Last and First Songs

Larry J. Weir

Yesterday, I gave you all a sneak peek at KDHX's new home in the Larry J. Weir Center for Independent Media on Washington in Grand Center, just east of The Bistro. At the time, I wasn't able to announce the date and time when the station would start broadcasting from the new facility because it hadn't been formally announced to the volunteers yet. Now I can.

In an email to KDHX volunteers yesterday, the station's Chief Content Officer, Chris Bay, announced that broadcasting would begin at the Weir Center at noon on Sunday, December 15th. "The last show to broadcast from the Magnolia Avenue building," wrote Bay, "will be Songwriters Showcase, and the last song to be played will be Emmylou Harris, 'Till I Gain Control Again,' which was Larry Weir’s sign-off song. This song was suggested far and above any other by all of you, and is certainly befitting of the occasion.

An artist that was also widely suggested was Bob Reuter, so Ed Becker will play one of Bob’s songs at the end of his show as well, to mark Bob’s significance to the station and his recent passing.

When we switch over, Bev will introduce the first broadcast from the new facility, along with the first song, which will be chosen by our listeners."

As I wrote in my previous blog post, the first song to be broadcast at the new location has yet to be chosen. That's because KDHX is conducting a listener poll to determine what it will be. They'll be collecting nominations until Friday, December 6 at the following link: http://go.kdhx.org/first-song-at-ljw-center Voting will take place Monday, December 9, through Friday, December 13 at that same link.

There are more details on the new location, along with additional pictures, in an article in yesterday's Riverfront Times.

88.1 KDHX: none of the hits all of the time.

Movin' on up

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As you must undoubtedly know by now, 88.1 KDHX is moving to its new home in the Larry J. Weir Center for Independent Media at 3524 Washington (just east of The Bistro in Grand Center) later this month.  I can't tell you the exact date yet as I am sworn to secrecy (although it's coming Real Soon Now), but I can tell you the last song that will be played at the station's current Magnolia Avenue HQ.

The song, as voted by KDHX vounteer DJs, is the 1975 Emmylou Harris recording of Rodney Crowell's "Till I Gain Control Again."  It was the last song the station's late Operations Manager Larry Weir played on his "Songwriters Showcase" show before his untimely death in January of 2010—which seems only fitting.

[My own nomination—"Goodbye Magnolia" by Jimmy and the Coconuts—was greeted with a wave of indifference.  But I digress.]

The first song to be played at the new location, on the other hand, has yet to be chosen.  That's because KDHX is conducting a listener poll to determine what it will be.  They'll be collecting nominations until Friday, December 6, and voting will take place Monday, December 9, through Friday, December 13.  Surf on over to the poll page to nominate your song!

Meanwhile, take a look at a few pictures of the new digs from the volunteer training/orientation session I attended yesterday.

As you can see, KDHX now has actual offices with actual conference rooms and all the other features of a local independent business. The new building is fully networked, so that all of the broadcast and production studios and communicate with each other and exchange programming.

The third-floor conference room

The Stage @ KDHX is the station's new live performance space. It can seat up to 138 and can be used for film/video events, interactive/educational functions, music, and even small theatre performances. It's equipped with state of the art lights and sound, and all performances can be recorded on audio and well as multiple-camera video.

The Stage @ KDHX as seen from the control pod at the rear

 A closer look at the stage of The Stage @ KDHX
The room can also be set up with cabaret seating;
the movie screen is optional

In front of the live performance space and accessible from the street is The Magnolia Cafe, run by the fine folks at Triumph Grill.  It will be open from 7 AM to 7 PM week nights and 7 AM to 3 PM weekends (later when there's an event at The Stage).  Based on what I saw on the menu board yesterday, they'll be offering soups, salads, sandwiches, pastries and drinks both alcoholic and non.

The counter at the Magnolia Cafe

The decor is funky and inventive.  The chandelier pictured below, for example, is constructed of jars hung from an old manual bowling alley pin setter.  One of the tables is built on a metal fire door from an movie theatre.  Very cool.

There's more to KDHX's new home, of course, including the ability to produce lots of original audio and video performances by St. Louis artists.  For more information, check out the FAQ list.  And stay tuned.  To quote Don Great's theme song for The Jeffersons, we're movin' on up.

Radio, radio

Production manager Andy Coco demonstrates
the new air board

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Grand Center is rapidly turning into the arts hub of the St. Louis area.  Long-time residents like the Fox Theatre, The St. Louis Symphony, and the Sheldon Concert Hall have been joined recently by media organizations like St. Louis Public Radio, Channel 9, and HEC-TV. In November the newest kid on the block moves in: 88.1 KDHX.  Yesterday a bunch of us volunteers got a sneak peek at our new digs, the Larry J. Weir Center for Independent Media on Washington right next to The Bistro, across from the Fox.  Very cool.

The Weir Center isn't just going to be the new home of KDHX's analog broadcast operations. It will also enable the station to put up a second HD channel with completely independent programming as well as enhanced audio and video production facilities.  There’s also a café (run by the folks at Triumph) and The Stage at KDHX, a 125-seat performance space.

Broadcast studio B.  Beam us up!

Construction on the offices, café, and The Stage is still in its final stages, but the broadcast and production rooms are already up and ready to go, as you can see in the iPhone snaps I took last night.  Programming will move to the new space in mid-November and the new HD 2 channel is expected to be available early next year. 

But wait—there’s more!  With the move to the newer, bigger, state of the art space, KDHX will be providing even more exposure for local performing artists via live on-air broadcasts and performances at The Stage.  Concert audio and video will be available at the KDHX web site.  The goal is to make KDHX a performance and production hub that will provide national exposure for St. Louis performers.

Today, Grand Center.  Tomorrow….well, “Mound City Limits,” anyone?  Stay tuned.

Let's make a deal

All this could be yours!

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Pssst...hey, buddy: looking for a good deal in a recording/rehearsal studio?  Well, have they ever got one for you over at 88.1 KDHX.

As you probably know, public radio station 88.1 KDHX ("independent music plays here") is moving to a new home in Grand Center.  They're holding their last fund drive at their current location at 3504 Magnolia in Tower Grove East in October, after which everything moves to the Larry J. Weir Center on Washington just east of The Bistro at Grand Center.

The new building will enable the station to run a separate HD 2 program stream, produce a lot more original programming, and even provide a performance space for local musicians and other performing artists (as detailed in my blog post from a few weeks ago) and a cafe.  That leaves the old Magnolia Studio vacant—which is where the deal comes in.

"This is a really unique opportunity for someone to own a little piece of St. Louis music history," notes the station in a recent press release, "as well as a very well-designed and built studio set-up and work/live space. The building at 3504 Magnolia was originally a family bakery and the family lived in the apartment upstairs. Over the 20+ years that KDHX has lived in the building, there has been extensive remodeling to turn it into a great space for a radio station and live music recording studio.

"The original bakery storefront is currently divided in half, but that work was done with minimal disruption of the original woodwork, so it can easily be restored. The production and live performance spaces were built with double-wall, acoustic separation construction, low sound HVAC systems, Under-floor conduit paths and a variety of acoustic treatments."

KDHX's new digs

All of this makes it a good location for music production, rehearsal, or pretty much anything else requiring an up-to-date acoustic and electrical infrastructure.  The building lists at $200,000 ("cheap," as they used to say at Mad Magazine) and will be available by December.  Imagine the New Year's Eve party you could throw there!

Yeah, but seriously: If you or anybody you know is interested, KDHX invites you to contact Kyle Pershing at the Schlafly Corporation, 2 Meramec Avenue, 3rd Floor, in Clayont (63105). The phone is 314-725-2414.

Lighting the stage

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Unless you've been hiding out in a cave for the last 25 years, you probably know about 88.1 KDHX, the station where I've been the senior (oh, that word...) performing arts critic since it went on the air. Even if you're not a regular listener, you undoubtedly saw the "for KDHX" billboards that dotted the landscape for a while as part of the station's capital campaign for its new home in the Larry J. Weir Center for Independent Media (named after the station's late operations manager).

For that matter, you've probably seen the center itself, clearly under construction on Washington right next to The Bistro, across from the Fox. What you might not know, though, is what the completion of the gut rehab of that big grey building will mean to the local arts and music community.

The Weir Center isn't just going to be the new home of KDHX's analog broadcast operations. It will also enable the station to put up a second HD channel with completely independent programming as well as enhanced audio and video production facilities—which means even more exposure for the local music scene. The real boon to the local arts community and audiences alike, though, will be what's on the first floor—a coffee shop and a 125-seat live performance space.

Named The Stage at KDHX, the new space will, in the station's words, "be a space for us to create innovative programming, just as we've done on-air for the past quarter-century. We'll host concerts to showcase amazing musical talent in ways that you won't be able to find anywhere else." In a community that's starved for small performance spaces, The Stage at KDHX will provide a welcome new venue for local musicians, small theatre groups, comics, cabaret singers, and other performing artists.

kdhx.org

The building will also become the new home of a Grand Center landmark of sorts: the marquee sign from the old Sun Theater. The Sun building itself is too far gone to save, but the Sun will continue to shine (literally; it's got neon!) at the Weir Center.

To find out more about The Stage at KDHX, check out their Kickstarter page and enjoy the video that goes along with this post. In less than two minutes, it neatly illustrates the meaning of KDHX's motto: independent music plays here. And after all, who doesn't like to play?

[This article was originally published at my OnSTL.com blog.]