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....
Okee dokee folks …’tis the season … again. I don my best Ebenezer attitude and try to stay away from stores and holiday gatherings. Shocking (still) to some, I do not celebrate the holidays. This has been going on for over 25 years. Some folks get it, some are envious and some get angry, while […]
Years ago, I narrowly met Mark Erelli. We were two of three finalists in a songwriting competition. I say narrowly as we were both backstage, pre-performance, practicing – no time to talk. I do not remember the winner’s name, but I do remember Mark Erelli. I remember Mark Erelli because Mark Erelli works very, very hard […]
1. Saturday, Dec 6: Teazer (one year anniversary!), Hector 3, Bad Motherfucker; $?; 9pm doors; 21+ only; Dusk, 301 Harris Ave, Providence. Where was Rhode Island one year ago, before the birth of Teazer, a band that has been seen from as far as Warwick to the North County of Pawtucket? One year before the sultry sounds of […]
I was getting ready to close out the year scrambling to get some reviews in that I missed for our final 2014 issue till those bastards at headquarters informed me … we’re going twice a month. Greeeaat, as I dropped my eggnog. Holiday humor — I’ve actually been writing new columns most weeks at motifri.com. Anyways […]
Phillipe and Jorge enjoy giving gifts as much as anyone, but actually far prefer getting them. This is especially so if they still have the tags attached and have the store receipt stapled to them, so we can avoid having to display or even endure the unspeakably bad taste that was employed in their selection and […]
There was no Black Friday advertised at Sotheby’s and Christie’s, but word is that they might start offering a gift card of sorts. I’m not much for using gift cards (I feel pressure to go the mall) nor do I frequent the auction houses (too much historical thievery for my taste), but I do make […]
Once again, we find ourselves looking out at the endless red glow of taillights along Route 2 in Warwick as we hand over our hard-earned money for “gifts” for people we hardly ever visit in the first place. I know, I know, I promised the ghost of Samuel Adams that I’d be more cheerful around […]
Last year, Motif combined theater and religion and discussed just why A Christmas Carol should be so ubiquitous at this time of year. For many, Christmas is the one time they get out of the house and experience live theater. A Christmas Carol is the perfect way to infuse that holiday spirit into the kids […]
Alan Metnick is a great photographer. There, I’ve said it. And if you doubt that statement even a little bit, I invite you to race out of your head space, kick off your zombie-brain and head down to Studio Z in the Eagle Square part of Historic Providence and go get yourself enlightened. See what […]
Lately I’ve been hearing people talk about how much they miss the ’90s. Yeah — the decade was cool. Flannel, acid wash jeans, weird hair cuts, Surge (thank god it’s back) and Nintendo 64 were in style, and Seattle was the mecca of music for most of those years. There was also Milli Vanilli and […]
