HowardSternClone.com

In my own miniscule media microcosm, I have managed to scrape out a handful of amazing experiences. Last night we saw our first pair of boobs on Barefoot Radio. They looked enormous, and briefly gave me a ‘half wood’ that vanished with an audible phlumph the moment the sight was gone. Not only did Edward pierce his both of his nipples on cam, he brought a stripper who was glad to show off her rack.

We were also graced with the presence of an amazing talent by the name of ‘Arum Rae.’ I’m working very hard to bring a high quality of independent talent to our show. I’ve not been so taken by an Artist’s performance as I was with Arum’s. I must admit that I’m simply attracted to the woman. I am excellent at pointing out good talent, and Arum could surely make an excellent living in music. She was such a fine addition to our short and interesting legacy on Barefoot Radio. I hope she’ll come back some day.

On Barefoot Radio, last night was only my first experience seeing boobs, and it’s not a regular phenomenon, but it will be enough to bring the HS comparison. I personally wasn’t the ’shock jock’ who brought this girl Destiny’s boobs out. This was seemingly easily accomplished by Ed. We’re far from the well executed production that is the HS show, but the routine over here is to literally ’shoot for the stars.’ Whatever these first experiences are, I hope that one day we can look back on these times as the beginning of something great.

So many things in life are cool, but that doesn’t mean that they will get the attention or acclaim they deserve. What kind of market would it be if every great talent got their just deserts? I’d like it if anyone could point to a person approaching things in the same way as me.

Is there another ‘radio’ podcaster that is making such a big ‘production’ out of things?

I’ve filmed two entire episodes of the show now, and a slew of videos are about to hit the net. When they do, my prediction is that the ‘Howard Stern’ comparisons are going to be obvious. But what also is true is that so many other shows influence the way I’m approaching production. Believe it or not, I observe entertainment, and the way it’s presented in many different formats. I regularly observe production from the NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, Entertainment Tonight, the Today show, Howard Stern on Demand(with video dating back over a decade), MTV, VH1, ESPN, CNN, etc. Everything that entertains me on TV now comes along with me asking myself, can I pull that off? In short, anything with any sort of ‘production value’ at all, I’ll stop and take a closer look at.

Another stark contrast between my efforts and the HSC comparison is that I’m trying to build a ‘production’ company. I’m not only using podcasting and vidcasting as a stage to showcase my technical skill, but I’m also seeking other small jobs to finance and support the company. We’re marketing the renting of our space for private art showings which is easy money. As well, I’m actively seeking people who want to pay a flat fee for turnkey ‘big idustry sound’ podcast production. The same easy work can be applied to companies that need informational audio or video.

I’m so exited doing all of the things I’m doing. Indeed, am I not doing enough other stuff to set myself apart from the negative aspects of the ‘Howard Stern Clone’ moniker? I love it and hate it. And as a fan of the man, I imagine he wouldn’t give a fuck about what’s going on here one way or another. There’s NO other media more prominant in my life than HS, so I keep building the case that I’m a clone, and the case that I’m NOT a clone in full harmony with one another.

When some people finally stumble across this blog and these writings, some may be intrigued and some may think I’m a complete dork. The truth is that ‘I really am’ a dork, I just try to ‘pretend’ to seem or be cool.

Though one of my purposes with this blog is to dispell the myth that I’m ‘really’ a Howard Stern Clone, there is the obvious element in what I do where it’s undeniable. For myself, the lable of ‘Howard Stern Clone’ does have it’s positive advantage.

Frankly, I love being compared to the best. In the past when I went through a very productive period with music, my recordings were likened to a dark ‘Beatles/Pink Floyd’ sound. I can’t imagine a cooler compliment to be compared to these legendary artists, and they were huge influences for me, but I still managed to peck my own musical ’style’ out of my recordings. I think the same is true for my radio shows. We’ve had some great moments. The radio we’re producing is on such a small scale compared to big industry moguls like Howard Stern. We are the epitamy of independent over here, and doing interesting things, trying to get noticed, trying to climb a ladder to higher levels of production and booking fantastic guests.-

My own involvment in my productions is another thing that totally sets me apart from Howard Stern. I’m talking about ‘technical’ involvement. I’m responsible for every technical aspect of the show, except for when I hire engineering help for live bands and a film crew. Their signal still comes through my board, and after that, there are no other engineers.

Indeed, I really wish I could let go of many technical aspects of producing while actually doing the show. I handle all the sound effects, I set up the program to multitrack the show, I set up the stream, mix the sound effects, mix music to play back in the show, and after it’s all done, I take the media and put it on the internet.

It’s very hard to wear so many hats and be the ring leader in the middle of Barefoot Radio. I find myself comparatively relaxed when I do Marijuana Radio. Marijuana Radio showed me that I can be really satisfied with my role in a show but not constantly be the center of attention.

When I see Howard demanding of people around him, I know that I don’t have the commanding personality that he has. I think this is a detriment to what I’m trying to do. I don’t have the budget or staff to hire dozens of people for help, but I hope to. One day at a time. One listener at a time. One sponsor at a time.

More about how I’m far too nice to people. Even when I’m in a situation where I might be taken advantage of, I’m too friendly. Howard does not let regular people take advantage of him, and that’s one thing I admire about him. I suppose the truth is that I have ‘way’ too much patience for people, and then when people go across the line, I blow up like a maniac. But it doesn’t usually play out in a crowd. I basically want to have a ‘General’ person in charge to handle aspects of business that make me uncomfortable.

Something about my feelings has shifted since the beginning of Barefoot Radio. For example, I’m not as inclined as I was before to want to be the most prominent person in the mix of a show. In fact, as I grow older, I find myself more interested in the production side of things. I really enjoy the production elements, and my biggest goals are to use Barefoot Radio and Marijuana Radio to showcase my abilities with media, and find other unique people with something noteworthy already going on to develop new and paying projects. This is of course given that my outrageous behavior doesn’t kill possible opportunities. I think we’ll be fine. Intelligent people can see through the nonsense. BFR may not go on forever, or it may, either way, it’s tied to who I am now.

One more positive thing I try to take from Howard Stern and adapt to my own situation is to be a very fair businessman. If I make an agreement with people, I do my best as a person of integrity to live up to my end of the bargain. He inspires me to be a reliable professional. Honestly, I try to be as much like professionals who I would want to work with. It’s kind of like a golden rule for me. I think if you’re good to people, the good people who can help you will, and it will lead to a better level of success in life for everyone involved in the project.

No one can succeed alone. No one can have an idea without an influence, or a vast number or converging influences.

Given what I do, am I ‘really’ competition to someone like Howard Stern? Am I? If I am, would he hate me? Help me? Will I ever know? I hope so.

I’m not exactly sure the purpose of this site, except that I’m a huge Howard Stern fan. I also know that I’m ‘one of those’ people with a sort of ’shock jock’ DJ experience which Howard Stern pioneered. Whatever you call it, many people call it being a ‘Howard Stern Clone.’ This is a moniker under which it’s harder to gain respect in my profession. It’s a moniker I somewhat take pride in and on the other hand somewhat fear.

It may appear at first glance that I started this site to gain from Howard Stern’s fame. On the contrary, I feel that I just want to try and tell the story of how I’ve been influenced by this man.

In 1997, my cousin turned me onto Howard’s movie, ‘Howard Stern’s Private Parts.’ At first I was reluctant to watch because I, like so many people, had an emotional and preconceived idea of who he is. Did I know him? No, but I had the same ‘emotional’ reaction to his name that I’ve witnessed many people have. For example, when bring up Howard Stern in a purely business context, I often get an emotional response from most people. They’ll say something like, ‘he’s an idiot, a sexist jerk, blah blah blah.’

About the time I first saw Private Parts, I was well underway with learning about the internet and web development. The download speeds were limited to dial up, and that didn’t stop me to posting songs that I had written and recorded online. These technical experiences were the founding moments, that would converge with other ‘Howard’ related circumstances, and fully play out what was to come, and what is happening in my career and life now.

I started as a guitar player on a 4 Track recorder when I was 21 years old, then I moved to an 8 Track recorder, then I moved to multitracking on a computer. You could call me a one man band because I can sing, play bass, guitar, and piano. The jump to producing on a computer is really what led me to what I’m doing today. The virtually limitless possibilities of creating content with computers, and Howard Stern’s media machine, is what inspired me to go after a ‘new media’ project of my own.

Shortly after seeing Private Parts, I began listening to to his talk show that was broadcast on the regular radio in Denver, Colorado. I used to wake up at 6am to put a tape cassette in my stereo to record the show for work later. After time, Howard Stern was taken off the air in Denver and I wasn’t able to hear him for about a year. I was doing Web Development work with a company in Denver and I would listen to Howard’s show as I worked. Some of those coworkers rejoiced and made fun of me that he went off the air. I never understand the nature of people. I would NEVER want to take away things that they enjoy.

I couldn’t listen to Howard Stern for about a year after he went off the air in Denver. Then came Napster. I searched for Howard Stern files for days, weeks and months. I was obsessed. After many months, I was in Italy when I found some woman in Napster’s instant messenger program who directed me to where I could download his terrestrial radio show in it’s entirety on the internet. Long story short, I was able to hear him until he went off of the air and then subsequently on Sirius Sattelite Radio. I have always wondered if he would resent the fact that I downloaded his show to hear him. What could I do? I am an obsessed fan and I want to hear no matter what.

How does this all fit into me and how he has influenced me to do what I’m doing now? There are really so many ways in which this is the case. I started idolizing famous people as a small child. As a teen I became heavily into musicians and rock stars. In some ways, these others also played into my current situation, but not quite like the catalyst that was Howard Stern.

I’m not just into the man, I’m into the MEDIA! I’m into the idea of reaching people with content, and the reason why I find him so fascinating is that because as a talent I don’t see any other media personality as having accomplished so much. What has he accomplished? I’m not only referring to his amassing an audience that was estimated to be about 10 Million people a week, I’m talking about his unique situation that enabled him to make CBS so many billions of dollars. I’m also talking about a man who carries enough weight to command a half billion dollar payout from Sirius. He’s the ‘person’ to build the industry of Satellite Radio. His story is amazing from a business standpoint, and people miss this fact because they are so often carried away emotionally by the mere uttering of his name.

Do I think I’m one in a million as a Stern fan?? Absolutely.

I love the show and ‘ALL’ of the ‘FAB 5.’ The ‘FAB 5′ is Howard, Robin, Artie, Fred and Gary.

Part of my wish for this blog is actually to ‘dispell’ the myth that I’m literally a ‘Howard Stern Clone.’ Everyone is different in their approach to anything in life. I may not be as talented or as successful, but I, like so many people doing radio, are special in their own way. We as media content creators can’t all build the audience we fantasize about.

I do mostly ALL the jobs with what I do. That’s part of why it’s not yet as good as a ‘Howard Stern’ level show. I produce and engineer literally everything with the two shows under my company’s umbrella.-> Of course with the exception of Marijuana Radio, which Holly G has been pursuing with amazing ambition.

I’ll wrap up this post for now. Come back and I’ll tell more of my story later. I have so much to say, and this will probably be a diary of my experience and where it’s led me professionally. I also expect this won’t always be about Howard Stern, but about how other contributing factors converged into my current work situation in life.