News/Announcements: Shoutouts to Patrons
JOVM turned 10 last month — and throughout its existence, the site has been a labor of love. And during that period I think JOVM has carved out a unique place in the blogosphere: it’s one of the few places, where readers can come across personal and eclectic curation and coverage of the national and international music scenes.
As I’ve mentioned countless times for most of the bulk of this site’s history, I’ve run this site as (mostly) one-man operation out of my Corona, Queens, NYC apartment while working full-time in book publishing in the editorial departments of three different publishers. I was constantly aware of having this very odd dual life: during the day, I was a mild-mannered spectacled Clark Kent type. And when the work day was over, I’d run someplace to change out of my business clothes and transform into professional music journalist and photographer, covering shows all over town. Sometimes I’d return home in the wee hours, upload photos or work on a blog post, get a bit of sleep for work in the morning and repeat three or four times a week.
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. But I’ve found that finding new music helps us grow even more. Perhaps 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 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: https://www.joyofviolentmovement.com/shop
Because of the uncertainty of the past few months, I understand that for there will be a portion of people who cannot contribute. So if you’re unable to do so — and you happen to dig my work here, you can do the following:
- Share posts on Twitter, Facebook and elsewhere.
- Pass the word on to friends who may dig this site and my work.
- Pass the word on about the Patreon page to those that may be able to support.
- And as always
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. Your support keeps this going.