News and Notes

Inferno Club Set to Open February 1

It's not a dance club anymore, but soon there will once again be a club named Inferno in Springfield. According to owner Richard Prochaska III, the Inferno Club will open February 1 at the corner of Commercial Street and Washington Avenue. The club will be alcohol-free and all-ages. Prochaska says the venue will seat 450-500 people and make its revenue from cover charges, non-alcoholic beverages and a coffee shop in a room adjacent to the concert hall. The opening-night show, featuring local hip hop artist (and GO Sexy & Single winner) J-Kiellz, will donate proceeds to Boys and Girls Club of Springfield and to The Kitchen.

For Levee, Springfield Runs Dry

Following a path taken previously by acts such as Speakeasy, local retro-rock favorites Levee will be moving to Chicago at the end of the year to pursue more opportunities to play and record. By the time the group's album of new material drops early next year, singer Zach McClease, guitarist Ty Griffith and bass player Ryan Wallace will be in the Windy City, although Wallace says the group plans to come back to Springfield for a CD release party when the time comes. You can keep track of that development and more on the group's myspace page, myspace.com/leveerocks.

New Beautiful Losers Bassist

It looks like the recent band upheavals are finally over for local mainstream rockers the Beautiful Losers. Garth West joined the band to replace departed bass player Matt Miller, who left the group to concentrate on his real estate and property development businesses. West's first show with the band was December 1 at The Outland.

Battle of the Bands 2

Another item in Prochaska's planner: Battle of the Bands 2007, currently scheduled for April or May at Inferno Club. The plan, Prochaska says, is to expand to include approximately 30 bands from across the state. Prochaska says he's already scouting bands to include in the contest, which will be invitation-only and, in Prochaska's estimation, the largest of its kind in the state of Missouri.