Bono’s radio hiatus will not last long

Thursday, Oct. 6, 2005 | 7:19 a.m.

Entertainer Dennis Bono is philosophical about the abrupt change in format of KJUL 104.3-FM from adult standard to country, which left his popular show "Las Vegas Now" without an on-air home -- but only temporarily.

Before you could say "Howdy, pardner" Bono landed at KUNV 91.5-FM, where he can be heard at 7 p.m. beginning Oct. 14.

The one-hour weekly variety show, taped at 2 p.m. Thursdays at Sam's Town, won't be broadcast this week but fans still can see the live performance today.

"It's the nature of the business," said Bono, who has hosted the show for five years, first at Sunset Station and for the past two years at Sam's Town. "It was a business decision, and I respect their decision. They understand the bottom line."

Beasley Broadcast Group pulled the plug on the adult-standard format at noon Monday and began broadcasting under "104.3 The Coyote."

The station went from playing the songs of Frank Sinatra to the songs of Toby Keith without skipping a beat, or without much warning.

Bono learned about the change a few minutes before the switch.

"I'm not putting down their decision," he said. "But the way they handled the announcement, that's not the way I would have done it."

He had gone to the KJUL studio to tape a commercial for his show with his announcer, Scott O'Neill, whose primary job is as an on-air personality with the station.

Or was. He got the boot -- that would be a cowboy boot -- along with others, including announcer Duke Morgan.

"I went in to cut the commercial," Bono said, "and Scott said we can't do it; at noon they were converting to country."

Each week he features a lineup of entertainers who perform and then are interviewed.

"We are not skipping a beat," he said. "We will be back on the air next week at another dial. The show is going on, and we're taking our 80,000 listeners with us. We aren't going to let the fans down."

Bono said Sam's Town has stuck with him through the unexpected change.

"We may have to do some promotions to let fans know we're still here," he said.

Bono says his fan base includes older listeners who like the standards.

"I've always felt this audience was the most neglected," he said. "It still seems to be that way."

Jerry Fink can be reached at 259-4058 or jerry@lasvegassun.com.