News/Announcements: Shoutouts to Patreon Patrons, Creatives Rebuild New York, Asian Arts Initiative and More

News/Announcements: Shoutouts to Patreon Patrons, Creatives Rebuild New York, Asian Arts Initiative and More

This site turned 14 last month. 14 years of anything — especially a job — is an exceedingly long time. In the blogosphere, that’s roughly 22 lifetimes. Now, when I started JOVM, I was felt as though I had no real choice but to go out on my own. I didn’t feel — or believe — that I’d get a fair shot to do what this site has become with another outlet. 

I’ve long felt a desire to create something similar to the wildly eclectic, dynamic, global sort of environment I grew up immersed in as a young, Black boy from Corona, Queens. And I didn’t regularly see the environment I grew up in represented in the music magazines and sites that I loved to read. To me, that’s a real weakness because — well, there’s amazing music out there that’s not getting the love that it should both nationally and internationally. 

When I started JOVM, I couldn’t have imagined covering the things I’v covered, and the things I’ve experienced and seen to have ever happened.

• I’ve covered roughly 1,100-1,200 shows in NYC, with a handful of shows in Chicago, Baltimore and Philadelphia
• I’ve covered about a dozen or more festivals, including traveling to Montreal for M for Montreal twice — in 2019 and 2022
• I’ve been a panelist at Mondo.NYC Festival and at New Colossus Festival, speaking about PR, promotion and press for indie artists, giving my perspective as a indie blogger
• I made a cameo in a JOVM mainstay’s music video — and it’s a very noticeable spot towards the end of the video 
• I’ve photographed George Clinton, Patti LaBelle, Buddy Guy, Snoop Dogg, Blondie, Nile Rodgers, Roky Erickson, Philip Bailey, Blind Boys of Alabama, and a growing list of legendary and beloved artists, as well as this site’s growing list of mainstays
• Last month, I was invited to be a panelist at the inaugural Elsewhere Music Festival and Conference in Wichita, KS speaking about creating a career in music
• Earlier this month, I moderated a panel presented by The New Colossus Festival and Groover on How to Promote Your Show featuring a group of super knowledgeable friends and colleagues

With this site, I’ve managed to carve out a unique path for myself — and in the blogosphere. Because music media — and generally the media world — is an incredibly homogeneous space, the coverage that you see as a consumer and fan tends to come from a similar perspective. If you don’t believe me, look at the editorial staff at your favorite music magazine or website. It explains why certain artists, genres and styles are covered over others. But it also explains why you see the exact same coverage of the same artists, genres and styles, too. 

I’m looking forward to what year 14 holds for JOVM. And hopefully with your support, I can keep this thing going. Now, as you know, I’ve said this many times: All work — including creative work — is impossible without money. After all, time is money. Effort is money. Then add all the expenses it takes to actually work. 

Unsurprisingly, this site and the work that makes it possible is impossible without money. It’s a simple — and often frustrating — fact of life. So, if you’ve been frequenting this site over the past handful of years, there are a handful of folks I want to thank once again for their support:  

Sash

Alice Northover

Bella Fox

Jenny MacRostie

Janene Otten 

All of those folks have been generous Patreon patrons. Every and any amount really helps keeps this sort of journalism and criticism alive and ongoing. So if you’re able and willing, please feel free to check out the Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/TheJoyofViolentMovement. 

Additionally, I have to thank the helpful, hardworking and dedicated folks at Creatives Rebuild New York. I’m proud, gratified and humbled to have been included in their 18-month Guaranteed Income for Artists program. Understandably, being included was also deeply vindicating. Someone out there thought my work — this very work! — was worth supporting financially. Obviously, the funds from it have managed to keep this labor of love going during one of the most uncertain periods in recent human history, while lessening some of the normal financial pressures of being an American artist, creator and journalist. 

I also found out about Asian Arts Initiative’s Sound Type Workshop through Creatives Rebuild New York. So, I just can’t thank those folks enough. And I’ll forever be in their debt. 

I must thank the folks at the Asian Arts Initiative in Philadelphia for selecting me for the Sound Type Music Writer Workshop. I’ll be back in Philly in a few days and I’m looking forward to seeing the AAI team and the rest of the cohort again.

Of course, there are other ways you can support. 

You can also support by checking the JOVM shop. I sell prints in various sizes. I also have bumper stickers. Check it out: https://www.joyofviolentmovement.com/shop 

You can also support my following me on the following platforms:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/william_ruben_helms 

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/yankee32879 and https://www.twitter.com/joyofviolent 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheJoyofViolentMovement

And you can hire me for headshots, portraits and events. Seriously, I’m available for that, too. You can click here: https://www.photobooker.com/photographer/ny/new-york/william-h?duration=1?duration=1# or you can contact me directly.