A new lifestyle website and blog, based out of C4DI in Hull aims to help end the stigma around mental health and disability.

Wobbling About And Rocking Out (WARO) was developed by Hull-born disabled entrepreneur, Dom Smith who has Cerebral Palsy – the idea was developed during his time working for The Martin Trust Center for Entrepreneurship at MIT in Boston, Massachusetts, and has since taken shape following Dom’s move back to Hull, for the first time in over ten years after a period spent working in Manchester and York, and a stint working as a freelance journalist (and Storyteller In Residence) in America.

Dom now hopes to use his contacts across the disability sector, through the business he co-founded, Disabled Entrepreneurs (a project that offers free advice and support to disabled people who want to start their own business), and in the music, arts and entertainment sector (via Soundsphere, an alternative music blog covering local, national and international artists) to tell inspiring and motivational stories. The end goal is to motivate people with disabilities and mental health issues considering careers in the creative sector, as well as other industries where possible.

“The original plan was for it to just be a clothing line with a cool logo and imagery,” comments Dom. “I wanted to amalgamate everything I’d done with Soundsphere and Disabled Entrepreneurs to create a resource where people could go, and find out information, ways of coping and also read about inspiring individuals from a range of career backgrounds – in music, or the arts, principally but not exclusively – who have achieved despite a range of challenges.”

The aim of the site is to first generate content via members of the public in Hull, and the surrounding areas before starting to speak to internationally acclaimed bands, creatives, businesses and artists about the stigma behind mental health and/or disability and how they have combatted that themselves.

“I hope that we can spread the message through collaborations with Hull’s young people, as well as amazing spaces like C4DI and The Warren Youth Project, before taking the whole thing global.”

Content is currently being added to WARO’s new website which was built at C4DI in collaboration with Mattix Design, and branded by Hull artist Jessica Eleanor Zchorn (Jesse Zee Creative), at: www.waro.co.uk.

If you would like to submit your own inspiring story, you can do so via the site’s Get In Touch page. For more information you can also visit: https://twitter.com/wobbleandrock
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Ripping a page from the Killing Joke school of lo-fi noise, then setting it on fire via the way of Today Is The Day and Godflesh, Hull’s scariest kids, The Parasitic Twins are gearing up to unleash their debut EP; the furious ‘All That’s Left To Do Now Is Sleep With Each Other’ on October 26th. Recorded live and raw, at Melrose Yard Studios in York, the hardcore duo, made up by guitarist/vocalist Max Watt (Rotting Monarchs) and drummer Dom Smith (Mary and The Ram), have performed together previously as part of Seep Away was born of a desire to create the most abrasive sound they could.
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Discussing their debut single, “Massive”, Watt had this to say: “It’s about that mental sense of abandon that comes once in a while and turns our lives into ash. Temporarily, of course. Everyone’s been in that place where long term plans and prospects just become irrelevant and all you can focus on is immediate day to day shit, and one day you wake up and think “Goddamn, what was all that noise about?” At the time it’s huge but with time just becomes a notch in your past, then you gotta make the reparations, and push all that negative shit to the back.”

Hammered into the raw aggression like a nail into splintered wood is a youthful rage desperate to be heard. Taking comfortable influence from the late 90s sludge scene, the track “Flipswitch” borrows from the Raging Speedhorn school of vocal ferocity while “End” wraps a chain around the Biohazard-esque bouncy hardcore and throws it on the heap. Making “ATLTDNISWEO” a white-hot blast of crusty oblivion, perfect for fans of low end, aggro-punk. Listen to at wielding volume.

Soundsphere magazine's editor, Dom Smith has launched a new clothing line aimed at boosting confidence in people with disabilities. Check out the info video below:
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My former punk/hardcore band's EP/album is out now, and you can stream it below!

Thanks for listening!

If you want to find out more about who/what we were, visit: https://www.facebook.com/seepaway/

Dom x

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 It’s all about who you know.

That’s one of the fundamental secrets of business, in my opinion.

I mean, of course it’s about what you know, but a lot of it is (like in most industries), being in the right place and right time.

The Martin Trust Center is the right place, and for me and the recent fuse attendees, it’s been the right time.

I’ve been working as a Storyteller In Residence for the last few months (living in Boston), and as much as that involves me interviewing, and telling the stories of the people who come into the Center about their goals, and ideas, it’s about watching what goes on here, and there’s definitely a uniquely positive mood.

All of the staff here, including the EIRs (Entrepreneurs In Residence) have a wealth of experience, whether it’s been studying in an academic setting — lest we forget that MIT is one of the most prestigious institutions for science and technology in the entire world — or a business one. The aforementioned EIRs, for example have been able to start, maintain and develop successful businesses, and now they are working here passing on their knowledge, in how to do well, and how to deal with failure.

When you walk in here, with a business idea (of any kind) it’s going to be pretty intimidating — some of the greatest minds in the world will doubtless be incubating in this space at any one time, but that’s what makes it such an awesome resource.
No busy staff member is too self-important to stop and listen to a student’s concerns, council nerves or workshop an idea, however busy they are; while you could say to me, ‘well, that’s their job!’, I have seen EIRs rushing to meetings, but stopping to arrange to chat with a student about their ideas, at a later point in the day. I have seen staff here (whether they work in marketing, or program coordination) brimming with enthusiasm about a student’s idea, or taking time to enthusiastically discuss the Center’s resources with visitors. Highlights have involved seeing the pride of fuse students, and seeing staff physically applauding when a deal is secured, or a particular milestone is reached.

To me, that’s business in a modern context; you can achieve anything if you have the right people around you to motivate, and inspire you. Here at The Martin Trust Center, if you’re nervous these people will support you. Equally, if you think your idea is the best thing since Yorkshire Tea (sorry, I’m British), then they will give you balanced, decent (but very real, honest advice), on how to make it better, or fine-tune as needed.

Coming in to work with this team and uncover some of the most exciting, and innovative ideas on campus right now, while watching the staff (no matter what success, or level of notoriety they have achieved) interact with the students on such an empathetic level is inspiring. It’s taught me that these are the types of people that I want to know, and this is the type of place that I want to be, wherever in the world that is.

For more information on The Martin Trust Center for Entrepreneurship visit: http://entrepreneurship.mit.edu/

To listen to some of the audio interviews I’ve taken since I started here, you can follow this link (transcription to follow).
Thanks for reading!

You can see me waddling about the Center about 15 seconds in to the video above, behind entrepreneur/legend, Bill Aulet!

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Hi guys! So, I'm going to be playing live and studio drums in this post-punk project called, Mary and The Ram that I formed with my friend, Kiran Tanna.

Check the video out (for our first single) below! It's got some nudity in it though, so be careful! Kiran directed it, and he's all artsy and stuff. 

More here: www.therecordstache.com/2018/01/premiere-mary-and-the-ram-the-cross/

Hope you dig!

Dom

I was very excited to be asked to work on Professional Player again, for the December 2017 issue, looking at, and researching (creating text and supplying images) for awesome futuristic gadgets. These wonderful bits of text needed to suit professional footballers, and their families looking for extravagant new gifts.

Anyway, check this out below, there are some wonderful things out there being created!

For more information on Professional Player, visit: http://www.theprofessionalplayer.com

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York-based hardcore punk four-piece, Seep Away have released their new single ‘Matchstick Man’, taken from the band’s forthcoming EP, The Blackened Carnival Of Societal Ineptitude.

Taking influence from thrash legends Municipal Waste, alongside hardcore standouts Expire and Incendiary, the track is a vitriolic stab at those individuals we all know who drain the life out of those around them.
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Vocalist Jay Sillence comments: “This song is quite personal to me – we all know that special type of asshole who sucks the life out of people with their actions – they just want to fight, and fuck, and they have nothing else in their life of any value, so they have to take from others. This song is a dedication to that special person in my life, and I hope other people can relate to the venom that I feel.”

Sounds like something that’s up your street? Well, you can stream the track for yourself right here.

The Blackened Carnival Of Societal Ineptitude will be released in the autumn, with the tentative tracklisting as follows:

‘Snakes’
‘Matchstick Man’
‘Switch’
‘Joie de vivre’
‘Slug’
‘No More You’

For more information on Seep Away, visit their Facebook here

Formed by two Soundsphere magazine staff members (and best buds!) – editor, Dom Smith and contributor, Anthony Neylon. GAHY! is a new wrestling podcast based in the pair’s beloved Hull, in East Yorkshire (City of Culture!) with the aim of recounting WWE history (covering Wrestlemania and other notable PPVs through history), with reference to present action.

Of the podcast’s development, content editor, and co-founder Anthony comments: “We’ve always wanted to do something like this, as long as we’ve known each other. We really appreciate everybody getting behind us so far, and we look forward to doing more Wrestling Rewind PPV retrospectives, and also some fun stuff whenever a new WWE event is on.”
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For more information, visit Gimme A Hull Yeah! on Patreon, Facebook and Twitter.
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Check out the introduction video, and latest episode below:

Soundsphere magazine editor, Dom Smith (who is also the co-founder of Disabled Entrepreneurs) has been featured by Hull City of Culture 2017. 

The video looks at Dom's career in journalism, as well as his time as a mentor for young people based in the North of England looking to get into the music industry, and those with disabilities looking to get into business. 

Of the video, Dom comments: "It's a great honour to be spotlighted by Hull City of Culture, as Hull is honestly where my heart is, and I'm really proud, and lucky that they've taken an interest in the work I've done for the last seven years." 

​Check the video out below, and for more information visit: Soundsphere magazine - http://soundspheremag.com