News/Announcements: Shoutouts to Patreon Patrons
With countless people getting vaccines into their arms earlier this year, there was a couple of weeks of hope for a return to many of the things many of us love. For me, I excitedly thought of the shows I was going to see, the travel I was going to do, the festivals I was going to see. I was happily hanging out in bars and meeting new, strangers. But with the Delta variant quickly being the latest scourge to wreck havoc across both the country and the rest of the world, it feels like a great deal of those plans and hopes could be in jeopardy. If you’ve been reading the music news over the past four or five weeks or so, you’ve seen an increasing number of legacy and superstar artists and bands cancelling their fall tours.
So I have a message for those vaccine holdouts and those who are misinformed: Not getting the vaccine isn’t smart, isn’t safe, nor is it cool. The science behind all three vaccines are proven: with the two mRNA-based vaccines, researchers have been working with mRNA for decades. There’s nothing to be afraid of. You have mRNA in your cells, which helps to decode the programming for your cells to do specific things at specific times. Plus, researchers have extensively tested each of the three vaccines and they’ve been proven safe and very effective. Millions of people across the world have had the three vaccines injected in them and whatever side effects anyone has had have been extremely short-lived and tolerable: Some have complained of soreness at the ejection site. Others have complained or mild cold and flu-like symptoms that clear up within about a day or so. I got my shots in April and May and the only side effect that I had was some very minor soreness by the injection site, which cleared up through moving my left arm. Nothing else.
Plus, the side effects and adverse effects of COVID are a lot worse. There’s loss of taste and smell. Circulatory issues, including blood clots. Brain fog and loss of IQ. (From what I’ve read it can be up to three or four points on an IQ test.) For men, there are studies that suggest incurable impotence can be an issue. There’s COVID-related psychosis. I’ve heard of people having to learn how to walk and talk again. Plus, there’s death. That’s right death. This ain’t a joke. This ain’t some conspiracy to enact a thorough communist takeover by liberals either. 600,000+ people have died with thousands more dying every single day. While some of those afflicted did have comorbidities, there were a significant amount of people, who were fairly healthy — and young. Do you really want to take a roll of the dice and see what happens to you or your loved ones? Do you want to be broke from exorbitantly expensive medical bills from something preventable?
.Go and get a vaccine as soon as humanly possible. While it isn’t 100% effective — not much in life is 100% effective — getting any one of the three vaccines ensures protection from the most serious side effects of COVID-19 and its currently known variants. You also ensure that your loved ones are safe, too. Especially those, who can’t yet get the vaccines. Plus, you help make sure that all of us can have the lives we want and enjoy; that we all can do the things we love and could continue to make money. If we don’t get this under control and soon, we’ll likely have lockdowns that will make most of the things we were thrilled to get back impossible.
Back to our regularly scheduled programming, right?
Independent artists of all disciplines desperately need someone to champion them and their work. There’s only 24 hours in a day and 168 hours in a week, and there are so many options competing for your time, money and love. But what I can say is this: because this site has been a DIY labor of love, I’ve felt that I’ve had an intimate and deeply personal understanding of the financial and emotional plight of the artist I’ve covered throughout this site’s history.
Of course, the pandemic has forced me to see things very differently — and changed my thinking on a lot of things. And if you add the conversations I’ve had with artists, I’ve been constantly reminded of the following:
- Art costs money to produce — and without money, it can’t exist because it can’t be produced.
- Artists are small businesses. So supporting an artist is supporting a small business.
- A small bit of support can go a long way. A $20, $30, $40, $50 or $60 purchase of someone’s work can often mean the purchase of groceries, paying their bills or even the confidence that they can continue with their art.
- That same $20, $50 or $60 doesn’t really mean shit to Amazon.
- Supporting a local artist/small business can keep money within your community. Caring about your community and ensuring that your hardworking neighbors can make and spend money makes your neighborhood vital.
- Amazon and the other mega-conglomerates don’t give a fuck about your community or your neighbors
- Lastly, you won’t be giving your money to companies that actively fuck over their neighbors, the environment or their employees. And that alone should make you feel better about the decision.
Throughout the 11 years I’ve been doing this — seriously, 11 years! — I hope that my work has led you to artists and bands whose work has become a part of your lives, as they have become part of mine. I also hope that my photography has managed to add some beauty to your day, inspired you to see the new world in a new light — or make you go out to see some of these artists live.
Of course, as always, I’m asking you, dear readers and friends for your support to keep this thing going. And there’s a number of ways that you can support JOVM:
You can buy photographic prints — from my live concert photography to street photography and even some outdoor/nature photos. I also still have a shit ton of JOVM bumper stickers. All of this stuff is beautiful and could use a loving forever home. You can check out the store here:https://joyofviolentmovement.com/shop/
You can support by becoming one of my Patreon patrons. Every dollar means something. Seriously, it does. There are different patronage levels and different rewards for your support. For more information, you can check out the Patreon page here: https://www.patreon.com/TheJoyofViolentMovement
Of course, while I’m on the subject: I want to send shout outs — and thank yous — to those folks, who have supported me and my work throughout the past year with their patronage.
Sash
Alice Northover
Bella Fox
Jenny MacRostie
Janene Otten
Thank you, y’all. Your support means so very much.
If you’re in the NYC area, you can hire me for photography work. Seriously. I do headshots, portraits and event photography. You can hire me through Photobooker. My listing is here: https://www.photobooker.com/photographer/8582abd8-f01e-43eb-b2be-0ed57157687e?duration=1?duration=1 (If you’re outside the NYC area and you’d still want to hire me, we can talk.)
If you’re not already a fan of this site on Facebook, please feel free to become a fan here: https://www.facebook.com/TheJoyofViolentMovement
Many people out there are struggling to survive. Believe me, I get it and I’m empathetic to that. The past 18 months have been the most difficult and desperate for a lot of us. To that end, there are many ways that you can support:
- If you dig what I do: Keep reading! Please, keep reading!
- Pass the word on to friends, family members, associates and anyone else, who will support independent journalism, music and criticism.
- Retweets, Facebook shares and reblog things you might dig. Sites need active eyeballs and clicks to survive. Every pair of eyeballs reading and clicking on JOVM means some ad revenue in the coffers. And those hardworking artists I cover will also be grateful for your love and support, too.
- Towards the bottom third of every post, there’s a related post section. If you dug the post you’re looking at it, feel free to check out the related posts. You might find something else you could love.
I’m looking forward to sharing new music and new things in August and beyond. Hopefully you’ll stick with me through the journey.
