Comings and Goings

Radio changes, barbecue downtown and an artistic happening.

Radio Goings-On

In radio-land, formats change frequently, and personalities often drive the ratings. Both of these phenomena are occurring at Meyer Communications, home of much of the major local sports programming and… well, some music.

According to owner Ken Meyer (the former owner of Campus Express, which eventually turned into GO Magazine), KTXR, home of St. Louis Cardinals baseball and the easy-listening tunes we affectionately call “Cardinals Leftovers”, is changing its non-baseball programming up a bit: its FM station, 101.3, will be playing “love songs of your life.” (Secretly we wonder if this is just a marketing switch—there was already a lot of Kenny G and Celine on there).

The bigger news, in our book, is the arrival of national sports-talk radio personality Chuck Booms, formerly a syndicated Clear Channel host, at KWTO (AM 560) to host that station’s morning drive-time chatfest. Booms, an ex-comedian, is a right-winger to rival Vince Jericho, but, you know, funny. Booms, Meyer says, will also sit in for Scott Puryear or Ned Reynolds when duties call them away from their daily sports talk show on Jock 98.7.

Finally, Saucy Meat Downtown

A lack of barbecue in downtown Springfield has preoccupied local foodies for years, but things may be a’changin. A pair of restaurateurs are planning a bona fide barbecue restaurant for a space near Quiznos Sub on South Jefferson Avenue. Granddaddy’s Que & More II is to open December 1 on Wilhoit Plaza (431 S. Jefferson Ave., Ste. 172), offering barbecue and other treats, mixing New Orleans and Midwestern influences on the food.

Co-owner Karl Davis says the mainstay is Southern-style pit barbecue, but Monday through Wednesday, he’s going to offer a happy hour from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m., where Louisiana-style appetizers will be served, among them po’boys and peel-and-eat shrimp. Fridays will be shrimp po’boy day, and Davis says he and co-owner Ballary Branstetter are toying with the idea opening one Sunday a month for a gospel-and-brunch event. (Hours Mon.–Sat. 11 a.m.–11 p.m.)

An Artsy Happening

And literally, “happening” is the best word we can come up with, because no one’s quite sure exactly what the Interdisciplinary Arts Project is going to be. Organizer Sean Lyman, an assistant professor of art and design at Missouri State University, says the project features about 25 students from a variety of disciplines, including drawing, painting, sculpture, journalism, film, dance, electronic arts and digital imaging. The theme is communication, and all of the students—through their chosen mediums—will take part. “Really the only specific guideline is that they have to… represent, or misrepresent, communication, whatever it might be,” says Lyman.

The “happening” is scheduled for Thursday, November 29 at Studio 405 (405 W. Walnut St., across from Moxie Cinema) from 6 to 10 p.m. It will be interactive, and the public is encouraged to attend. For more information contact Lyman at 417-836-5214.

GO Reminders

Things to start thinking about as the calendar nears 2008:

• Nominations for our second annual GO Fashion Icons will officially open soon. You think of your most stylish friends and co-workers and we’ll put together an awesome spring show. Deal?

• In January, nominations begin for the second annual GO Music Awards. We’re pleased to announce that our Best Band finalists will once again have the chance to compete live at the Springfield Rotary Clubs Rock’n Ribs festival on April 19.