Jim Vickers started Motif Magazine in 2004. He started Motif to give voice to marginalized groups of underrepresented Rhode Islanders. Vickers agreed to write an article for our special 20th anniversary edition. This is his story.
In the beginning, there was the NewPaper and Nice Paper. It was a friendly rivalry between Rhode Island-based alternative arts publications. As way led unto way, the NewPaper got colonized by the Boston Phoenix, later driving the Nice Paper off the proverbial cliff. At this time, I was testing my radical ideas of journalism, publishing, and distributing an underground college publication called The Examined Life.
After earning a master’s in English literature, I started a career in traditional daily newspapers. In the 1990s, news outlets reported facts rather than serve as a bullhorn for divisive political parties. I had never left Rhode Island since my birth in the early 1960s, I found I liked to travel from Hope Valley to Providence’s Wickenden Street on my days off, reading upstart publications. The Phoenix, in my opinion, prioritized Massachusetts and national artists, leaving too many talented locals on the outside. It sparked the idea that I could start a new version of the Nice Paper. It would deliver hyper-local coverage about underserved artists and organizations. I selected the name while leafing through The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms, a paperback I picked up at a yard sale for fifty cents.
I literally quit my job and sold my house to fund the enterprise. Most days, I sat at the Coffee Exchange and conducted interviews, penned articles, and designed the layout of Motif. Truth be told, I worked out of coffee shops because Motif didn’t cover its expenses for more than a year, and I couldn’t afford an office.
Financial headwinds aside, the early years may have been the most rewarding. We distributed the Motif twice monthly on Tuesdays for two reasons: First, I brokered a cheap printing deal with a company whose crew sat idle on Monday afternoon, and secondly, coming out on Tuesdays made Motif the only alternative-arts paper with updated coverage until The Phoenix and others landed on Thursday. The strategy opened the door to a Rhode Island audience thirsting to know about the best concerts, plays, art exhibitions, and events.
Karen Kessler, myself, and a handful of dedicated freelancers helped promote shows and artists that would have otherwise fallen through the cracks. To Motif’s credit, the magazine threw unconditional support behind Providence Roller Derby. We also promoted emerging bands such as Deer Tick and Low Anthem, among countless others. Motif became the state’s first non-trade publication to focus on craft beer and microbreweries instead of weary old wine columns.
We were agile trend-setters who refused to heed conventional wisdom. At the time, Keith Munslow paid us perhaps the greatest compliment, saying, “Motif was part of the fabric of the arts scene.” We at Motif fancied ourselves a small local paper following in the footsteps of the Nice Paper. Motif’s upstart status did not sit well with Boston, and an unnecessary blood feud broke out. As a quiet newspaper war ensued behind the scenes, I was forced to sling a stone at the proverbial Goliath from Boston or exit the scene, much like the Nice Paper. I chose the former. After all, the people at Motif were from here. I’d be damned if a bunch of carpetbaggers ran us off.
Building the paper through wider coverage, more reviews, and expanded distribution changed the dynamic. Although the Motif crew and friends were enthusiastic – the workload took a toll on my quality of life. I was no longer running a kitschy little arts paper. We quickly became the bigger publication, and the long hours spent running an actual business took a toll on my health and personal life. Soon after passing the torch to Mike Ryan, our rival closed its doors, seemingly freeing up Motif to flourish even in the digital age. Mike has done a remarkable job advancing an alternative arts publication focused on the Rhode Island landscape, culminating in Motif’s 20th anniversary.
For my part, when I’m not living a nomadic life, I spend my days on a sustainable homestead in the South. I meet fascinating people and retell stories about their challenges, faith, and perseverance. I am blessed with four children, Conrad, Dalton, Sophi, and Cristian, and an amazing significant other, Tammy. I want to thank a few of the original members of Motif who built something ex nihilo: Mark Morin, Michael Pugliese, Marc Clarkin, Erin Carolan, Jim Hummel, John Fuzek, Pete Larrivee, Mike Fink, Angelo Marinosci Jr., Jim Seavor, Frank O’Donnell, John Angelo, Rob Barossi, Louise Tetreault, Tom Jones, Garrison Hull, Stacy Magner, Geri Sereno, and many others. •
Picture: THE BEATNICK CAFE, Biff Rose, 2015
