Returning from their fourth triumphant tour overseas in the past 18 months, Melbourne three-piece riff rockers, Dallas Frasca are set to celebrate their international successes and unleash their explosive new single ‘You Are Beautiful’.

In late October the band released the accompanying video to ‘You Are Beautiful’ which features Dallas Frasca fans who came together after a call out on social media. According to Dallas and co. the video “celebrates and embraces diversity and positive body image and yes we all take off our clothes to prove the point”.

It didn’t take long before the video was given the restricted rating by Youtube authorities, while at the same time being shared by viral content site Upworthy (posted in support of the band’s positive message). We chatted to Dallas about going viral,the power of social media and the politics of Youtube’s restriction policies.

Was there a specific moment that inspired ‘You Are Beautiful’ or was it a reaction to the general atmosphere in the culture?

‘You Are Beautiful’ is our ‘fuck you’ to majority of the media for making people feel inadequate about themselves. We think it’s time to break the chain of being programmed by the media and corporations into accepting unrealistic body images.

‘You Are Beautiful’ sings out to society and advertisers that prey upon men and women’s insecurities. The film clip marries this statement and celebrates and embraces diversity and positive body image and yes we all take off our clothes to prove the point. There is so much excessive “photoshopping” of body images in the media, it’s time people un-prescribed to the notion that being a certain size, shape, colour, weight determines whether you’re healthy, beautiful or sexy. We hope this song will inspire people to be more aware of what they are reading and feel. We are all beautiful the way we are!

Would you say there’s a dearth of songs promoting the kind of body-positive message contained in ‘You Are Beautiful’?

If you look, they’re a few great tracks out there. I’m a big fan of India Arie’s, ‘Video’, a kickass song with a great message for people to realise that the standards they are held to are unrealistic.

Other positive body image songs I can think of would be; En Vogue’s – ‘Free Your Mind’, Dolly Parton – ‘Dumb Blonde’, Lissie – ‘Shameless’, Marina & The Diamonds – ‘Hollywood’ and Mary J. Blige – ‘Work That’. The most recent advent of body-positive artists that springs to mind would be Megan Trainer with her song, ‘All About That Bass’.

How did the concept for the ‘You Are Beautiful’ video come together? Was it a surge of inspiration or a slow, collaborative process?

We wanted to amplify the message of our song through visual images and make a bold statement that would get a reaction from people. My super talented boyfriend (actor / director Scott Major) was heavily involved in the story line and while him and I threw ideas around the room it was eventually Jeff (guitarist) who suggested portraying people of all different body types in their natural state, we all loved it and felt it was an empowering by idea that would accompany the message of the song well.

We put the call out for willing participants over our social media and was overwhelmed by the response. You will see the diversity in the people who believe in the message that appear on the video.

Was there a particular reaction you were looking to get from viewers / listeners?

I think when we’re in the middle of song writing, you’re not really focused on what other people think, you are making something that you are passionate about, that way it’s honest. Once we had finished writing the song, I suppose we hoped the song would inspire people to be more aware of what they are reading and to feel beautiful the way they are.

In terms of the video, I suppose nudity is a confronting idea for some, but we all have those bits. It’s weird to think how we have conditioned ourselves this way, I mean we were born the way we were intended right? I think all humans beings struggle with body image at some point or another, so this video was to simply make people aware of what they are reading and to feel good about themselves. Body-shaming is not a way to live your life.

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Most reactions to the clip were understanding and positive. Were there any negative responses? What did people cite as being a problem? 

There will always your trolls on the Internet and it’s definitely NSFW due to the nudity, but overall it has been 99% positive. Some comments have been:

“Made me cry Dallas! Made me feel so good about myself. We cut, bleach, stain, strain, change, shave, our bodies when all that really matters is who we are on the inside. Thanx for making me feel so beautiful”

“Congratulations on a thought provoking song and video. Society today is so obsessed that people have to look a certain way and this I hope reminds people that no matter what shape or size you are You Are Beautiful. Well done, lets hope this generates a lot of media attention and for once society does not become so judgmental.” 

It always takes one monkey to stop the show and I would assume that one or two of them clicked on the ‘report to youtube’ button due to the nudity in the clip and gave it an 18+ restriction.

How did you discover that the clip had been flagged? What was your reaction?

We were notified by YouTube via email, but I think we all knew it was going to happen. Our clip about body confidence, positivity and empowerment had a restriction placed on it (10,000 hits in the first 24 hrs).

I mean you can watch, RedFoo’s incredibly offensive and misogynistic clip that is not only degrading to women but exploits woman in such a blatant way it supports a rape culture attitude, yet there’s ZERO restrictions? I mean what are the boundaries? It is a confusing time in culture and we felt passionate enough to have written a song about it. There seems to be a huge grey area when it comes to censorship regulations. I mean you can watch porn without having to sign into anything, but for ours, you must be over 18 and sign into your account to watch it, makes me laugh.

Do you feel the ‘You Are Beautiful’ video warranted a restriction?

‘You Are Beautiful’ is non-violent and non-sexual visual representation that is promoting a positive body image. Yes there is nudity but really, what’s more offensive? Look at RedFoo or Jo Lo and Iggy Azalea spreading their butts apart, singing “give him what he asks for?” What would you rather your kids watch in a PG time slot? I mean, how are these music videos truly shaping the world?

Would you say the clip is appropriate for those aged under 18? 

Personally I think this song and video is for everyone to see… but each to their own. When we found out our new clip was played in a high school classroom… by a teacher, we were all so happy, that majority of people get the simple message, but you can never please everyone. I think it has an empowering meaning that should be installed into children. As long as they are healthy, then they should feel happy with the way that that are.

Was the video uploaded or shared elsewhere? What was the reaction from admins on those platforms?

Upworthy posted our video up to their 7.4million viewers on Facebook plus their other social media platforms which generated around 30,000 plays on the video in about 5 days, there were a few mixed reactions but again generally positive across the board.

Dallas’ new album, Love Army comes out in 2015.

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