Bad Dream Break In

Section 504 is Alter Boy’s newest single, paying homage to the extraordinary fight of disabled people in the United States in amending the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 504, which was monumental in securing equal rights for the disabled community and guiding revisions to the Disability Discrimination Act in Australia. Alter Boy’s disabled members have sought to compose an anthem to embrace and celebrate disability, while also recognising the ongoing struggle against disability injustice, and barriers to access and inclusion.  

  

Molly/Aaron, the band's vocalist, said “Part of Alter Boy’s mission is to challenge the music industry itself to include, represent and celebrate deaf and disabled people, and to consider alternatives to access and inclusion. We hope this song will serve to connect disabled people internationally and increase disabled representation within the arts.” 

  

The song encourages disabled and able-bodied listeners alike to understand that there is nothing inherently bad or wrong about disability. The opening line, time to pray for a cure, why don’t you try again hun is a direct nod to this messaging, reminding us that it is often the systems themselves that are disabling and need to be dismantled. The band asks listeners Cause this world’s not made for us, could we dream another up? Despite Alter Boy’s intentions, the song does not seek to alienate non-disabled listeners and is open to unique interpretation for anybody who might feel othered or misrepresented.  

 

The lyrics are written by deaf members and the music and production is influenced by deaf and hearing members. Our signature sub-base and heavy drums are employed for the benefit our deaf listeners who can relate to the music by hearing lower tones or feeling the beat. Section 504 has also been translated into Australian sign language (Auslan) and will be performed by our deaf members in Auslan at upcoming shows, with intent to create an Auslan-centred music video in future.  

All vocals are recorded by our lead singer who is a trans, gender-fluid person, using She and He pronouns interchangeably and using sound technology to modify vocals to align with his/her alternate gender identities. Although Alter Boy does not consider vocal tone or pitch to be inherently binary or discernible by sex or gender, there are elements of the track which are naturally higher pitched, carrying a “conventionally feminine” tone and elements that have been altered to sound “conventionally masculine”, to encapsulate the singer’s dual gender identities.

Section 504 Act Of God

Slay King

Die For Me

In Death We Wed

I Repent

No One's Gone Like You

Alter Boy - Like Home

Old Love

Frankenstein's Dream

Glitter

Alter Boy are not your usual band and there is no other band like it. An alt-pop collective fronted by vocalist, Molly Priest, who bring a new take on musical production and presentation – like a breath of air never breathed before. Not just new light through old windows, but an entity that boldly evokes and exercises accessibility and inclusion and does so in a way that storms a trail through dream pop, theatrical imagery and avant-garde costuming that recalls the renaissance as much as it does the 21st century work of the likes of Italian director, Romeo Castellucci. And it does so with beautifully open hands that welcome the audience into the experience.

An Alter Boy performance combines heartbeat-like rhythms both pounding and pulsating with visual storytelling and bespoke lighting in an otherworldly way that is very much of this world.

Alter Boy

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