Priscilla and Vito with Chris Annunziato.
If you, like me, are stuck commuting in a car for nearly an hour each way, every day to work (Thanks Washington Bridge!), then your ride might actually be something you look forward to, if you’re listening to the podcast “Woke Up in a Bar.”
The Providence-based podcast focuses on the local restaurant and bar industry, and the whole thing is recorded inside Lucky Enough bar on the West End of Providence. Yea, police sirens, ambulances and fire trucks might be part of the soundtrack (don’t pull over! It’s just the background noise), but hosts – and bartenders – Vito Lantz and Priscilla Benkhart, are a pleasure to listen to as they interview some of the most well-known, beloved and notorious bartenders in the area.
The whole premise is to find out what led their subjects to end up tending bar. Many mixologists maybe had another passion, but got sidelined for whatever reason, or maybe they are moonlighting until they get their big break. From the more expected musicians, actors and artists, to the “say-what?” tales of a former Playgirl model, professional baseball empire and a Highland Games competitor, find out what led these interesting characters to wake up in a bar.
Jamie: When did you officially launch the podcast?
Priscilla: The official launch was in June 2023. We recorded three or four episodes to start, our first publish was in June. We did a mass drop with three or four episodes at once. We have been doing an episode a week ever since.
Vito: The beauty is that they are not time-sensitive. You can listen to them out of order, or however you want. They don’t follow a sequence, not like political or sports shows where you are talking about things that happened that week. These episodes are timeless on purpose.
Vito and Priscilla with Todd Patenaude, “Todd the Playgirl Model.”
J: I started out listening to the episodes featuring people that I know at first, then I listened to your recap and your favorite episodes. Then I went back to listen to “Todd the Playgirl Model,” because I didn’t know him and it sounded like such a crazy story. So what made you want to do it?
Vito: We were talking about how it started and wanting to do a podcast. Priscilla told me she was doing voiceover work and she had the editing stuff for it. I said how tough is it to do a podcast? We should do that.
And with your comedy background…
Vito: And radio too. I did morning radio in Phoenix at 93.3 KDKB rock station. I did that for years and years. I’ve always loved radio. It was my first love. I did college radio and graduated with a broadcast degree from Arizona State and then started working.
I didn’t know you had a broadcast degree. Did you do an episode where you are both interviewed? Did I miss it?
Vito: We kind of did that, a dual interview. We brought on Pat Harrington. He’s our only regular. He was the very first guest when we put it together. It’s kind of where the idea came from. We know all these interesting people who didn’t intend to work in a bar. They did some cool things before they ended up here. We started broad and thought that’s a cool idea for a podcast. We didn’t want to do something where it’s just people in the industry talking shit.
Priscilla: It’s more about highlighting people who exist in the industry. Obviously, we tap into our local peers, but it’s everyone.
You can totally take this beyond Providence.
Vito: That’s the plan. I have a bunch of people in New York, where I used to work, that I want to talk to who have really interesting stories. I’d love to start thinking about getting outside of RI. You don’t have to be a Rhode Islander to enjoy it.
Your stories are relatable to all. So Priscilla, you did voiceover work. Can you tell me more about your background?
Priscilla: I dabbled in it a little bit over Covid. Voice acting and voiceover work was something I was interested in. Doing character voices was always something I’d like to do for video games or cartoons. Online freelancing was the place at the time. I haven’t done a ton of work. It’s a very saturated industry, especially online. I couldn’t even tell you what they used my clips for. They were looking for things like, “Can you act like you’re a broadcast newscaster, and you’re excited about what’s coming up next?” It was fun in that they were looking for a specific style and I matched it. But I also casually worked at my college online radio station. I did sports broadcasting for it. My major was video production. I went to school for working with all this stuff, audio editing, video editing, shooting.
And then you woke up in a bar.
Priscilla: That’s why it’s nice to do something that puts the degree to use.
Vito: It’s all the stuff she wants to have on hand for when that real dream job comes along to be the voice of the subway: “Door is closing.”
Priscilla: I practice saying it every day.
I could see you being the voice of a cartoon character who goes viral. I went to school with a girl who was in “Hey Arnold!” on Nickelodeon. Well, she said she was the voice of a character on the show. Then I wrote an article about her for my hometown newspaper, The Eagle Tribune, and they fact-checked it and couldn’t find her name anywhere, so they couldn’t run the story. I was just a teenager, and I was like, did she make it up? I think she might have, because they couldn’t verify through fact-checking. But I believed her. She was the most popular girl in school because she said, I’m on “Hey, Arnold!”
Priscilla: “Hey, Arnold!” was a classic. But I’ll be sure not to lie about my credits.
Vito, I know you have an extensive comedy background that comes into play when you’re interviewing people. You totally roast people sometimes, which is awesome and funny.
Vito: It definitely sets me apart. You can’t turn off being a comic. That’s why I love having Paddy on the show so much. Comics are very weird people. We’ve had Jeremy Furtado who is still a working comic, and one of the funniest dudes. Those shows are always easier for me. Thank God for Priscilla; she’s the glue that keeps it all together, and keeps us on the rails. It’s always been easier to talk to comics. There’s energy in the riff and being able to go back and forth.
For a beginner, who is just getting introduced to your podcast, do you recommend starting right at the beginning, or do you have favorite episodes you think will draw people in, who might not be in the industry?
Vito: I would say to do it the way you do it, which is to go by the things that interest you. Knowing that there is no timeline, I would go by looking at what you think is most interesting. Like “Todd the Playgirl Model” always comes up. That’s probably the one most people talk to us about. I love music, so Chris Annunziato (“The Guitar God”), “Jesse The Rock Star,” or the comics. There’s “Meg the Educator,” who was a teacher. That is an amazing episode. Start with whatever you like and bounce around. Get to know us. It’s showcasing that person and their story.
And people have favorite restaurants or bars. With Joaquin’s episode (“Joaquin the Chemical Engineer”), you learn the inner workings of the minds behind the restaurant Dolores, and why they do the things they do, which is really cool.
Vito: It’s amazing for us. I’ve leaned hard on my friends and I’ve known these people for a long time, and I’m learning things about them that I never knew. For me, that’s the most rewarding and fun part of it is learning stuff about some of my best friends. Oh, and definitely Ryan Zinn (“Ryan the Pastor”).
Priscilla: That he was becoming a pastor… that was a real out-of-left-field moment.
Vito: He was on the road to becoming a pastor, and now he bartends. He is a GM at a whiskey and coffee place. He drinks a heroic amount of tequila with me in golf carts. You would never guess in 100 years…
He’s a man of faith, or at least faithful to the tequila and whiskey.
Vito: At least that he was…
Priscilla: The stories are what I remember most, not even what they were supposed to be, but how things derailed. But I will never forget Nunzy’s [Chris Annunziato’s] story about the Russian landlady that faked her death.
During 9/11 right? We can talk about that. That might draw people in to want to know more and listen to that story…
Vito: Yea, the government wants to know.
The government is listening. Nunzy gave her up. He’s an iconic guy in the industry too. He’s always been a mystery to me, until I listened, and then I was like okay, that’s why you’re the Tasmanian Devil. I see why now.
Vito: And also someone who is not afraid of a microphone.
His dad’s music background is fascinating too, and how Chris followed suit.
Vito: As someone who is raising a young guitar player, and the kid’s good. I need to have Nunzy come to my house and give lessons to my thirteen-year-old son on how to walk into a place, how to dress; all of the things that have nothing to do with playing a guitar. All the things his dad taught him are ridiculously cool. Let me see your walk. Nope, you’re not ready to play guitar yet.
You guys came into bartending, and basically your whole premise is people who have fallen into bartending and wanted to do something else. You mentioned in your most recent episode, how people now set out to do it and that’s their career and purpose. How do you think that has come about? What has inspired that change?
Priscilla: Vito mentioned the mainstream appeal that has come of it. There was even a show I saw about people creating cocktails as a competition on Netflix. All these cooking shows are restaurant- and food-focused, cocktail-focused, and personality-focused too. Personalities make up a lot of this industry as well. Maybe it’s the exposure and the real life success and the career that can be found in this industry, making it attainable, approachable and attractive.
And do you think in the past, people would say they were a bartender in a way, almost as if they were ashamed? Or that people might shame them for it?
Vito: It used to be more of a holding spot: “I am doing this until my band picks up.” Or “I’m bartending while I’m reading for this part.” It always used to be a holding spot. My old man and aunt were both in the industry and they all told me early on, “Start waiting tables or learn how to bartend, and you’ll always be able to pay your rent, be able to eat and figure it out.”
And bartenders make way more money than other industries, that’s for sure.
Vito: People realized that these aren’t just waiters, bartenders and cooks, these people are storytellers and modern day pirates, and this is an interesting profession. You’ll never meet more interesting people. That’s the heart of this podcast, getting to know someone you’ve never heard of.
That’s why for my own job, I always like to interview bartenders and do q-and-a’s with them. They always bring something else to the table and have something to talk about that’s interesting and can capture readers’ attention too.
Priscilla: It’s been fun chatting with people and finding these things out. We’re already interested in them, and then we’re like, how can you be any more interesting?
And I like when you interview the old school bartenders too, because they always have “the story” that they tell to the guest, and it is something they have at the ready for when guests come in. Do you have a story that you like to tell a new guest to reel them in?
Priscilla: I just tell people the story of how I ended up working here at Lucky Enough. I was pretty much retired. I started coming in as a guest, loved it, decided this place would be the place I would come back to, and here I am. For the guest to know how much I believe in this restaurant and this bar, it’s the trust. I want people to know, I come here on my days off. This is how much I love this place.
Vito: I just try and find ways to keep them here and talk about whatever works. At the end of the day, I’m a comic and storyteller. This has always been a nice fit for me. I’ve seen just about every nook and cranny of this country, so I love when someone is like, “I’m from Iowa.” And I say, “Oh really, where at?” Or “I’m from North Dakota,” and I’m like, “Oh I did New Year’s Eve in North Dakota at an air force base one year.” Being able to talk about where they are from is always a good way to get to know them. Todd is the best and has so many stories. And when one of your stories is the time you were in Playgirl, that’s hard to beat.
It’s so amazing how it has gravitated from a bartender twisting off a beer cap and making a simple drink to – what do you think about all of these crazy concoctions bartenders are making now?
Vito: I love being able to do those things, but it’s more about making people feel comfortable and to want to hang out. The hang is everything. Mixology is great and I love making nice cocktails, but people come here to hang out.
Obviously I am a writer, and I work at a magazine, but I know I would love to be a bartender. I never really had an opportunity to, but I love what Ben Terry (“Ben the Labor Union Rep”) said, “I get paid to hang out where I would hang out anyway.” That was the perfect way to put it, because you get to be social and you’re getting paid for it. It’s so cool.
Priscilla: It’s hard to explain to non-bar working people where my job is to hang out. I came here on my birthday, after I went to Boombox. I know I’ll always see faces I love. I know they are all here.
Vito: Which made it really nice when we were like, do we need a studio? No, let’s record here at the bar, because then it feels like a conversation you’re having at a bar. It feels like a hang.
And sometimes you’ll hear the police siren, and that’s okay.
Priscilla: And it is loud in the last one.
It’s part of the soundtrack at this point, guys.
Priscilla: One of the guests said, sometimes I can’t tell if it’s in my car.
That’s true. I pull over to the side of the road, and I’m like oh, right… It’s a part of it. Do you have to do a ton of editing or do you just let it fly?
Priscilla: I listen to the entire thing from beginning to end. I clean up the audio. There are mouth sounds and smacks. If I feel like we ramble too long about something that doesn’t make sense, it gives me creative license to be like, I don’t think we need all of that.
Vito: We were both sick for a month, so a million coughs got edited out.
Or if someone gives way too much info and they don’t want to get fired.
Priscilla: We say talk about what you want to; don’t mention what you don’t want to. Whatever makes you comfortable.
Vito: We are definitely not gotcha journalism.
I listen to “Rags to Dishes” a lot too, but when my kids are in the car, nope. Can’t listen to it, because it’s all f-bombs, so I appreciate that you keep it somewhat clean. Even though people normally do drop a lot of f-bombs when they talk, it seems like they clean up their mouths for you, so you should be honored.
Priscilla: People will be like “Oh can I swear on this?” “F&*k yea, you can.” It doesn’t matter.
Vito: We’re drinking beers at 11 a.m. It’s fine.
You gotta loosen them up in the morning.
Priscilla: It’s a conversation, not a shitfest, so we’re not riled up with emotions, we’re just trying to get to know people.
In terms of working here, and seeing a lot of stuff, what’s the craziest thing you have seen happening at the bar?
Vito: Does it have to be this bar?
You don’t have to throw Lucky Enough under the bus, but maybe people have gotten lucky enough here. I dunno. Maybe?
Vito: I’ve seen a lot of couples who met that night, I won’t say at Lucky Enough, who spent a real long time in our bathroom.
And they weren’t taking “Pretty Powder Room Selfies,” I’m sure.
Vito: I don’t know if that’s a Best of award? “Best Bathroom to Have Sex in”?
People can now blame it on me. “But we were just taking pretty powder room selfies…” That’s one thing you gotta watch out for. And what do you do? Do you just ignore it?
Vito: No, I don’t bang on the door, and yell out, “What are you doing in there?”
What about you, Priscilla, anything crazy?
Priscilla: I guess people stealing bar mats right in front of me, and thinking I won’t notice. Stealing glasses isn’t cool, but it happens. But these were bar mats right in front of the service tray. No one has any use for them. It was a dad and his son, and we called them out on it. And they were like what are you talking about, and then they pulled them out of their jacket sleeves. I’ve had people yell at me for assuming I’m trying to poison them with oysters. For the most part, I can’t say I witnessed anything wild.
I was at a bar in Vermont this winter, coincidentally called Off the Rails, and there was a man and his son. They seemed really friendly and nice to the bartender. She was Ukrainian, and the next thing I know, the dad is swearing at her. I guess he was making comments to her about her body and trying to hit on her. She cut him off and wouldn’t serve him anymore. He made a huge stink and paid the bill with no tip, and as they were leaving, the son took the soda gun out from behind the bar and sprayed it at everyone. It was insanity. I asked the bartender, “Are you okay? What happened? Do you need a minute?” And she was like, “No, he kept coming at me with comments and expected me to entertain him. And I said, ‘You need to close up and get out of here.’” And I was like good for you for sticking up for yourself. Have seen things like that happen before?
Vito: I had a guest throw a glass of red wine at me. The whole thing. I ducked. It was at a place in Hoboken where we had to wear white shirts. The guy I bartended with every Saturday for five years just happened to be behind me, and as he turned the whole thing covered him and we were both like ahhh. She didn’t even know what she was mad about. It was something her boyfriend had done. We were trying to get them to leave and she was being a problem.
So it was a woman who did it? There was another woman… I was at a dive bar and a girl threw a drink at a woman bartender.
I’ve worked at a lot of dive bars and a lot of places, and almost every fight I’ve seen in a bar was started by a woman. Alcohol is a funny thing.
It’s about knowing your limits. I think people are trying to be more conscious of it these days with the whole low abv movement.
Vito: Which is great. I am happy to make people mocktails.
They still want to socialize and have that community.
Priscilla: We try to encourage it when someone wants to sit at the bar and they’re like I feel kind of weird not drinking. I’m like don’t worry about it, you’re here to socialize; you’re here to chill. Do you want a mocktail? Do you want something in front of you to feel more comfortable? It doesn’t have to be alcohol.
Priscilla and Vito with Laura Ganci.
Do you have favorite episodes for people who haven’t listened?
Vito: I love Nunzy’s episode. I love all the ones with Pat Harrington. The one with Laura Ganci (“Laura the Artist and Musician”) was the most honest one. I learned so much about her. It’s entertaining, it’s fun. I’m a comic, but we’ve had some real honest moments.
Priscilla: Shane’s was like that (“Shane the Electrician”). Sometimes the guest drives the mood and where the conversation goes. Meg Colannino was great. And Steve Sharp (“Steve the Strongman”). Analise’s one was really fun too. She was doing broadway (“Analise the Broadway Star”). There were a lot of great ones. There are so many moments in them that I really enjoyed. It’s hard to choose a favorite child.
Vito: I loved Oscar’s from Sports and Leisure and Brass Monkey for his perseverance and his attitude (“Oscar the RN”). They had negative money when they started. And he said all I need is $10 to get a black collared shirt, and I’ll make whatever money we need in the next two days at a restaurant. I love his story and attitude.
You know what the funniest thing I learned was? On Joaquin’s episode, that Maria didn’t know how to cook when she was younger! What was it, Lipton soup? It’s very relatable, because I could see myself doing something like that.
Vito: That was perseverance at its best. The way Joaquin said it, when she met his dad [the man who would become her husband], she didn’t want to feel like this isn’t good enough. So she thought, not only am I going to learn how to cook, but I’m going to be the best cook there is, and look at the dynamo that she is now. The thing I love the most is that concept of figure it out. Perseverance.
Joaquin Meza with Vito and Priscilla.
That’s what you’re highlighting, that can-do attitude.
Vito: The boldness that came with their decision making. Working as a family. There’s a reason I work 1,000 miles away from my family.
They have to defy the American stereotype of Mexican cuisine too. And stick to it. And now look, James Beard nom. She is so deserving of that.
Priscilla: That reflects on what we touched on in the most recent one. The whole idea of taking risks and feeling support from bar-goers and restaurant-goers, and being willing to try things and trusting us. It could be because of where we are in Providence, but I feel like I’m seeing it nationwide.
You have the biggest pool of people to pull from for this podcast, so are there any gets that you really want?
Priscilla: For selfish reasons, one of my friends is teaching at Johnson & Wales. I really want to get her on the podcast. I met her in the industry. She is super cool. A private chef as well.
Vito: I really want to get out of our comfort zone. Down in New York, there are a handful of bartenders; one of my mentors. He was a finance guy, but he’s an old school Irish bartender. He taught me so much about the way you handle yourself, and the way you take care of guests. I’d like to talk to him for an hour. Or my buddy Steve, who is a marine and works in bars in NYC. He has an interesting story of brain surgery. There’s just so many people outside of Rhode Island. I have friends down in Key West. Talk about a place that has a million stories. I’d love to just pack up the gear and me and Priscialla shoot down the coast.
And go on tour like your comedy days? I can totally see it. There are so many good people to interview. You could record the whole trip down.
Vito: Let’s make a ten-part documentary series. HBO is ready to do it.
Priscilla: They called me a couple times and I was like, we’re not ready yet.
Vito: We could totally steal that idea. It’s just like “SmartLess.” Except it’s people you never heard about, talking to people you’ve never heard about. What’s that? They got Obama. Well, we got my friend Steve.
Anyone can take something from the podcast, even if they don’t know the person.
Priscilla: These are all really interesting people.
Listen to “Woke Up in a Bar” on Spotify and apple podcast.
podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wokeupinabar
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