'Insane, brilliant, maddening': Listeners remember KUTX's John Aielli, who died July 31
Aielli was no ordinary disc jockey. His popular morning show "Eklektikos" was notable for both Aielli's free-roving musical sensibility and his stream of consciousness rambles on everything from the progress of his tomato garden to his favorite hummus recipe. Along the way, he introduced generations of Austinites to the city's quirky arts, music and culture scenes.
As news of his death spread, fans, friends and artists whom he supported took to social media to sing the praises of a true Austin original.
Avid listeners remembered how his musical wanderings took them down strange and wonderful aural avenues. Shinyribs frontman Kevin Russell was once hypnotized on a winter morning as Aielli played Glenn Gould’s Brahms 10 Intermezzi while golden rays of light poured into his bedroom.
From 2012:Conversations with KUT's John Aielli
Twitter user Patrick Lopez recalled a morning when Aielli had just acquired a box set of Northern European folk music. For hours, he broadcast a solo fiddle accompanied by percussive footsteps.
"It was insane, brilliant, maddening," Lopez wrote.
RIP John Aielli, a cornerstone of old, weird Austin. Truly weird, not wacky, "Look at me being weird!" weird. I remember one afternoon, hours of some sort of northern european folk music-a single fiddle and percussive footsteps. He had just got some sort of box set or something.
— Patrick Lopez (@lopezepol) July 31, 2022
Stories of Aielli's legendary rambles were plentiful. Twitter user @subtlerbutler remembered him delivering a 20-minute testimonial about his love of spaghetti during a pledge drive.
"When they tried to steer him back on course he said, 'There is no past, no future, only now,' and still didn’t mention anything about donating," he wrote.
More:John Aielli, 1946-2022: A beloved Austin character
One time John Aielli talked about spaghetti and how much he loved it for twenty solid minutes during what was supposed to be a pledge drive. When they tried to steer him back on course he said there is no past, no future, only now, and still didn’t mention anything about donating https://t.co/SIp8TNWSCM
— Ladies Jacket Club (@subtlerbutler) July 31, 2022
Artists and writers remembered him as a champion of their works. Chris Alonzo recalled a time when he went on the show to talk about music he'd written for a theater production. Aielli snatched the CD out of Alonzo's hand, popped it in the player and reacted to it live on the air.
"I thought I was gonna pass out!" Alonzo wrote.
I will never forget the first time I was a guest on Eklektikos, talking about music I'd written for a theatre show at UT, and #johnaielli snatched my CD out of my hand and put it on and REACTED TO IT live on the air. I thought I was gonna pass out! https://t.co/g5j0maABoY
— God's Little Pinball (@Chris_Alonzo) August 1, 2022
When writer Alysa Harad went on the show to talk about her memoir "Coming to my Senses," she took perfume samples (the book is about becoming obsessed with perfume). Aielli sniffed the scents and reacted as she described them.
When we were done he leapt out of his chair (he was very tall!) and shouted, THAT WAS GREAT RADIO! Many weeks later someone said, "I heard the weirdest thing on KUT once. There were people SMELLING THINGS on the RADIO."
— Alyssa Harad (@alyssaharad) July 31, 2022
When he wasn't on air, Aielli liked to haunt Austin coffeeshops. Twitter user Owen Davis remembered Aielli trying to teach the employees at the cafe where he worked in college how to sing.
RIP. John was a radio staple in my household growing up and a regular at the coffee shop I worked at in college. He was delightful to all us workers. He tried to teach us all to sing. He even gave some notes on one of the embarrassing short stories I wrote for a fiction class. https://t.co/98ZZzI4o55
— Owen Davis (@odavis_) August 1, 2022
In recent years, he had become a regular at Cherrywood Coffeehouse in East Austin. He liked to hang out for hours reading. Several Twitter users noted he brought his own lamp.
John Aielli’s unabashedly off-kilter radio persona embodies Austin’s ethos. His KUT show Eklektikos ran for 50+ years. I used to live near Cherrywood Coffeehouse and would see John bring in his own green-shaded reading lamp and read for hours. He exuded calm. Rest in peace, John.
— Bryan C. Parker (@bryancparker) July 31, 2022
Countless listeners mused about how his laid-back style and boundless curiosity both reflected and shaped the character of our city. State Representative Gina Hinojosa wrote on Twitter that he moved at the "pace of a bygone era in Austin. A pace that lured us in and kept us here."
John Aielli in the morning was home—a touchstone, to start our day, making us feel that everything was going to be all right. Never in a hurry. A pace of a bygone era in Austin. A pace that lured us in & kept us here.
Rest in peace, John & thank you.https://t.co/MjDV1y5qYn— Gina Hinojosa (@GinaForAustin) July 31, 2022
And the Twitter account shitjohnaiellisays, which launched in 2011 as a collection of Aielli's infamous bon mots and non sequiturs, posted a heartfelt farewell:
"He was always unapologetically himself and helped us embrace our childlike wonder. He was our inspirational cup of coffee on our morning commute. And above all he was contagiously kind. We’ll miss you, John."
No amount of words can capture what John meant to so many people. He was always unapologetically himself and helped us embrace our childlike wonder. He was our inspirational cup of coffee on our morning commute. And above all he was contagiously kind. We’ll miss you, John.
— ShitJohnAielliSays (@Eklektikos) August 1, 2022
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Artists and fans remember Austin radio legend John Aielli of KUTX
