http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22921394/from/ET?gt1=10755
AUSTIN, Texas - A volunteer at a community radio station set fire to the station because he was upset that his song selections for an overnight Internet broadcast were changed, police said.
Paul Webster Feinstein, 24, has been charged with second-degree felony arson for the Jan. 5 fire, which caused $300,000 worth of damage to the studios of 91.7 FM KOOP. He faces from two to 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine if convicted.
Feinstein told investigators that he was "very unhappy" about the changes to his playlist, said Austin Fire Department Battalion Chief Greg Nye. The songs were intended for an Internet broadcast that occurs when the station is off the air.
"He had a dream of a career in radio and was very disappointed about where it had led him," Nye said.
An attorney for Feinstein could not be reached for comment.
Jazz fan Station president Andrew Dickens said Feinstein had been in a dispute with another volunteer about what kind of music should be put into a digital library for the Internet program.
Feinstein was a jazz fan and his Internet program was called "Mellow Down Easy," Dickens said.
"We knew there was a disagreement, but I would characterize it as a little clash of personalities over types of music to be played and not a big blowout," Dickens said.
Feinstein, who had volunteered at the station for about a year, quit a week before the fire, saying he was going to do other things, Dickens said.
"He seemed like somebody who was young, enthusiastic, had a life, was a professional and was educated," Dickens said.
Nye said Feinstein acknowledged making a copy of the station key and then waiting for the station to clear out on the night of Jan. 5. Feinstein poured gasoline on the control panels in two studios to start the fire, Nye said.
Gasoline at scene The fire department's trained dog smelled gasoline at the scene, tipping investigators to the arson, Nye said.
Nye said Feinstein had no previous criminal record.
The fire was the third the station has dealt with in the past two years. The first was ruled accidental. The second was caused by a malfunction in a heating and air-conditioning unit of a nearby business and forced the station to move.
This month's fire knocked the station off the air for 19 days. It resumed broadcasting last week in donated space.
"We are kind of worried that people will look at us like a bunch of idiots," Dickens said. "This is really just one of those out-of-the-blue situations. Who the hell would have thought somebody would have snapped?"
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― latebloomer, Thursday, 31 January 2008 12:19 (eighteen years ago)
HOT jazz..
― Mark G, Thursday, 31 January 2008 12:21 (eighteen years ago)
― latebloomer, Thursday, 31 January 2008 12:26 (eighteen years ago)
what a dbag.
― Jordan, Thursday, 31 January 2008 14:16 (eighteen years ago)
Haw, I LOVE that his show was caled "Mellow Down Easy"!
― roxymuzak, Thursday, 31 January 2008 14:22 (eighteen years ago)
wat's on yr playlist
― Hurting 2, Thursday, 31 January 2008 14:37 (eighteen years ago)
Honor the Jazz Fire
― Alex in NYC, Thursday, 31 January 2008 14:41 (eighteen years ago)
haha, first image you see on KOOP's site:
http://www.koop.org/upinsmoke.JPG
― Hurting 2, Thursday, 31 January 2008 14:45 (eighteen years ago)
11/30/07 mellow down easy playlist has no hint of arson :
Doyle Bramhall - "Chateau Strut" - Is It News (Yep Roc) Norton Buffalo - "Let Me Be Your Man" - King of the Highway (Blind Pig) W.C. Clark - "Okie Dokie Stomp" - Deep in the Heart (Alligator) Arbee Stidham - "Mr. Texas & Pacific" - A Time for Blues (Mainstream) R.L. Burnside - "Poor Black Mattie" - Mississippi Hill Country Blues (Fat Possum) Brownie McGhee/Sonny Terry - "John Henry" - Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry Sing (Smithsonian Folkways) Robert Nighthawk - "Maxwell Street Jam" - Live on Maxwell Street 1964 (Bullseye) Magic Sam - "21 Days in Jail" - The Essential Magic Sam: The Cobra and Chief Recordings, 1957-61 (Fuel 2000) Junior Wells - "Universal Rock" - Calling All Blues (Fuel 2000) George Benson - "Rock-a-Bye" - The New Boss Guitar of George Benson (Prestige) Al Kooper/Shuggie Otis - "Bury My Body" - Al Kooper Introduces Shuggie Otis (Columbia) Robert Randolph - "Ted's Jam" - Live at the Wetlands (Dare) Doyle Bramhall II - "Smokestack" - Welcome (RCA) Roomful of Blues - "Stranger Blues" - That's Right (Alligator) The Groove Hogs - "Soul Infatuation" - Blue Rhythms, White Lies (Pixelmax) Andrew Odom - "Feel So Good" - Farther Down the Road (BluesWay) Johnny Otis - "Country Girl" - Cold Shot! (Kent) Hubert Sumlin - "Chunky" - Heart & Soul (Blind Pig)
― Hurting 2, Thursday, 31 January 2008 14:47 (eighteen years ago)
Shit is a shame, really. Glad they're back on the air so I've got my fave playlists back.
What a dick this guy was.
― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Thursday, 31 January 2008 14:51 (eighteen years ago)
Not for the fire, for all the crappy blues he played.
― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Thursday, 31 January 2008 14:52 (eighteen years ago)
more evidence that blues fans are major jackoffs
― Hurting 2, Thursday, 31 January 2008 14:54 (eighteen years ago)
have you guys seen this guys mugshot
― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Thursday, 31 January 2008 14:55 (eighteen years ago)
The crazy thing is that this is like their third fire in the last year or so.
― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Thursday, 31 January 2008 14:57 (eighteen years ago)
http://www.kvue.com/news/tuma/stories/M_IMAGE.1175910ab03.93.88.fa.d0.696ad2b9.jpg
― Hurting 2, Thursday, 31 January 2008 14:58 (eighteen years ago)
even better shot:
http://img.coxnewsweb.com/B/05/32/66/image_6566325.jpg
― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Thursday, 31 January 2008 14:59 (eighteen years ago)
like doesn't he kinda look like a dude who might set fire to a radio station cause they wouldn't let him play the new 28-minute robert randolph jam?
― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Thursday, 31 January 2008 15:00 (eighteen years ago)
oh eat one, that's a pretty great playlist.
But yeah... lighting a fire? Little much. Just a tad.
― kenan, Thursday, 31 January 2008 15:02 (eighteen years ago)
looks like a Charles Burns character
― sexyDancer, Thursday, 31 January 2008 16:43 (eighteen years ago)
Looks very, very much like a Charles Burns character, esp that 2nd picture. So much like a Black Hole panel.
― contenderizer, Thursday, 31 January 2008 16:48 (eighteen years ago)
Why does the article call him a "jazz fan" if his playlist was all blues?
― o. nate, Thursday, 31 January 2008 17:04 (eighteen years ago)
maybe that's what the dispute was over?
― latebloomer, Thursday, 31 January 2008 17:15 (eighteen years ago)
esp that 2nd picture. So much like a Black Hole panel.
Indeed! But then again, if that dude had The Disease, he'd also have better things to do than light fires.
― kenan, Thursday, 31 January 2008 17:30 (eighteen years ago)
looks like a pretty good playlist to me! but blues music fans can be dbags.
― omar little, Thursday, 31 January 2008 18:25 (eighteen years ago)
The station is being a capital sport about it.
http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i191/fluxion23/up_in_smoke.png
If this isn't an occasion for dollar shots, I dunno what is.
― kenan, Thursday, 31 January 2008 18:45 (eighteen years ago)
91.7 FM KOOP HOOS
― The Reverend, Thursday, 31 January 2008 18:45 (eighteen years ago)
-- kenan, Thursday, 31 January 2008 15:02
-- omar little, Thursday, 31 January 2008 18
i actually agree, i like about 2/3rds of the playlist, just an easy joke.
― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Thursday, 31 January 2008 18:47 (eighteen years ago)
11/30/07 mellow down easy playlist has no hint of arson
didn't Burnside's house burn down, like 3 times?
― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Thursday, 31 January 2008 19:30 (eighteen years ago)