It's good to be The King?

Fred Norris is a bully . . . after 13 years it’s got to be said. In 1995, Champaign’s Hum appeared live on The Howard Stern Show; after Stern was heard gushing over their single “Stars.” Until recently, the broadcast has been mostly unavailable and fans only had Stern’s recollection to go by, which, surprisingly, has not been flattering. About once a year, Norris, Stern’s longtime sound effects guy and aspiring musician, will play “Stars” as a bumper between bits or coming out of a commercial. It usually prompts Stern to ask who it is and when reminded (by Norris) he goes ballistic; maintaining that the band was difficult and then rattling off a laundry list of how they “screwed up” what should have been a great boost to their career. Through the years, Stern has convinced himself (or been convinced) that Hum didn’t even play that day and were thrown out of the studio.

Seeing the segment in its proper context, which originally aired on “E Entertainment” Television and is currently available through many online sources, it is nothing as Stern has described and really indicts Norris as an instigator who has had great influence in clouding a memory of what was an entertaining interview and great performance. In fact, it’s downright unfair to the band and their reputation.

The fact of the matter is the band did play and did a damn fine job of it. The only bump in the road seemingly involves Norris. The band and manager Chris Green are seen in negotiations with Norris and producer Gary Dellabate over the live set up. Norris tries to throw his weight around to get the band to run direct instead of bringing amps into the studio. Ultimately, a compromise is reached and the band is allowed to set up a reduced backline. Stern talks to Matt, Tim and Jeff (Brian was unavailable as his kit was set up in the hallway outside of the studio) and the interview comes off great. The band is engaging. Stern laughs at responses and is genuinely full of compliments after the performance, even closing with a “You guys play like mental patients. I love you guys.” Station manager Tom Chisano comes in after to say the song sounded great on the radio. Norris is seen bent under his console covering his ears throughout the performance.

Very disappointing.