are solo, headline performers in their own right, so they have their own bands, their own projects. All of us together have created a huge pool of original music to be inspired by and pull from.
The show features my original music and then most of the members of the band will play one of their original songs as well.
‘Mary Jane’ comes out today. Hayley Grace and The Bay Collective play the Ballina RSL on Saturday, March 23 from 8pm as part of the Great Southern Nights event.
Admission is free.
thebaycollectivemusic.com for more info.
