Originally Posted by
Crowe Diddly
Here's my explanation of the segment where I appeared on Howard Stern in 1996 (posted above by Crowe Diddly). I posted the below about 2 years ago:
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1) I used the name "Jim" and the fake southern accent because I knew that answering machine hacking was technically a crime, and that Stern had a HUGE audience. I didn't think it was likely anyone would arrest me for it, but I wanted to be anonymous to everyone but trusted friends at the time. Now it's 13 1/2 years later, so I don't give a shit.
2) Howard Stern had phone line problems on his show that day. You will notice one part where I keep talking over Daniel Carver, and Howard gets mad, calling me an "idiot" at one point. I wasn't actually talking over anyone. The issues with the phone lines actually made everything go completely silent on my end at times, when in reality people were talking. Howard didn't realize this, as it was only 45 minutes into his show. Later in the episode, he commented on the phone problems when other call-in guests experienced the same issue.
3) I was blindsided by Daniel Carver being on the show with me. It was a pleasant surprise, but unexpected. Here is the order of events:
- Saturday, October 5th, 1996: I hack Daniel Carver's answering machine (with the usual variation of the "Wake Up White People" message), and change it to my own parody version.
- Sunday, October 6th: I notice that the message is still up. One of my friends suggests that I call Howard Stern and let him know about it. I agree, provided that the message stays up until Monday morning, when Howard comes back on the air.
- Monday, October 7th at 3am PST: Despite having work early in the morning, I set my alarm for 3am, when Howard Stern begins his broadcast. I call into his show, and Stuttering John answers. I tell him about the situation and ask him to call Daniel's machine. John does, and he finds it hilarious. He shows it to Baba Booey, who also really enjoys it. Baby Booey gets on the phone, and explains that he wants me on the show, but that Sting is about to do a 45-minute live concert from China (weird for Howard's show, right?), and they can't reschedule that. He offers to call me back when it's done. Because I am nervous about my phone number being traced to my identity, I give him a "forwarding" number I have, which would be harder to trace. In hindsight, this was probably too much caution. Like the white people in my message, I go to sleep and wait for the call.
- Monday, October 7th, 3:45am: The call wakes me up. My then-girlfriend, who is sleeping beside me, is very confused about this whole thing, but I take the call in the other room and tell her she'll enjoy this in the morning. I find myself on the Howard Stern show with Daniel Carver. The segment lasts for about 12 minutes.
- Monday, October 7th, 6:45am: I am driving my girlfriend to work, and I turn on KLSX 97.1. I hear my own voice on the radio, since Howard reruns the show 3 hours behind starting at 6am. I look around the crowded LA freeway and realize that many of the cars around me are listening to my voice at that very moment. It was a weird feeling.
The segment aired a total of 6 times over the years. It made four "Best Of" shows, and I was nominated for an F-Emmy in the "Best Phony Phone Call" category. I didn't win.
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