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By Chaunce Hayden

Chaunce Hayden: The last time we spoke, it had to be five years ago, you got in hot water with Howard Stern for saying that you didn't think he was funny anymore.

Andrew Dice Clay: We know what that escalated into.

Chaunce Hayden: What followed was months of daily verbal assaults directed toward you from Stern. I don't think I ever heard Howard sound so angry at anyone before or since. Maybe hurt is a better word then angry. Did you think Howard felt betrayed by you?

Andrew Dice Clay: I don't know if he was hurt or betrayed. I just think he snapped. I don't think I said anything that bad about him during that interview I did with you. But sometimes when you put a mirror in somebody's face, they get angry. I remember what I said to you and it wasn't that bad. But he was lazy about it when it came to confronting me on the air. He went right to the phones. And I remember sitting there and saying, What are you doing? We didn't even talk yet! To be honest, I felt he was very weak about the whole situation, rather than just doing another great radio show with me. But my arguments with Stern started way before that. In fact, there were more arguments off the air than on the air.

Chaunce Hayden: So you were fighting with Howard off the air as well during that time? What about?

Andrew Dice Clay: There were things that used to bug me about him, and I would call him at home about it. Then that would transfer to me being on the air. So it didn't matter what we were talking about on the air, because his real problem was with what I had said to him off the air. Right now I just feel the guy is going through a very confused time in his life.

Chaunce Hayden: What did Howard do that provoked you to call him off the air and confront him about it?

Andrew Dice Clay: The first thing he did was make fun of Ryan White when he died of AIDS. He was just a little boy. And I heard him making fun of him on the air. So later on I called him at home and I said, What are you doing? And he said to me, Oh, now you're the end-all of comedy? I said to him, I'm not talking about comedy. I'm talking about a baby that died. What's the joke? Then after that, every time I was on the air there would be a problem. So me and Stern are nothing alike. That's why when I'm asked about him I just say he's seedy. Other than that, I think he's just very confused. I'll tell ya this though, if it was me who got divorced, he would have pissed all over it, but I'm not going to go after him for those things. Like I said, this is a confused time in Stern's life and nobody knows what goes on behind closed doors. I'm just not going to rip Howard apart. That's the difference between me and Howard Stern. He would go for the throat, but that's not how I am. Even now, when people call me up and say "Howard ripped you apart today," I just say, Good for him. He's a mess.

Chaunce Hayden: Did his relentless on-air rants about you hurt you either professionally or personally?

Andrew Dice Clay: Not at all. Because my fans stick with me and that's the way it's always been. That's why I'm going back to the Beacon and Madison Square Garden this week. I found a radio show that's in it just for the fun and the laughs, and the fans have responded.

Chaunce Hayden: You're referring to Opie and Anthony?

Andrew Dice Clay: Yeah, they've been a critical part of this whole thing. I know Anthony used to do the Dice impression when I wasn't around, and then one day I went on the air with them about a year ago, and then about five or six months ago I just started calling in and they gave me incentive. They're just two guys on the air looking to have a great time. It's not malicious. There's no bad blood flowing. I give those guys all the credit in the world. It's because of those guys that I'm coming to New York to play the Beacon Theater, which sold out in just 35 minutes.

Chaunce Hayden: Were you surprised that you could sell out a big venue like that so easily?

Andrew Dice Clay: I actually predicted that.

Chaunce Hayden: I'm not knocking you, but popular rock bands can't even sell out the Garden these days. What made you think you could?

Andrew Dice Clay: I'm the only comic to ever fill that place for two nights, and now I'm coming back. For me it's a reunion. It's like a ten-year reunion. I sold it out in 1990, and now because of Opie and Anthony, boom! I'm back! Also, I knew the fans were hearing me at my best on the Opie and Anthony show. Because these guys are the type of guys who, if you're on a roll, they'll let you go with it. That's what I love about them. They let me be the comic that I am on the air. I think they're fantastic for that. There aren't too many guys around the country that would let you do that. It's normally the host of the show trying to upstage you, which to this day they haven't done. I mean, there are days we fight and hang up on each other, but it's all in fun. And that's what I love about these guys. They're looking for the joke. It's not hitting below the belt. It's all about the joke.