Howard Stern is planning "the biggest tailgate
party in the history of this country" to serve as a "farewell tour"
when he abandons conventional radio later this
year — or sooner.
"I'm coming to town. I'm ready to go. Let me out
of here," Stern told listeners Friday, promising a coast-to-coast
motorcade of buses bearing "the hottest chicks
in the country" and various rock bands.
"It's gonna be unbelievable — I'm telling you,
the day they throw me off, it happens the next day," Stern said,
referring to speculation that his current employer
— Viacom's Infinity Broadcasting — won't wait until his official
satellite-radio start date of Jan. 1 to take
him off K-Rock and 38 other stations.
"It's a brilliant publicity scheme — P.T. Barnum couldn't have done better," Inside Radio editor Tom Taylor told The Post.
"Stern understands promotion like no one in the country," Taylor said.
"He knows he's an anti-authority brand and the more outrageous the better in terms of publicity for his new employer [Sirius Satellite Radio]."
Stern, who'd been on good behavior in recent weeks
after Infinity pounded him for incessantly promoting the enemy
— he now refers to Sirius as "uh-uh-uh" — exploded
with enthusiasm as he detailed his "farewell tour."
"I'm not gonna sleep in hotels, I'm gonna sleep
in people's homes," he said, resulting in immediate calls from listeners
offering lodging — and one volunteering to help
with security.
"I'm really gonna be with the people, and any
hot chicks I meet on the road are allowed to be in the buses,
and I'll collect them all over the country.
"By the time I get to California, it'll be busloads of, like, 5,000 of the hottest chicks in the country," Stern vowed.
"It could go on for weeks, and I can see all the
local papers and local TV people covering it," said Inside Radio's Taylor,
"because Howard's one of the few people who can
generate that sort of following."
Indeed, "Access Hollywood" producer Tara Birney
asked for permission to air exclusive daily updates and,
when told by Stern that she'd basically have
to take a number, said, "Remember, we were the first to ask."
Stern said he'll award exclusive coverage to "whoever provides the hottest entertainment reporters."