Fire Damages KOOP/Sweatbox Building

This ain't good. There was a fire early this morning at the downtown building on the corner of Fifth and San Jacinto that houses Sweatbox Studio, KOOP radio, and several rehearsal spaces.

According to K-EYE News, the fire occurred on the second floor and Sweatbox sustained the most significant damage. Meanwhile, KOOP is off the air because of the fire. Thankfully, APD helped get everyone out of the building safely except for an unfortunate dog. Investigators say the fire was caused by "improperly discarded smoking materials."

Even though the elevators are scary and the restrooms smell like stale coffee piss from the Roosevelt administration (the building apparently served as a draft board office during World War II), this dilapidated edifice is one of the last places in downtown Austin that's even close to affordable for a fledgling ancillary music business.

I used to practice there with Noodle in the early Nineties. I remember one time when we all had to stand on wooden pallets to play because there was standing water on the floor from a fire sprinkler mishap. More recently, the Peenbeets recorded all of our first album and some of our last one at Sweatbox. Tons of garage bands from around the block and around the globe have recorded there.

Here's hoping that Sweatbox, KOOP and everyone else affected by the fire recovers quickly.