Lots of fabulous things hail from that metropolis to the south, Kansas City. Like authentic BBQ, the Chiefs, great places to shop and let’s not forget the bubbling music scene, in the heart of which pulses Go Kart.

The two-year-old, Kansas City-based band is touring in support of their latest release, Swing, on Manic Records, an independent label out of Lawrence, Kan. These boys, raised on the Jayhawks (the KU ones, not that Minneapolis band) and music steeped in jazz, blues and cutting-edge college tunes, keep close to home and do their thang mostly in the nation’s breadbasket.

“We spend a lotta time in Lawrence ’cause it’s a fun place to play, and there’s a pretty good scene going there, coupled with the Kansas City scene,” said Mike Devine, the man behind the voice and rhythm guitar. “I don’t make the distinction between the two, but the papers do, I guess for advertising and stuff.

“We’d go play in Lawrence and then crash at somebody’s house, or vice versa. Plus, if the van breaks down, we can just walk. Our amps have wheels on them.”

While the members have actually made stops in Ames in various forms, Go Kart is the result of a sort of happy accidental situation. “I’ve been up there with The Kents,” Devine said, “and I think that the rest of the guys played as Groovehead . . . Actually, both of our bands kinda folded at the same time, and [then] we got together.”

This fusion has churned out some catchy, whack-ya-in-the-face material with enough horsepower to propel Go Kart into some radio play and enthusiastic live response.

“I’d put it in the alternative category, kind of like a pop-punk thing with a lean toward darker pop,” Devine explained. “We rely a lot on melody and harmonies, which is kind of unusual for the kind of music we’re doing. Instead of three-chord, smash-as-fast-as-we-can, we do 10-chord, smash-as-fast-as-we-can.”

And they’ve smashed nightclubs and bars all over the place, but currently they’ve been touring sporadically and even bypassed our fair town altogether (but they’re very sorry!).

“It has been off and on,” Devine said. “We had a really busy September, and I wouldn’t call October anywhere near a tour. If we can get a distribution set up for Swing, that’ll make a big difference. We need to start playing.

“We’ve been skipping over Ames, which is bad, going to St. Louis and Chicago [instead]. We’ll have to stop doing that.”

Even when Go Kart does break tradition and load up the van, they’re usually headed for warm weather and Southern drawls, which confounds even the band members themselves. “We do it bass-ackwards,” Devine said. “We go up North in the winter and tour the South in the summer. There’s so much more stuff closer to us up North. There’s Minneapolis, Chicago. We can make it to Minneapolis in under seven hours when we’re hauling butt. We make up our own speed limit.”

Their approach to road trips hearken back to the unorganized messes on which college students embark. Their manager, Doug, has to act the part of Grumpy Father and keep them all in line.

“We load up the car, make sure everyone has pissed and don’t stop until someone’s bladder’s gonna burst. Doug is always threatening us: ‘Don’t make me pull this van over!'”

So we know that Go Kart can lapse back to the days of wrestling for window seats and whining, “Are we there yet?” But once the van’s parked and the equipment’s set up, they’re professional all the way.

The members include Devine, Brian Sullivan on bass, Scotty Rex behind the drums and Larry Wayne on lead guitar, a man who, Devine says, sometimes saves his butt on stage. “When I’m bouncing around singing and I drop my guitar on the floor, he’s there to cover for me,” Devine laughed.

The band roster also includes someone of the canine variety. Kafka is the “band dog, a big mutt” who has become Go Kart’s biggest and most loyal fan. “Whenever we practice — we have a basement spot — he’ll sleep right in front of the kick drum,” Devine said. “We’ve got dog appeal.”

Central Iowa will catch Go Kart at the most ideal time. Swing is in full swing, and the boys are hunkerin’ down for some major touring support and maybe a little stretching. “You’re getting us at a good point,” Devine said. “We’re starting to branch out. The CD came out about a month ago, and Manic is pushing for us to move to a larger indie, or God forbid, a major. We’re telling people to come out to see us, and we’ll prove our merit.”

Go Kart will share the stage with Secret Skin from Omaha and Ames’ own Junk Poet at The Love Shack, located at 625 East Court Ave. in Des Moines.

The show starts at 9 p.m. and only an ID will getcha in.