Processed with VSCO with 6 preset When Steve DelMonico (vocals/guitar) approached John Faraone (drums) with an impossibly unique band name, there was no way of knowing that 10 years later they’d be sitting at Nolan’s with...
Photo: Dave Rezendes. John Faraone: a man of many bands, many instruments, and one poetic voice. While John wouldn’t call himself a poet, I certainly believe that his lyrics are simply stanzas waiting to be printed....
Photo by James Brooks. Okee dokee folks… I have referenced the Jethro Tull song, “Too Old to Rock & Roll, Too Young to Die,” A few times in my 22 years of writing for Motif, and...
(Photo credit: Keith J.G. McCurdy, from the cover art of Vudu Sister’s Adynata; photograph of the art installation LO SGUARDO - Humanitas - Physis by sculptor Igor Mitoraj at the Neopolis Archaeological Park of Siracusa...
Mount Pleasant. Elmhurst. The Valley Arts District. These are all neighborhoods whose offerings I thought I knew well, having worked in and around Providence over the last few years. But you can certainly miss a...
Buddy Mott. Once upon a time, if you wanted a tattoo, one of the things you could do was traipse to Newport from any of the four corners of the world and get yourself a tattoo...
The actual declaration of Independence was first proclaimed to the people of Newport from this building in July 1776. (Photo by Maureen O'Gorman) It doesn't take long for a person new to Rhode Island to find...
The RI Department of Transportation (RIDOT) announced a major initiative to repair potholes caused by a harsh winter. A new Pothole Service Requests Dashboard site on the web – https://www.dot.ri.gov/travel/potholes.php – allows the public to...
The tattoo artist who goes by Mish, of Fall River, MA, created this month’s cover. “I got the nickname when I was younger, and it just kinda stuck,” she says. Also, it stirs a little...
On the “Weekend Update” satirical news segment on Saturday Night Live. anchor Colin Jost displayed a snapshot of an unhinged rant laced with profanity in the form of a Donald Trump post to Truth Social,...
Wednesday, May 276 - 10pmMyrtle, East Providence Join us for the 4th annual Motif Spoken Awards! We are excited to be returning to Myrtle to celebrate RI’s spoken word community. Want to see your favorite Rhode Island...
VOTE HERE! "May your tattoo ink never run dry," as the ancient Portlandian blessing goes, has rarely been more applicable. Motif is proud to partner again with Narragansett Brewery to bring you the RI Tattoo Awards,...
By Lillian MK Photography By Olivia Lunger By Izzy Cooke ...
The Music Awards went off without a hitch this year, and over the course of the evening more than 400 local music lovers dropped by to dance, listen, and cheer on fellow musicians. We'll have...
It’s often said (well, I definitely say this), that some of the deepest conversations and connected moments can happen while one is sitting in a car. This is certainly true for the duo, band, sisterhood...
Image: Olivia Lunger. Local Civil War re-enactor Bill Sherman was having trouble recruiting young people into the hobby, so he hit on a novel idea that is perfectly suited to Gen Z. He immediately telephoned his...
The Continental Congress, befooled. April Fool’s Day originated among the French a few years into the Revolutionary War. Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin had been pleading with them for any sort of assistance. The brand...
If you have been a craft beer lover over this past decade, you may remember when the first Rhode Island Brewery Passport was released. It was changed to an app in 2020. Six years later,...
After attending Chalumeau’s release party for their album BLUE at The Met in Pawtucket last August, I wrote that if you ever got the chance to see them perform live, you should jump on it....
On February 28, after 20 years of being a community staple for first dates, Super Tuesday regulars, and movie fanatics alike, CWTheaters (previously called CinemaWorld) was forced to shut its doors for good. The decline...
Last year, I had a blast and a half working on a fun commercial shoot. I landed the gig because the fella producing, Josh Kirk, asked around to find an actor to portray the client’s...
Photo: Jenn Lombari. @jennlombariphotography ssa lin has been making a local splash like a rockin’ rainstorm after a record-setting blizzard, since releasing her first single, “tallboys,” at the end of 2025. The feedback has been good,...
Here are some hot new local tracks to finish melting the ice. The Hopeless Romantics – “Quiet Kind” The third and final single from The Hopeless Romantics’ upcoming debut album, “Quiet Kind” is also a reworked...
Okee dokee folks… PLEASE stop using AI. The more it knows, the more it grows. We are feeding a beast that will someday destroy us. AI is not your friend, though it may pretend to...
Graphic by Olivia Lunger. ...
Hey idiot, why are you and your friends getting high indoors? Don't you know? We have a planet, a whole, big planet filled with trees, rivers, and critters. The outside world doesn't have to start...
Medical marijuana was legalized in Rhode Island in January 2006, and by May 2022 even recreational sales became legal through state-licensed dispensaries and authorized retailers. Yet it still isn’t safe for medical users to come out of the closet....
Cover artist Elliott Italiano of Jamestown is a self-made glass artist. As a young adult, Italiano's interests centered on fashion, inspiring thoughts of pursuing a degree in luxury marketing and design. He relates to his past...
MAD Magazine cover, Feb 2016: Donald Trump and Alfred E. Neuman We fought a military war; our opponents fought a political one. We sought physical attrition; our opponents aimed for our psychological exhaustion. In the process...
Cover artist Mina Miki of Providence calls her baby blanket her longest friend. “His name is Blankie, but now he looks less like a blanket and more like a piece of tangled silk,” she says....
Aries: You feel like you are walking through a mine field, and every step you take sets off an explosion. It’s hard to keep your cool under these circumstances. Finding the right mix of diplomacy and assertiveness helps you navigate this volatile period. Get to the gym, take a walk, run or engage in an active […]
Sometimes having fun is hard work. It is especially hard if you live in Rhode Island right now amid (or beneath) the snow that never stops. Just try to leave your house and get somewhere on time; I dare you. The swirling flakes will make you feel like you are in a spaceship, not a […]
“Pick a black card, pick a loser” – Suzan-Lori Parks, Topdog/Underdog Topdog/Underdog has been described as a “postracial” play, but that moniker is purely academic. Suzan-Lori Parks’ story of two brothers who struggle against poverty, identity and each other necessarily uses race as a context, but not a crutch. Parks’ metaphors may be heavy-handed at […]
On Sat, March 7 at 3pm, a band of laureates will gather to share their love of words with audiences at the Audubon Environmental Education Center at 1401 Hope St in Bristol as part of the poets’ year-round tour. The performers, dubbed The Three Amigos, are former poets laureate Lisa Silverberg Starr and Tom Chandler, and Dr. Rick Benjamin, […]
The craft beer scene is an interesting one, as I discover more every day. After years of blundering through beer festivals and embarrassing myself at beer dinners, I’ve learned a lot of strange things. These interesting tidbits I’ve accumulated over the years will probably blow your mind, so cover your furniture with plastic and strap your […]
For many aficionados of classical ballet, the enjoyment comes from watching a dancer’s technique, strength and stamina. Critics often refer to long, clean lines and gravity-defying leaps whereas with contemporary ballet, the lines are often angular and truncated, the movements far more grounded. Success resides in the dancers’ ability to convey the choreographer’s theme or […]
Corned beef. Sounds a bit strange, doesn’t it? I am usually more of an eater than a maker, but with St. Paddy’s Day looming I wanted to be adventurous and take on making a corned beef dinner from curing to boiling. I enlisted the help of Eat Drink RI’s David Dadekian to enlighten me on […]
The locals are taking over Providence this month; venues are set up with the best local punk and hardcore bands the city has to offer. Firehouse and the guys from Brass N Ammo are pulling together a killer lineup for a nice Wed night show on March 11 with the locals in Barber Cop and […]
Anyone I meet immediately notices my provocative dresses and tall shoes, and assume they are a sign of pride and confidence. My dare this month was to prove that my clothes don’t make the woman by taking the Bare as you Dare clothing-optional workshop at this year’s Fetish Faire Flea. I figured it would be easy. Get […]
Criticism is not about the conscious refusal to distance oneself from the audience, but about trying to explain why or why not a prospective audience member would want to invest in experiencing a particular work. Every film has some plausible audience, but some films are cynically made for an audience of idiots and it is […]
