If you flipped your radio dial over to WNFZ-94.3 on Monday morning, you probably noticed that change is afoot at Knoxville's first commercial modern rock station. The music-snippets-and-promo loop that ran in lieu of regular programming gave little clue as to what those changes would be, but preliminary indications are that the station's format will remain more-or-less in place. Gone, however, are over-the-top nighttime jock Col. Bacchus and long-time local radio personality J.J. Randall.

In essence, the station has been turned over to South Central Communications, the company which also runs FM adult contemporary station B97.5, as well as FM classic rock staple WIMZ and its sports/talk AM counterpart. Former station manager Jonathan Pirkle still owns 94.3, but has turned over its day-to-day operation to South Central as part of an LMA, or local marketing agreement, a media contract that parallels that of a business leased by its owner to a third-party manager.

According to Jim Pemberton of South Central, 94.3 will "still be an alternative station," but will undergo a name change ("The Planet") as well as some shuffling in the D.J. booth. Jocks Lance McCluskey and Jeff Seeman remain on board, but long-time WIMZ Skynyrd-spinner Shane Cox will switch over and move into Randall's afternoon drive-time slot and assume assistant programmer's duties. B97.5 disc jockey Brian Mayfield will also change call letters, taking over nighttime chores at 94.3.

Pemberton preferred not to comment on the displaced jocks, stating only that their dismissal was "difficult to do; these are people who have been here a long time." Col. Bacchus, a Metro Pulse reader's poll fave and one of local radio's most colorful personalities, was understandably taken aback by his pink slip ("They said it was nondiscussable, gave me a check, and said good-bye.") As for his future plans, he responds in typically off-beat Bacchus fashion that he intends to start a toilet cleaning operation now that his radio days have (at least for now) come to an end.

JINGLE BELL ROCK

It's that time of year...chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose, rocking the rafters in the name of charity. Yep, the annual Rock For Tots campaign is on a roll; this year's show is planned for Sat., Dec. 13, 7 p.m., at Barley & Hopps, with a bill that features Blue Mother Tupelo, Mojo, Human Windows, I Swear My Name Is Smith, Nailed, Dave Landeo, Jada Blade, Black Nanners, Frazier & Surber, Psychaderelicts, Boy Genius, Grand Sire Rush—and, just maybe—Scott Miller. As always, you can do your part—and reap the benefits of rock—by bringing a new, unwrapped toy to be donated to the U.S. Marine Corps' Toys For Tots program. (Or, if you're lazy, $5 will get you in the door and go directly to Toys For Tots.) Everything is donated and everyone involved works for free, from the bands to the club staff to lighting, sound, and even equipment.

CD REVIEW

Torture Kitty
Yardsale (VML Records)

Torture Kitty timed the release of their latest full-length CD perfectly; the long winter months ahead need an antidote, and Yardsale is it. Too bad the pop-punk charm of the disc will wear off before it can be enjoyed in its properly breezy, sunlit afternoon setting—but it should provide more than enough breakneck pogo energy to keep us warm until then.

The album kicks off with the metallic/hard-core-edged "Lawnboy," a madcap outburst which clocks in at under two minutes and on which singer (and MetroPulse contributor) John Sewell gives voice that "it's time to kick some ass." It's an atypical moment, to be sure, but its also a furious kickstart to the rest of the disc. The songs are either really fast or really, really fast, with catchy hooks and lyrics that occasionally, as on "Keep on Smiling," rise above the teen angst so common to punk. The standout tracks are "Didya Hear," simply for its keyboard breaks, which, believe it or not, work; and the disc's closer, "Someday," an ambitiously structured song which alternates between full-throttle verses and chorus and a bittersweetly melodic bridge. And the syncopation of the band on the ripping introduction of "Kid" is an impressive display of rhythmic virtuosity.

Yardsale's a great record to spend the winter months with. There are moments of ambition stretching beyond the limits of form, but generally it's a top-notch, if not brilliant, example of powered-up pop punk.

TAPE REVIEW

Evil Twin
Psalms EP

There's something genuinely disturbing, sinister, even insidious about the dissonant guitar squall that kicks off "Prey," the first track on Evil Twin's new four-song EP. But what else would you expect from a band fronted by Knox proto-punk and gutter poet Rus Harper, perhaps the single most disturbing, sinister, insidious persona in the history of local music. (That's his rep, at least; Rus is really a sweetheart—but don't tell anybody.)

Harper's forté is mood, not melody; his vox are harsh, splattery evocations of whatever vile psychic demons have plagued him since his days in Teenage Love, one of the city's earliest (and noisiest) hard-core outfits. But his bilious rantings are smartly buttressed in this instance by guitarist Daisy "Chain" McGraw, bassist Bradathon, and drummer Atom Smasher, whose tight-yet-loose punk-metal interplay keeps things coherent while still matching Harper note for menacing note. Nasty music for nasty people. Enjoy.

RECORD REVIEW

The Malignmen
Southgate Sessions (Plague Records)

The Malignmen do nothing to make punk seem any smarter than it is; however, they do succeed at what they're trying to do: create jaw-rattling, fierce, early '80s-school punk that pumps you up and leaves you breathless by song's end. The stand-out tracks on this EP (recorded, ironically enough, in Sequoyah Hills) are songs 2 and 3, each showcasing the band doing their best Misfits imitation. In other words, the songs are relentless, melodic, and hit you over the head with their (lack of) subtlety. All punk, no bullshit filler; if it takes over two minutes, it's not worth their time or yours. The final track starts off with a riff cribbed from—of all things—"Turning Japanese," then proceeds to a surprisingly lumbering (for the Malignmen, at least) stalker pace. Not only has this foursome improved considerably since their auspicious and bloody beginnings, methinks the boys just might have some tricks up their sleeves (if they wore sleeves, that is) for the future...look for them to mine punk annals beyond just the Misfits.

—Zippy "Ready to throw away my Toilet Duck^TM and hire Bacchus any day" McDuff