My Old Kentucky Blog 2008 Holiday Interview Series : Vito Aiuto of The Welcome Wagon

by My Old Kentucky Blog on Wed, 2008/12/10 - 5:50pm Post to Twitter

Asthmatic Kitty underwent quite an expansion in 2008. One of the acts I have been most intrigued by is The Welcome Wagon. The Welcome Wagon is a married couple, the Reverend Thomas Vito Aiuto and his wife Monique. With little-to-no musical training, Vito purchased a guitar with the desire to sing hymns with his family. With no ability to read music, Vito simply made up new tunes to accompany the old words in the songs. Gradually the two began playing onto and into some small small stages at bars, parties, and seminaries. This year they decided to make a record, one that Sufjan Stevens helped them produce and arrange.

The Welcome Wagon - Sold! To The Nice Rich Man

MOKB : What’s the plan for 2009? What secret knowledge can you divulge?

Vito Aiuto : The plan for 2009 is to maybe play a few shows. But we haven’t scheduled any except one at Princeton Seminary in April, so the times and dates of the others are a secret from me, too.

Read the rest of the interview…AFTER THE JUMP…

MOKB : What are your favorite holiday foods?

Vito Aiuto : My uncle gave me his recipe for Cioppino, which is a fish soup Italians traditionally make on Christmas Eve, and I made that a couple years ago. Also, if my landlord gets a deer, we’ll have venison.

MOKB : Any special holiday traditions?

Vito Aiuto : Listening to Lessons & Carols from King’s College on BBC Radio.

MOKB : If you could collaborate with one artist this Christmas season, who would it be and why?

Andy Warhol. He made great religious art, and he had a great sense of humor.

MOKB : What have you been working on lately?

Vito Aiuto : Cleaning and re-cleaning the office I keep in our apartment. My wife sees that I’m not reading or writing or praying or playing in there, instead I end up using it as storage for semi-dirty clothes. I think she has designs on it.

MOKB : What was your favorite album or musician of 2008?

Vito Aiuto : Only Daddy That’ll Walk the Line: The RCA Years, Waylon Jennings

MOKB : Favorite holiday movie?

Vito Aiuto : The Godfather

MOKB : Santa or Satan?

Balthasar, Melchior & Caspar

MOKB : St. Nicholas or St. Paulie Girl?

Vito Aiuto : My preference would be to drink a St. Pauli Girl on St. Nicholas Day.

MOKB : Kris Kringle or Kris Kristofferson?

Sunday Morning Coming Down.

MOKB : Feel free to share any holiday wishes, facts you’d like to be known, your calls, etc… here.

Vito Aiuto : I wish it would snow in New York during Christmas. I wish joy for everyone here in Brooklyn. I sort of wish we had a dishwasher. (But not really).

Previous: John McCauley of Deer Tick, Lord Phallus (Rob Crow) of Goblin Cock, Jon Visger of Mason Proper, Cassie Ramone of Vivian Girls, David Adamson of Grampall Jookabox, Casey Dienel of White Hinterland, Rafter Roberts of Rafter, Will Johnson of Centro-Matic, Jof Owen of The Boy Least Likely To, Milo Bonacci of Ra Ra Riot, Aziz Ansari of Human Giant, Nick Thorburn & Jim Gutrie of Human Highway, Vito Aiuto of The Welcome Wagon