JOVM celebrated its tenth anniversary earlier this year. And maybe I’m biased here — this is my site after all — but I feel as though I’ve managed to carve out a unique space in the blogosphere. JOVM is one of the few places, where readers can get eclectic and personal curation and coverage of local, national and international music scenes.
For the overwhelming bulk of this site’s history, I’ve run this site as a (mostly) one-man labor of love, run out of my Corona, Queens, NYC apartment while working full time in the editorial departments of three different book publishers as an Editorial Assistant and Acquisitions Editor. As you can imagine, I often felt that I had an unusual dual life: during the the day, I was a mild-mannered and somewhat sleep-deprived, Clark Kent. And when the business day ended, I would find some place to change out of my office clothes to street clothes, transforming into professional music journalist, blogger and photographer, covering shows at venues across the Metropolitan area. I’d return home in the wee hours, upload photos or work on a blog post, if i was able to manage it — and then I’d try to get a little bit of sleep and repeat. I generally survived on four hours of sleep a night and way too much coffee.
It’s often been hard work. But as a result of this site, I’ve done things I’ve never expected or thought would have ever happened. I’ve met some of my heroes. I’ve photographed icons and beloved legends. I’ve covered some amazing talented artists from all over the world. I’ve seen some memorable shows. I’ve been able to travel internationally to cover music. And I’ve met some of the nicest, kindest and most open people in the entire world — and these people have welcomed me to their hometowns, taken me to their best spots, introduced me to their favorite people and so on.
This sort of work should — and needs — to be continued and championed as much as possible. Music is the emotional center of our lives. More than ever in this profoundly unusual and unsettling time, we have to take comfort in music, art, literature and all the other things that make us human and connect us with others. Hopefully my work here has — and will continue — to bring some joy, some escape from the bleakness of our current situation or it inspires you to do something.
Of course running a site like this isn’t easy. And unfortunately, it does cost money. To that end, I started a Patreon page last year as a way to help support my creative endeavors and this site. Check out the page for more information:
https://www.patreon.com/TheJoyofViolentMovement
You can also buy merch from the Joy of Violent Movement shop:
You can also become a fan of this site on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/TheJoyofViolentMovement
Because of the uncertainty of the past few months, I understand that for there will be a portion of people who unable to contribute or buy merch. I get it. Trust me, I really get it. So don’t feel bad about it. There are other non-monetary ways to show love and support that really matters and are really helpful. So, if you really dig my work and JOVM, you can do the following:
- Keep reading — and if you can read more! Seriously, something that small adds up.
- Share posts you dig on Twitter, Facebook and elsewhere.
- Pass the word on to friends who may dig this site and my work. The more eyeballs on this site at any given time does count and is beyond helpful. Seriously.
- Pass the word on about the Patreon page to those that may be able to support.
As, I promised on my Patreon page, I also wanted to give a shoutout to this site’s kind patrons:
Sash
Alice Northover
Bella Fox
Jenny MacRostie
Thank y’all so much for your support and love. It keeps me — and this site going.
