{"id":11236,"date":"2019-05-31T16:41:01","date_gmt":"2019-05-31T16:41:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/skylight.gr\/?p=11236"},"modified":"2019-05-31T16:43:12","modified_gmt":"2019-05-31T16:43:12","slug":"wobbling-about-rocking-out-a-platform-for-uk-disabled-musicians","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/2019\/05\/31\/wobbling-about-rocking-out-a-platform-for-uk-disabled-musicians\/","title":{"rendered":"WOBBLING ABOUT & ROCKING OUT – A platform for disabled musicians"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Interview with Dom Smith<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Can you please describe us your platform “Wobbling About & Rocking Out”?<\/strong>

Thanks for asking! Wobbling About and Rocking Out is a platform centred around promoting disability and mental health awareness locally (in Hull and the East Riding) as well as nationally, and internationally where appropriate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. How did you decide to run this platform and what is your feedback so far?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was working at the Martin Trust Center\nfor Entrepreneurship in Boston, US. There are these incredible people there,\nright? These young people who are building the next generation of robotic limbs\nand such, you can read some of the interview series I did here, if its of\ninterest: http:\/\/entrepreneurship.mit.edu\/author\/dom\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyway, the entrepreneurial ecosystem there\nis so intense. They push everyone at MIT \u2013 whether it\u2019s staff, students or a\nStoryteller\/Journalist in Residence like me. They wanted to know what else I\nwas gonna do with my life. I would say, \u2018Oh, yeah! I edit Soundsphere magazine\nand have done for ten years\u2026\u2019, and they\u2019d be like\u2026 \u201cYeah, but what else!?\u201d\nHaha! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

WARO came about because I then questioned\nwhether I just wanted to write about music, or if I wanted to do more\u2026.like maybe\nhelp people see how having a disability doesn\u2019t have to stop you from being\ncreative, or starting your own business. Because of my short time at MIT, I was\nable to find a tonne of drive and determination to come back to the UK, go back\nto my roots and start something that I think has reinvigorated my career, and\ngot me excited about journalism again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. What is the benefit for a disabled musician if he\/she joins your platform?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think it depends on how you think about\nit. I\u2019ve always wanted to tell stories, and to report on good people doing good\nshit with their time and energy! WARO is an opportunity for people to tell\ntheir story! Are you in a band, and have a disability? I want to hear from you.\nDo you have a creative business, and have a disability, challenge and\/or mental\nhealth issue? I want to hear from you too!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4.  How did BBC  get in touch with you regarding your platform?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh, man! That\u2019s my good buddy, Kofi Smiles!\nKofi has the best smile in all of Hull! I think he is officially the face of\nthe place! Haha! He\u2019s one of the nicest, and most prolific dudes in the area,\nand he (alongside a great team of people at BBC Radio Humberside) decided to\nfeature me. They\u2019ve also done stuff on an incredible band from the area who\npromote mental health awareness in theur songs (NEWMEDS), body positivity\n(Rishi Bhaskara [Positivity Poppa] and Milly Smith [SelfLoveClub] and the deaf\ncommunity (Elephant In The Room, and Rexy Adventures). Please do go check out\ntheir content: https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BBCNoFilter\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

5.  You also run a magazine a label and you are an active musician as well. How do you share your time between all these demanding activities?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I need to sleep more! I try and have\nregular coffee\/tea meetings, and spend time with all the people that matter\nmost to me as often as I can. I think forward planning has saved me from losing\neveryone! Ha!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I just make sure I have to physically leave\nmy office and go and see someone, or go get food so that I can be as productive\nas possible when I get back. I do believe that the secret to a happy life is to\nstay busy, but to take enough time out, and to surround yourself with positive\ninspiring people. With Soundsphere, it\u2019s a 24\/7 job if I allow it to be \u2013 it\u2019s\ntaken me all over the world, and we\u2019ve been able to help some incredible young\npeople get the careers in journalism (and the wider creative industries) that\nthey\u2019ve always wanted to. I am proud of that, but yeah\u2026it doesn\u2019t leave much\ntime to rest. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The band? The Parasitic Twins! I\u2019m lucky\nenough to be able to share the stage with a lad who I consider to be my\nbrother, Max Watt. Man, his riffs are insane. I mean, he\u2019s a miserable bugger,\nand his lyrics reflect that, but he is one of the most creative, and talented\nsouls I\u2019ve ever me \u2013 I\u2019m lucky enough to have met a lot of \u2018em. It\u2019s grindcore\nand doom metal, so it\u2019s pretty bloody niche, but we\u2019re happy because quite a\nfew people have dig it so far! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also have a post-punk band called Mary\nand The Ram which I\u2019m really excited about doing more stuff with later in the\nyear, and a drone band called The Hellish Trembling Infernal Nightmare\nGenerator (The Thing), which is just really good fun! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With The New Anonymous record label, there\nare cool things happening too! We\u2019re gonna be putting out some new stuff from a\nkiller band called Waste Of Paint! So, watch this space!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. What is the current situation in UK about disabled fans\/musicians and their access to the musical resources?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It could definitely be better! That said, I\nfeel that disabled people who are keen on becoming musicians need to be open to\ntrying to find ways around their disability \u2013 wherever possible \u2013 so that they\ncan play in a way that makes them comfortable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, when I play, I use the kick\npedal pretty sparingly, and I don\u2019t use a foot with my hi-hat \u2013 that freaks\nsome people out, but it suits The Parasitic Twins\u2019 genre of slow and heavy doom\nmetal, and it means that I\u2019m not forcing myself to do something that would mean\nI was in agony for an entire set! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That being said, some people with Cerebral\nPalsy will be able to use a hi-hat and a kick pedal loads, it\u2019s just each to\ntheir own! If you don\u2019t have use of your legs at all, work really hard to use\nyour hands in different ways (obviously this is specific to people who play\ndrums). I\u2019ve seen people play guitar with their toes! I\u2019ve seen vocalists in\nwheelchairs! I know an internationally renowned DJ with Autism. These things\nare things, and you can do them too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think the main thing to stress really, is\nthat nobody is going to do it for you, and you have to make the effort, a lot\nof the time at least! Remember that people are unsure about what they don\u2019t\nunderstand, and so as a disabled musician you have to make people aware of what\nyou can do\u2026by doing it. Some people will love it, some people might not, but do\nit for you first and foremost. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. Did you have any support from local or international bands so as to change the situation?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think the more conversations that are had,\nthe better things will be. There are accessible venues in Hull (like O\u2019Riley\u2019s)\nmaking more of an effort, but that\u2019s because guys like Darren Bunting and Louie\nScott who run it will listen to what people need! Other people with spaces in\nour area like Mark Page [The Sesh], and Casey Stead and Mat Oliphant [The\nAdelphi] are making strong efforts to change how they do things too. I think\nnationally, it\u2019s about awareness \u2013 for me, how is someone supposed to\nunderstand what it\u2019s like to have a disability if they haven\u2019t lived with one,\nor if they don\u2019t know someone with one? It\u2019s nobody\u2019s fault, there just needs\nto be more awareness, and conversation between bands, and venues. Luckily,\nthere are wonderful platforms now, including Attitude Is Everything who as an\norganisation are working really hard, and then outlets like the aforementioned\nBBC No Filter trying to spark that conversation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

8. What do you suggest as a potential solution to solve the current issue of non access to the music?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conversation. Absolutely. More disabled\nartists need to be e-mailing venues in advance of playing asking if allowances\ncan be made \u2013 like someone might do with a venue if they were going to watch a\nband. A person with a disability should, but unfortunately cannot expect a venue\nto have made reasonable adjustments without prior warning. That is massively\nunfortunate, I know! But, like I said\u2026people that haven\u2019t lived with it won\u2019t\nbe able to understand, so please don\u2019t fret or get angry \u2013 try and educate and\ninform venues about how they can be better by contacting them in advance of you\nplaying. Then, maybe they\u2019ll be like…. \u201cOh, there are disabled musicians who\nare gonna play here, so I guess I\u2019d better get a ramp, or some other aid put in.\u201d\nAll that said, if venues aren\u2019t willing to help, then they should be called out\nbut I\u2019ve never had that experience, so far. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

9. Do you think that the labels have the power to change the current policy for the disabled musicians and fans?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If these labels are made aware, yes\ndefinitely! Attitude is Everything are doing incredible work in this area. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

10. How can someone help you with your effort by donating or other action that will be helpful for you?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019re helping right now! Cheers! Spread the word. Tell people we are here! Share your story and\/or experience with me! I\u2019d love to hear from you! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Info: https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/WobblingAboutAndRockingOut\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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