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Dave Dowling When we first met he was doing one of his semi-regular backyard DIY gigs on the north side of Melbourne harley younglocal musicians with big ideas and a lot of enthusiasm.
“He just came over to my house and flew straight out,” Dowling says. “‘I’ve been thinking about this for a while.
the idea is off the list recorda record label and event organization focused on empowering artists and music lovers with disabilities.
“I fell in love with the idea,” says Dowling. “I was like, ‘Yeah, I want to be part of it.
“It is really thoughtful to think of starting a label that empowers punters and musicians with disabilities in the Australian music environment.”
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“I knew Dave was a deaf artist and wanted to know what he was up against because I live with a mental illness,” Young says. .
“We talked about challenges, barriers and stigma around disability in the music industry.”
There were many barriers, some visibly obvious, some not. Young and Dowling wanted to address both.
“Artists with disabilities are often pushed out into the community sector and told their music is culturally irrelevant,” says Young.
“It’s like, ‘You do it for therapy, for your own therapy.’
“There are many disability arts initiatives that are well-intentioned but run by people with disability advocacy backgrounds rather than musical backgrounds.
“So you end up with well-meaning mothers putting together rock concerts of different genres and marketing them poorly.”
“No shame, no secrets”
Off the List released music from a string of acts including the Sydney Dream Pop Quintet library siestaBrisbane Punk Trio SlamroadMelbourne Solo Project celiac disease –And we have been aiming for an operation that puts the artists’ artistry first, not the musicians’ obstacles.
“We wanted to put together some sort of label or initiative, truly disability driven, but also something focused in terms of the styles and types of music we wanted to do, and creatively meaningful. It’s become something,” says Young.
“It’s cool and makes you want to go to a show, like a non-disabled person who cares about access.”
Not everyone who plays at Off The List shows or releases records on their own label is disabled.
“We want access to be key,” says Young. “And to be a best practice label in terms of access and inclusion.
“We release music from artists without disabilities, and we have pretty broad control over what we mean about disability. At least 50% of the music we release is disabled. I just want to make sure it’s by an artist or an artist who has a life experience with a disability “mental illness.” “
one of their artists between mirrorsthe classically trained Naarm/Melbourne-based duo Emily Gray and Eileen Chung Someone I’ve been making music with for years.
They just released their debut EP blue dreamsa dreamy release containing intimate songs that have found new meaning during Melbourne’s many COVID lockdowns.
“A lot of the songs are about loneliness and connection and things like that,” says Gray. “When I couldn’t see anyone anymore, it started to mean something else.
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“So I think we leaned into that a little bit more than Lockdown. It’s interesting how the songs you write start to mean different things.”
When Zhong was attending Arts Access Victoria’s mentoring program, Young approached them and asked if their band would be interested in releasing music through his label.
The band and label started talking and it seemed like a good fit.
“From the beginning, they were like, ‘Let me know if there’s anything I can do to work better with you,'” says Gray.
“If there’s one specific thing we can do when we’re having a meeting or a gig, what do you need?” It’s always like front and center I think it was kind of an afterthought for a lot of people.
“Somehow I have to be careful,” adds Zhong. “Or you have to subtly make it known. But with them it’s very open. No shame or secret.”
power to ask
Disability comes in countless forms and every individual has different needs when it comes to providing accessible events. This makes “getting it right” a particularly difficult task.
“Just because you have certain access barriers doesn’t mean you really know everything about access,” says Young. “We are sure we make mistakes.”
Labels solve this problem by asking lots of questions and asking for help from those in the know. This includes art his workers, disability and accessibility specialists, and his own artists.
This is an area where traditional music industry structures can collapse as they seek to engage with marginalized communities.
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Few people like to say or speak to someone in a way that hurts or hurts them.
However, it is the defensiveness, not the mistake, that is most difficult and hurtful to the people they consult.
This can be one of the biggest barriers to broader efforts to make spaces more accessible.
“There’s a lot of fear that we’ll be canceled because we did something wrong,” says Young.
“Many people feel very uncomfortable when faced with the fact that they may not know everything,” says Zhong.
“They get caught up in the self-consciousness, ‘I don’t want to ask questions because it becomes clear that I don’t know everything.'”
“What I really appreciated from Off the List is that they never responded in a personal way,” Gray says of his deal with the label.
“They just ask questions. They ask what you need. It’s very welcoming and I feel like that’s what accessibility should be.”
“Lead with flexibility and an open mind,” agrees Zhong. “What statement could you make instead of saying, ‘How can I make up my mind about this person?'” Can you learn? “
“A lot of people don’t want to learn,” continues Gray. “They just want to keep doing things the way they’ve always been.
“But I feel like people are starting to realize that the way we do things is flawed in many ways, and we realize that we need to fundamentally change the structure of things like live music. those who actually see it.”
While some of these changes can be daunting, Young wants people from all walks of life in the music industry to know that not all are.
“There is no access information for music venues anywhere,” he says.
“Many venue owners are very receptive to working with the disabled community, but they don’t know how, feel empowered or worried.
“We have found that with very little work, many venues that would normally not be considered accessible can be made accessible. As long as we have accessible toilets and ramped entrances, we can do a lot. Now there are other things built around it.
“All they really needed was proper access documentation to point to access information to support the access needs of people coming to the event. I feel confident that I can do it.”
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Off the List started themselves by preparing these access documents to the venues they use, free of charge. I hope it will be one way to help remove barriers.
“There are about four or five venues that we didn’t call accessible venues before or didn’t know they were,” says Young.
“Even if the venue is not fully accessible, if there are three stairs and handrails, people should be made aware of that. Because it’s possible. They didn’t know it was possible.”
Promising progress, but still a long way to go
Ultimately, Dowling believes parts of the music industry are beginning to dismantle the unintentional canism that has been part of its fabric forever.
“There are places that don’t offer seating,” says Dowling. “Even if it’s prohibited beforehand, they still show strobes. There are still many venues with stairs up to where the band is playing, but there are all such things.”
“It’s not something that can be magically changed overnight, but from my perspective, I’m seeing some really good, big positives.”
The music industry has a long history of embracing styles, sounds and ideas from the underground, so independent operators like Off the List will exemplify a larger entity.
Despite their small stature, they hope to make a big impact on the lives of the people they interact with.
“We want to grow the label, which is kind of a community in the sense that people relate to the label,” says Young.
“It excites people, it makes people think, ‘Yeah, this is how I feel. This is me, this is me. These are the people I want to be with, play with.’ I want to go.” Because these are the type of people I like to be with.
“It gives people a sense of belonging.”
It’s this attitude that makes Between Mirrors so comfortable to work with.
“Accessibility is much more important than having ramps at the venue,” says Zhong. “This is not a checklist, it’s a mindset.
“For us, working with people who prioritize accessibility [aligning with] Empathy-first people can connect with marginalized people, not just with disabilities.
“For example, I am an immigrant from China, and we are both queer. How do I do that?” stay home a little longer
“It’s the kind of thing that the idea of accessibility brings to the way we approach everything.”
Check out Off The List releases here.
Check out Between Mirrors’ work here.
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