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Back when I used to have to drive to work in the mornings there was only one thing that made the idea of commuting even remotely tolerable, and that was being able to listen to the Stern show on the way in. Now that I don't have a satellite machine in my spaceship car I never get to listen to it any more. It's a tough call, but I'll take not having to see the horrible glare of the early morning expose the monotony of the dread human condition to me on a daily basis over a few chuckles from the radio as a win.
I had to interview Baba Booey the other day about his new book, and it was kind of weird. I don't normally give a shit when I'm interviewing musicians or celebrities, even the ones I'm a fan of, mostly because they're all egotistical boors and you have to literally drag words out of their faces with a tractor beam of lies and ass-kissing. But when I was talking to Dell'Abate I had a strange emotion: excitement. Hmm, that doesn't sound quite right. Let's just say I didn't dread making the phone call and talking to him. The funny part for me was how I kept forgetting I wasn't actually listening to the show during the pauses in conversation, and that I had to chime in with questions to keep things moving. Woops. I'm a professional. Anyway, here's the thing, which I only put up here because most of you deviants are probably closet Stern fans too. It's short and to the point, unlike this intro.
Longtime Howard Stern sidekick and show producer Gary “Baba Booey” Dell’Abate stepped outside his normal wacky radio studio environs on Friday to give readings at Northeastern University and The Brattle Theatre. Dell’Abate is in the middle of a tour to promote his newly released memoir “They Call Me Baba Booey.”
What do you think will surprise people the most in the book?
I think the biggest surprise will be about how I grew up. I came from a dysfunctional family. I had a mom that was suffering from depression. I think if you're a big fan of the show and you read those first few chapters, you'll go “Oh, now I get it, now I understand it.”
Does it feel liberating to be able to address this stuff outside the context of the show?
I talk about a lot of stuff, my mom's mental illness, I had a brother who died of AIDS, and I tell the story of how that all happened. Then I tell funny stories…I made a video tape to a girl I was in love with and it got out on the show, I talk about that. Then I talk about how I met Howard, so there’s a little bit of everything.
Did your real family prepare you for your dysfunctional radio family?
There's no doubt in my mind. Some people say ‘Your mother gave you a hard time isn't that terrible?’ I look at it this way, my mother sort of got me ready for the job of a lifetime, because I always had to think five steps ahead. The mood swings in my house were so crazy when I would come home I never knew what I was going to get on the other side of the door. It's sort of like producing a show.
Howard has been pretty hard on the book on the air.
Yeah, but it's all in good fun. He wants to talk about the book, and it's not our nature to say ‘This is great, this is great.’ So he's got to figure out ways to make it interesting and entertaining, and goofing on me is always a good fail-safe.
Do you have a favorite time someone has shouted “Baba Booey” on the air when they shouldn't have?
I've got a ton of them. Probably the best one was during the OJ car chase. Peter Jennings was live on the air and a guy called in and claimed he was right across the street watching the whole thing. He was doing the worst voice ever. It was so obvious it was a phony phone call after the first two words. Jennings was letting this guy go on. Even though I didn't know it was one of our listeners, I could tell. And at the end he yells out ‘Baba Booey to y'all!’ That's one of my favorites.
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