Tag: Photography

indie rock by William Ruben Helms

Live Concert Photography: The Goodnight Darlings with herMajesty at Mercury Lounge 2/28/18

Featuring core members Kat Auster (vocals); Wilson (guitar), who has had lengthy stints touring with in the backing bands of The Fugees and Wyclef Jean; and Jaramillo (drums), the New York-based indie act The Goodnight Darlings have received both local and national attention for a sultry, dance floor friendly sound that draws from 80s pop, hip-hop, Combat Rock-era The Clash, New Wave, post-punk and shoegaze. The local indie rock stalwarts headlined an early show at Mercury Lounge that featured JOVM mainstays herMajesty as the night’s opener. Check out photos from the show below.

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Over the years, I’ve written quite a bit about the New York-based art rock/glam rock/indie rock act and JOVM herMajesty. And although the band has gone through a number of lineup changes, the band which is currently comprised of founding member and primary songwriter  JP (vocals, samples, guitar), David (bass, lead guitar), Joan (bass) and Konrad (drums) has maintained a reputation for crafting lush, moody and contemplative material that’s heavily indebted to Roxy Music, David Bowie, U2 and others. Since the release of the My Body Your Mind EP and a series of standalone singles, which included gorgeous cover of Patti Smith’s “Dancing Barefoot,” “One by One” and others, the band has developed a regional profile with the New York-based rock act opening for the likes of  The B52s, Tom Tom Club, Say Hi to Your Mom and The Boxer Rebellion — and have made frequent tour stops in Rochester, Providence, Philadelphia and Boston, as well as regular shows at Rockwood Music Hall and The Bowery Electric in the Lower East Side. Of course, their set included those singles and their latest single, the shimmering and disco-tinged “Weightless,” which you can check out below.

 
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For these photos and more, check out the Flickr set here: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmgRTPnz

Photography by William Ruben Helms

February is Black History Month, and I recently had the privilege to be featured on Focus Camera’s Wavelength Blog as one of 3 New York City-based African American/African Diaspora photographers, who contribute to New York’s thriving artistic community.  Check out my portion of the interview below — and for the full feature, featuring me and the other incredibly talented Black photographers, check out it out, here:

https://wavelength.focuscamera.com/culture/3-nyc-african-american-photographers-to-watch-for-black-history-month/

 

William Ruben Helms 

The mind behind The Joy of Violent Movement, William Ruben Helms is an independent blogger and photographer who covers, among other things, the musical “styles of Africa, hip-hop, punk rock, post punk, heavy metal, psych rock, indie rock, folk, country, Latin music, [and] soul.” A photographer for over 15 years, his eclectic tastes (partially influenced by growing up in Queens, “arguably one of the most diverse places in the entire world”) drive him to document a wide variety of artists.

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Atari Teenage Riot’s Nic Endo at Gramercy Theatre, 2011.

After working with various editors on stories ranging from nightlife to literature, Helms went live with The Joy of Violent Movement in June 2010 to cover a greater swath of musical talent from across the U.S – and in New York’s music scene, specifically. “I had a falling out with an editor over covering someone, who I thought was worthy [of being covered] – and that the editor, for some reason, didn’t get or appreciate,” he says. “And I realized that personally, I never wanted to have that conversation or argument ever again; that it was time for me to go out on my own and cover whatever I wanted with my own take.” Full of grace, beauty, and (yes) some violent movement, Helms’ stills and video are evocative, emotive portraits of artists in motion.

Gear of Choice: “I’m currently shooting with a brand new Canon 77D, which I’m still learning, and admittedly, it’s a massive upgrade from the Canon T1i I had been shooting with for the bulk of The Joy of Violent Movement’s history. In terms of lenses, I’m shooting primarily with a Canon 28-70mm f/2.8 – and while it doesn’t give me the type of zoom of my old 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6, it’s a pretty good all purpose, all conditions lens with a decent aperture size. I’ll use a 50mm whenever I’m in some extremely dark or smoke machine-filled room. I have a beaten up 70-300mm that I’ll use to create some great close ups with a gentle blurred background – or when I’m far away from my subject for some reason.”