Steven Mackay
Staff

Tuscaloosa-based Z100.5 FM's "Beaner and Ken" show is - for now - no more.

In a Monday e-mail to listeners, Beaner - a.k.a. Guy Patton - says he and partner Ken Henron [sic] did not renew their contract with station owner Apex Broadcasting Inc. The duo's contract expired Dec. 31.

According to Patton, Apex pulled the duo off the air "without warning" more than two weeks ago as contract negotiations proceeded. The station instead played a stream of alternative rock - its normal schedule - in the show's 6-10 a.m. weekday slot.

"We are actively negotiating to find a new home for the show. ... I know I speak for Ken when I say we consider ourselves blessed to have had such a bright, funny and supportive audience," Patton writes. "It was our pleasure to entertain you and to share our lives with you, and we look forward to doing it again."

On Dec. 31, Patton said he and Henron [sic] were being "courted by all the major players in Birmingham radio." He jokingly added that he and Henron [sic] hoped to remain a team "as we learned in our last departure, we stink solo."

When the show was first pulled on Dec. 13, Patton called the move "unusual." He added that salaries had not been discussed, but that the duo were concerned about who would fill a vacant general manager's position.

The duo began their employment with Apex in April 2003, according to company operations manager Greg Thomas. The show's format consists of radio chatter, listener call-ins, prank calls and skits such as a trivia game "hosted" by the Vulcan statue that sits atop Red Mountain in Birmingham.

The duo are not strangers to Birmingham: They once hosted a similar program on 107.7 FM, now home to the "Tuttle & Kline" show.

Contacted Monday night, Thomas could not confirm the show's cancellation.