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....
When I was a youngster I used to get so excited when the mailman would show up with whatever useless gadget I had ordered from the back of last month’s Star Wars comic book. The anticipation of receiving that bauble was often more fun than actually getting it (and by the way, those damn X-ray […]
Professional BMX bike rider Kevin Robinson knows what it takes to be competitive and successful. The five times X Games gold medalist and world record holder for highest jump also knew that, in order to accomplish his goals, he was first going to have to leave the New England area, which he did for 10 […]
Me: Mmmmm. That has a full-bodied sip. Vendor: Wow. How do you know so much about beer? Me: Well, I drink a lot of beer. Vendor: No you don’t. Me: Excuse me?” Vendor: There is no way you drink a lot of beer with that body. Well, I guess that guy caught me. My mission this month was to attend […]
See our video interview with Daryl Sherman Join jazz vocalist/pianist Daryl Sherman at Chan’s in Woonsocket on Saturday, October 25, to celebrate the life of her late father, the jazz trombonist Sammy Sherman. The performance will mark what would have been Sammy’s 100th birthday, and it will be a musical showcase not to be missed. […]
When it comes to the Providence music scene, few bands can rival the originality, genuity and overall sense of fun that’s abundant in the music of indie-pop act Roz & The Rice Cakes. If you’ve been checking out the band’s Facebook page recently, frontwoman Roz Raskin is on a never-ending quest to find the littlest […]
Chicago’s music scene has recently gotten cooler. You have old stalwarts like Wilco, Dwarves, The Lawrence Arms and even Earth, Wind & Fire going strong, but the interesting thing about what’s happening in Chicago is the rock ‘n’ roll that’s been coming out of there recently. Bands like self-proclaimed “Flower Punks” The Orwells, “Heavy Pop” […]
Sasquatch. Bigfoot. These are the names given to a large ape-like creature that some people believe inhabits forests, mostly in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Admittedly, I am skeptical. A lack of physical evidence gives me pause. After all, if there’s a large hairy man running around in the forests, wouldn’t someone […]
One Providence Experience The race for Mayor of Providence is all the rage. It’s transcended state boundaries becoming a national point of interest. Just last weekend my brother had a conversation about the race with Cheap Trick’s Rick Nielsen (he’s anti-Buddy in case you were wondering) and Dave Grohl. Local musicians are also doing their […]
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, being presented by the Community Players, is a silly and upbeat musical that’s a lot of fun. The six contestants in the Putnam County Spelling Bee – Olive Ostrovsky (Aubrie Bagdasarian), William Barfee (Michael Campbell), Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre (Nicole Cayer), Marcy Park (Courtney Contente), Chip Tolentino (Ryan Leverone), and Leaf […]
