Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
You know, Gara, I did your your show and a
few things. It's serious since then, and it's always been Hey, Vinnie,
what was that day like for you? You know, what did
you do after you left it? I never got to
ask you. You're a guy who lives in Connecticut. You
had to get back on the train the next day.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Nine train, my friend, no train. I had to drive
home that day.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
You drove home and drove back the next day, That's right.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
I never I was just talking about you know, it's funny.
We were just talking about this yesterday. So I left
around I don't know, probably about twelve thirty one o'clock
in the afternoon. I left right after we finished broadcasting,
and I got my car and I said, what I
was going to do is make my way home, and
if I couldn't get home, I was just going to
park my car on the street. And I had a
friend who lived up on the Upper east Side. He
(00:42):
said I could stay at his place, and so I
just started going up Third Avenue. It was, I mean,
it was really really creepy because it was very somber
and very quiet, and lots and lots of people were walking,
you know, up Third Avenue.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
And I know people who walked over the bridge and
had family from Connecticut meet them there, which is so strange.
And you know, it was slow going. It was it
was slow, but I'll tell you I've been in worse traffic.
That wasn't that day.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
Now you were married at the time, right there.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
Oh, absolutely, was the missus saying the next day, you're
going back there tomorrow.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Well, I remember we were sitting in bed at night
and she goes, it wasn't like you're not going back
here tomorrow. It's like, really, you're going back tomorrow. You know,
what do you what are you guys going to do?
And I said, well, listen, you know, the whole rest
of the country, you know, New Yorkers are you know,
trying to figure it all out and may not be
going to work, but the whole rest of you know,
we were syndicated. And so I said, you know, the
whole rest of the country is going to work the
next day. And that was really weird because I got
(01:35):
up really early and I got in my car and
I got to about the Bronx and then there was
a police checkpoint and I said to the guy, listened.
I worked on Howard Stern show, and you know, I'm
on my way to work. We're doing the sum of
The guy goes, I know who you are. I can't
let you through. So I said, okay. So I parked
my car and I took the subway into the city
and I got to Columbus Circle probably about ten after
(01:55):
six in the morning. And someone had described it perfectly.
It was like a snowstorm in the summer. There was
nobody on the street. It was it was as if
it was a snow day, but there was no snow. Yeah,
And I walked over to the office. I remember walking
in around six twenty and I said, oh, Gary's here, right,
and we'd all made it. And then I get really
mad because Robin lived on Staten Island and she hit
(02:17):
the same checkpoint. The guy goes, oh, yeah, Robin go through.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
Yeah, he gave Robin clearance.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
I remember Benji basically fled from the building in tears.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
Well, he was very upset.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
Was it Benji or my rid was a Casey?
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Casey is the one who fled from the building here,
Benjy was said Casey, right, he picked out and we
were talking about that yesterday too. Casey was like the biggest, toughest,
strongest guy he was, and he ran home.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
I took a cab in with him in the morning,
excited for the day. Who would see it ending that way?
We wound up staying on the air till about one
o'clock there.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
Yeah, but twelve forty five one o'clock. Yeah, it was
a really crazy day.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
It was, and Howard, I know, switched into a gear
A lot of people didn't expect him to switch into,
did you, Gary, You were the one running in saying, guys,
this is not You were the one who kind of
knew first.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
I recall I had a gut feeling, you know when
we listen back to it all the time, I said,
I you know, I'm the one who says, how do
we know this isn't a terrorist attack? Because it just
felt weird. I mean, how do you hit the World
Trade I mean, you think back now, and we were
so also so stupid and innocent back then.
Speaker 3 (03:13):
I really will never forget.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
You came running in the first plane and you're like, hey,
get a load of this. A plane just hit the
World Trade Center. And we continued on with this kind
of I don't know Howard was talking about Pam Anderson
and listen.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
It was a very cavalier attitude because we thought, you know, okay,
a plane hit a building. First of all. You know, again,
we were so innocent back then. When you think of
it now, I mean, really, what are the odds of
a seven forty seven hitting a building? I mean, that's
you know, there's no mistake there. We were all taking about,
you know, the Empire State Building got hit by a
plane one, but that was like a twine and a
twin engine, like fourced eater. Yeah, and and so you know,
(03:48):
we didn't really understand the gravity of it.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
No, no, well you did, as I said, by the second.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
Time, I was just throwing it out there, like I
was like, how do we know? I didn't know what
a terrorist attack? I mean, and then the second plane,
which is no mistaking.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
No, you know, I was listening back to some of this.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
I really don't. I don't sit around and listen back
to it. And you know, guy, I got to tell you.
I was offered a deal a few years later when
my first book came out there like you should write
a book about that day. And it's like, look, I'm
not going to sit around and make that day sound
like I had any bigger role.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
I'm not going to exploit the fact you.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
Know that I was on with her. Just typical. You know,
the publishing world. Now, you know they want to exploit
everything they want to. They want me to write a
tell all on Glenn back because I worked with him
for a few years. I don't want to make my
name by doing some tell all in retrospect, Gary. And
then I'll let you go. Gary Dellabate, I feel honored
that you deemed my radio show worth a few moments
(04:39):
of your time in retrospect. Gary, let's finally get it
out there. That joke I made about the West Wing.
That was a solid joke, wasn't.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
It, Vinnie. I swear to god, I don't remember exactly
what you're talking about.
Speaker 3 (04:50):
Man, I made it.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
They said the President's about to speak, and I said,
I'd like to hear what Martin Sheen from the West
Wing has to say on this.
Speaker 3 (04:58):
And Howard turned to me and said, this guy still
auditioning good joke on time.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
I'll take that, Gary, I will take that, and I
will use it as a promo A nine to sixty WLI.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
To that end.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
All the Howard Stern noise being made it. Sometimes I
think that was another person's life, having done that show
a handful of times, returning and Howard being a ball breaker,
and just Vinnie Penn his back. He's still doing that
thing with what's left of his hair, you know, just
being in that room. The rumors are circulating that the Stern, well,
(05:31):
his time on satellite radio anyway maybe coming to an end.
You know, you got to keep that in mind too,
because I was hearing from a lot of people last night,
Oh he got fired this and that he did not,
but his contract is coming to an end. It's been
twenty years since he departed terrestrial radio, first satellite Bubba
the Love Sponge. Anybody remember him. He's the only one
(05:53):
that today gave him a show. Everybody else in one
day we were told, yeah, they spent so much Sean
Stern that when they realized, you know, we don't have
money for I remember the day getting the email, the
cold email of we've decided we're just going to run
the show like several times throughout the day, will repeat it.
It'll you know, he'll come on from six to ten,
(06:16):
We'll play it again from twelve to four, and again
from eight to twelve, if that's how it went. However
it went, it went. And it's interesting because some people
were wildly who we had all been corralled to the
offices to make our liners. We were that close to
our show's launching on that channel, the Howard Stern channel
on satellite radio. I was in that building doing a
(06:37):
lot of different shows, Maxim channel, raw Dog channel, you know,
and bounced around like I was clubbing, you know, like
it was like a pub crawl, and a lot of
people were devastated. And I remember I was the one
of the only ones I asked the question, you're just
going to repeat it? That's going to be the channel
all day. I'll never forget this man either, remember Tim Sabian,
(07:00):
gentleman behind it all sient. I'm like, who's going to
want to listen to a channel that it's the shiit
same show like all day? And he said, Howard's fans
will listen to this show, to the show he does
in the morning again, middle of the afternoon again it
And it was just this sort of they will, And
while all these other really you know, successful radio hosts,
(07:23):
you know, but kind of the same as me, A
lot of them, like they had a little show and
their little town, and you know, I had a jersey
to overhear this and that we're devastated, and I remember
this weird this thing washed over me. Of the last
one you want to pick a fight with is the
bottom line, I'm never gonna win. Money was the money
(07:46):
was the money. It was like, well, we gotta made
sense to me. If you're like that, reason even made
sense to me. They would listen all day, then why
wouldn't you get rid of all of us and all
of those salaries that come with us? And so goes
for twenty years. While I was the most understanding of
the lot, unsurprised in a way of the lot.
Speaker 3 (08:07):
I remember thinking it's never gonna last either. There was
this like sort of skeptical, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
Good luck with who's even gonna pay for this in
their car when you get it for free. Then the
merger happened, serious became serious exam and I'm like.
Speaker 3 (08:25):
The two big boys just merged it. This is the oway.
And then some years passed and people got it's.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
The car dealerships who played a big role. Because you're
by the brand new car we're giving it to, We're
gonna get you hooked on it.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
Like crack.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
It started sticking, you know, and I watched It's like okay,
it's here now, and people got their channels the boneyard,
and you know that they got their channels. Then the
big names threw in that they didn't throw in the towel.
But instead of continuing to regard satellite radio as the enemy,
you're Glenn Baxs and what like and whatnot, and my
(09:02):
radio show you could also hear, you know, I'm serious,
I've got a show. I don't know if they were
taking segments of their show and putting their own hour
up there. They were starved for content yet didn't want
to pay for content. That was my experience with satellite
right and now, twenty years later, I do believe talk
is like, well, we're certainly not going to pay you more.
(09:22):
It's already a four day a week show, which I
kind of dug when he made that movie. Yet I'm
not coming in fridays at three day weekends. But I
also remember thinking, why even still do it?
Speaker 3 (09:33):
You're loaded, dude, You got.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
Your second wife, she's like half your age, and like,
why would you continue to to do it?
Speaker 3 (09:43):
Now?
Speaker 1 (09:43):
Word is he is not getting fired, the negotiations are
coming up, and neither party, from what I've gotten, might
really be interested in negotiating. It's interesting how this is
circulating and nobody's saying, first Colbert and now Stern
You know, Gara, I did your your show and a
few things. It's serious since then, and it's always been Hey, Vinnie,
what was that day like for you? You know, what did
you do after you left it? I never got to
ask you. You're a guy who lives in Connecticut. You
had to get back on the train the next day.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Nine train, my friend, no train. I had to drive
home that day.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
You drove home and drove back the next day, That's right.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
I never I was just talking about you know, it's funny.
We were just talking about this yesterday. So I left
around I don't know, probably about twelve thirty one o'clock
in the afternoon. I left right after we finished broadcasting,
and I got my car and I said, what I
was going to do is make my way home, and
if I couldn't get home, I was just going to
park my car on the street. And I had a
friend who lived up on the Upper east Side. He
(00:42):
said I could stay at his place, and so I
just started going up Third Avenue. It was, I mean,
it was really really creepy because it was very somber
and very quiet, and lots and lots of people were walking,
you know, up Third Avenue.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
And I know people who walked over the bridge and
had family from Connecticut meet them there, which is so strange.
And you know, it was slow going. It was it
was slow, but I'll tell you I've been in worse traffic.
That wasn't that day.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
Now you were married at the time, right there.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
Oh, absolutely, was the missus saying the next day, you're
going back there tomorrow.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Well, I remember we were sitting in bed at night
and she goes, it wasn't like you're not going back
here tomorrow. It's like, really, you're going back tomorrow. You know,
what do you what are you guys going to do?
And I said, well, listen, you know, the whole rest
of the country, you know, New Yorkers are you know,
trying to figure it all out and may not be
going to work, but the whole rest of you know,
we were syndicated. And so I said, you know, the
whole rest of the country is going to work the
next day. And that was really weird because I got
(01:35):
up really early and I got in my car and
I got to about the Bronx and then there was
a police checkpoint and I said to the guy, listened.
I worked on Howard Stern show, and you know, I'm
on my way to work. We're doing the sum of
The guy goes, I know who you are. I can't
let you through. So I said, okay. So I parked
my car and I took the subway into the city
and I got to Columbus Circle probably about ten after
(01:55):
six in the morning. And someone had described it perfectly.
It was like a snowstorm in the summer. There was
nobody on the street. It was it was as if
it was a snow day, but there was no snow. Yeah,
And I walked over to the office. I remember walking
in around six twenty and I said, oh, Gary's here, right,
and we'd all made it. And then I get really
mad because Robin lived on Staten Island and she hit
(02:17):
the same checkpoint. The guy goes, oh, yeah, Robin go through.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
Yeah, he gave Robin clearance.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
I remember Benji basically fled from the building in tears.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
Well, he was very upset.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
Was it Benji or my rid was a Casey?
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Casey is the one who fled from the building here,
Benjy was said Casey, right, he picked out and we
were talking about that yesterday too. Casey was like the biggest, toughest,
strongest guy he was, and he ran home.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
I took a cab in with him in the morning,
excited for the day. Who would see it ending that way?
We wound up staying on the air till about one
o'clock there.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
Yeah, but twelve forty five one o'clock. Yeah, it was
a really crazy day.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
It was, and Howard, I know, switched into a gear
A lot of people didn't expect him to switch into,
did you, Gary, You were the one running in saying, guys,
this is not You were the one who kind of
knew first.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
I recall I had a gut feeling, you know when
we listen back to it all the time, I said,
I you know, I'm the one who says, how do
we know this isn't a terrorist attack? Because it just
felt weird. I mean, how do you hit the World
Trade I mean, you think back now, and we were
so also so stupid and innocent back then.
Speaker 3 (03:13):
I really will never forget.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
You came running in the first plane and you're like, hey,
get a load of this. A plane just hit the
World Trade Center. And we continued on with this kind
of I don't know Howard was talking about Pam Anderson
and listen.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
It was a very cavalier attitude because we thought, you know, okay,
a plane hit a building. First of all. You know, again,
we were so innocent back then. When you think of
it now, I mean, really, what are the odds of
a seven forty seven hitting a building? I mean, that's
you know, there's no mistake there. We were all taking about,
you know, the Empire State Building got hit by a
plane one, but that was like a twine and a
twin engine, like fourced eater. Yeah, and and so you know,
(03:48):
we didn't really understand the gravity of it.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
No, no, well you did, as I said, by the second.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
Time, I was just throwing it out there, like I
was like, how do we know? I didn't know what
a terrorist attack? I mean, and then the second plane,
which is no mistaking.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
No, you know, I was listening back to some of this.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
I really don't. I don't sit around and listen back
to it. And you know, guy, I got to tell you.
I was offered a deal a few years later when
my first book came out there like you should write
a book about that day. And it's like, look, I'm
not going to sit around and make that day sound
like I had any bigger role.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
I'm not going to exploit the fact you.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
Know that I was on with her. Just typical. You know,
the publishing world. Now, you know they want to exploit
everything they want to. They want me to write a
tell all on Glenn back because I worked with him
for a few years. I don't want to make my
name by doing some tell all in retrospect, Gary. And
then I'll let you go. Gary Dellabate, I feel honored
that you deemed my radio show worth a few moments
(04:39):
of your time in retrospect. Gary, let's finally get it
out there. That joke I made about the West Wing.
That was a solid joke, wasn't.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
It, Vinnie. I swear to god, I don't remember exactly
what you're talking about.
Speaker 3 (04:50):
Man, I made it.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
They said the President's about to speak, and I said,
I'd like to hear what Martin Sheen from the West
Wing has to say on this.
Speaker 3 (04:58):
And Howard turned to me and said, this guy still
auditioning good joke on time.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
I'll take that, Gary, I will take that, and I
will use it as a promo A nine to sixty WLI.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
To that end.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
All the Howard Stern noise being made it. Sometimes I
think that was another person's life, having done that show
a handful of times, returning and Howard being a ball breaker,
and just Vinnie Penn his back. He's still doing that
thing with what's left of his hair, you know, just
being in that room. The rumors are circulating that the Stern, well,
(05:31):
his time on satellite radio anyway maybe coming to an end.
You know, you got to keep that in mind too,
because I was hearing from a lot of people last night,
Oh he got fired this and that he did not,
but his contract is coming to an end. It's been
twenty years since he departed terrestrial radio, first satellite Bubba
the Love Sponge. Anybody remember him. He's the only one
(05:53):
that today gave him a show. Everybody else in one
day we were told, yeah, they spent so much Sean
Stern that when they realized, you know, we don't have
money for I remember the day getting the email, the
cold email of we've decided we're just going to run
the show like several times throughout the day, will repeat it.
It'll you know, he'll come on from six to ten,
(06:16):
We'll play it again from twelve to four, and again
from eight to twelve, if that's how it went. However
it went, it went. And it's interesting because some people
were wildly who we had all been corralled to the
offices to make our liners. We were that close to
our show's launching on that channel, the Howard Stern channel
on satellite radio. I was in that building doing a
(06:37):
lot of different shows, Maxim channel, raw Dog channel, you know,
and bounced around like I was clubbing, you know, like
it was like a pub crawl, and a lot of
people were devastated. And I remember I was the one
of the only ones I asked the question, you're just
going to repeat it? That's going to be the channel
all day. I'll never forget this man either, remember Tim Sabian,
(07:00):
gentleman behind it all sient. I'm like, who's going to
want to listen to a channel that it's the shiit
same show like all day? And he said, Howard's fans
will listen to this show, to the show he does
in the morning again, middle of the afternoon again it
And it was just this sort of they will, And
while all these other really you know, successful radio hosts,
(07:23):
you know, but kind of the same as me, A
lot of them, like they had a little show and
their little town, and you know, I had a jersey
to overhear this and that we're devastated, and I remember
this weird this thing washed over me. Of the last
one you want to pick a fight with is the
bottom line, I'm never gonna win. Money was the money
(07:46):
was the money. It was like, well, we gotta made
sense to me. If you're like that, reason even made
sense to me. They would listen all day, then why
wouldn't you get rid of all of us and all
of those salaries that come with us? And so goes
for twenty years. While I was the most understanding of
the lot, unsurprised in a way of the lot.
Speaker 3 (08:07):
I remember thinking it's never gonna last either. There was
this like sort of skeptical, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
Good luck with who's even gonna pay for this in
their car when you get it for free. Then the
merger happened, serious became serious exam and I'm like.
Speaker 3 (08:25):
The two big boys just merged it. This is the oway.
And then some years passed and people got it's.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
The car dealerships who played a big role. Because you're
by the brand new car we're giving it to, We're
gonna get you hooked on it.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
Like crack.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
It started sticking, you know, and I watched It's like okay,
it's here now, and people got their channels the boneyard,
and you know that they got their channels. Then the
big names threw in that they didn't throw in the towel.
But instead of continuing to regard satellite radio as the enemy,
you're Glenn Baxs and what like and whatnot, and my
(09:02):
radio show you could also hear, you know, I'm serious,
I've got a show. I don't know if they were
taking segments of their show and putting their own hour
up there. They were starved for content yet didn't want
to pay for content. That was my experience with satellite
right and now, twenty years later, I do believe talk
is like, well, we're certainly not going to pay you more.
(09:22):
It's already a four day a week show, which I
kind of dug when he made that movie. Yet I'm
not coming in fridays at three day weekends. But I
also remember thinking, why even still do it?
Speaker 3 (09:33):
You're loaded, dude, You got.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
Your second wife, she's like half your age, and like,
why would you continue to to do it?
Speaker 3 (09:43):
Now?
Speaker 1 (09:43):
Word is he is not getting fired, the negotiations are
coming up, and neither party, from what I've gotten, might
really be interested in negotiating. It's interesting how this is
circulating and nobody's saying, first Colbert and now Stern
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