Late last October, Rayon Payne was tooling along the highway in a friend’s car when the po-po rolled up and pulled them over. Both men were searched, and the cops found a loaded gun on Payne’s person. Payne was arrested and charged with carrying a concealed weapon. He wrote me shortly after it happened but I neglected to further publicize the incident – not like the man needs any more negative spin to his life’s story. Continue reading “The State of Florida v. Rayon Payne, pt. ∞”
Tag: rayon payne
State-Level Challenge to Florida's Anti-Pirate Law?
The only attempt made so far to challenge Florida’s law making radio piracy a state felony involves a petition from the American Radio Relay League asking the FCC to issue a declaratory ruling nullifying the state law on jurisdictional grounds. Although the FCC has been historically very aggressive in asserting its jurisdictional superiority when it comes to regulation of the airwaves, in the cases of Florida and New Jersey it’s looked the other way – the ARRL’s petition has languished in the FCC’s circular file for 19 months now.
But Rayon Payne, of all people, thinks Florida’s law can be successfully contested at the state level. He recently called the Florida Secretary of State’s office and asked for a license to broadcast. Payne’s premise is, if the state of Florida wants to assert some sort of policing authority over use the public airwaves, then it should include a licensing power as a part of that authority. Continue reading “State-Level Challenge to Florida's Anti-Pirate Law?”
N$X: Seeking Direction
I had a nice long chat with Rayon Payne earlier this week. He’s been up to some interesting stuff.
Payne’s latest project is Myspace Radio. The plan involves establishing a database of music from which users will be able to access and assemble playlists for free. Said playlists can then be streamed from anywhere. Payne describes it as akin to Shoutcast, except you’re in complete control of the programming.
Users will be able to upload and request new audio files and share their playlists with others, but they will not be able to download files. The system will log everything that’s played, with the appropriate streaming royalty payments to follow. The entire service will be free; Payne hopes to generate revenue via advertising. Continue reading “N$X: Seeking Direction”
Kulpsville Pirate Retrospective; N$X Demo Available
Thanks to Ragnar for recording a session from this year’s Winterfest gathering called the 
“Year in Pirate Radio” (1:01:48, 21.3 MB). After a somewhat sparse summary of 2005 activity on the AM, FM and shortwave bands, Allan Weiner commandeers the mic and takes questions from the audience. He offers up some interesting observations on the FCC, his offshore pirate escapades, and what it’s like to run a 50,000-watt shortwave station.
In Florida, Rayon Payne aka N$X has established a new web site which includes a complete copy of his demo CD called “Unfinished Bizness,” which intersperses interview clips with material from the pirate days of yore. He’s still on the hunt for an open mic on this side of the law, and he’s still thinking big.
Radio-Related Video of Note
Rayon Payne aka N$X sends word that he’s landed a deal with Orlando TV station WRDQ to produce a weekend “reality show like no other in existence, transforming a nightclub into a mini-television set.” A further teaser is available at 95Live.net. This is part of Payne’s ambitious plans to not only resurrect the 95Live sensation, but blow it up in ’06 to include “international promotion, a fashion line, merchandising, etc.” The first 95Live TV show airs on New Year’s Day.
The Hallmark Channel will screen the United Church of Christ-sponsored documentary LPFM: The People’s Choice on Sunday, January 8. This will be a re-run of the documentary’s extended version, which first aired on a smattering of NBC affiliates late last year. Continue reading “Radio-Related Video of Note”
Rayon Payne Free, On Hunt for Open Mic
I recently got an e-mail from Rayon Payne (aka NSX), who made U.S. pirate radio history in 2003 by becoming the first person to serve time behind bars on a federal criminal conviction for unlicensed broadcasting. He just got out of jail in July. We ended up talking for nearly two hours:
Hi-bitrate version (64kbps MP3, 51.2 MB)
Low-bitrate version (16kbps MP3, 12.8 MB)
Some salient bits: Continue reading “Rayon Payne Free, On Hunt for Open Mic”