'Poonsters Prank Boston Radio Station

A potential bailout offer by Aerosmith rocker Joe Perry to buy the Harvard Lampoon turned out to be a hoax yesterday, leaving the exclusive social club at 44 Bow St. with nothing but a decaying castle and financial troubles.

Officials at the Lampoon, which is rumored to publish a so-called humor magazine, insisted throughout the day that the deal with Perry was on. But it turned out to be little more than the deluded fantasy of apparently embattled Lampoon President John Aboud III '95.

A Boston radio station, KISS 108, fell for the hoax and reported news of the sale yesterday.

Aboud gave $7 million as "a very ballpark figure" for the selling price of the Lampoon. He claimed the sale had taken place because a daughter of one of the graduate board members needed braces.

A press release by Geffen Records, which was in on the joke, appeared to have been sent to numerous media outlets yesterday.

In an telephone interview from Los Angeles, Geffen Records official Roy Hamm said yesterday that the press release was the first stage of a hoax building up to the presentation of an award to Perry.

Aboud, however, maintained that the sale had simply been held up by the blizzard scheduled to hit the Boston area this weekend.

The press release claimed Perry would turn the castle on 44 Bow St. into a summer home/recording studio. And Aboud said in an interview that the Star Books store behind the castle on Plympton St. would be turned into the "only operating vinyl press in the world."

"The magazine's offices will be relocated to a small, unimpressive but practical brick building at 14 Plympton Street, where the merry pranksters will continue turning out issues," the press release said.

Crimson President Marion B. Gammill '95, whose newspaper occupies the building at 14 Plympton,said the paper has no plans to sell the space.

"Personally Aerosmith is one of my favoritebands but [the Lampoon] can't get into ourbuilding because their key cards won't work,"Gammill said. "They'd go into shock with all thelight and air around anyway."

Aboud insisted that the sale has merely beendelayed until April 15 when Aerosmith's touringschedule will next allow it to be in town.

"It was not our decision to sell the Lampoon.It was all the graduate board's decision," Aboudsaid. "I'm not proud of it...I would say I havebenign indifference for it."

Aboud had no comment on the financial situationof the Lampoon and whether or nor that hadprecipitated the sale.

The group appears to have been struck byfinancial troubles and institutional malaise, withonly unconfirmed reports that the social club hasactually produced one magazine this academic year.

Aboud claimed, however, that the social clubremains a publishing giant. He said the group nowfavors a more subtle form of parody, and hasprinted about 30 magazines this year but haschosen to keep the issues to themselves.

Aboud said the sale of the Lampoon will forceit to change "from a rollicking humor magazine tomore of a hard-rocking magazine with an emphasison jamming."

Said Aboud: "The new Lampoon will be bigger andbolder and lots of changes will be seen.

"Personally Aerosmith is one of my favoritebands but [the Lampoon] can't get into ourbuilding because their key cards won't work,"Gammill said. "They'd go into shock with all thelight and air around anyway."

Aboud insisted that the sale has merely beendelayed until April 15 when Aerosmith's touringschedule will next allow it to be in town.

"It was not our decision to sell the Lampoon.It was all the graduate board's decision," Aboudsaid. "I'm not proud of it...I would say I havebenign indifference for it."

Aboud had no comment on the financial situationof the Lampoon and whether or nor that hadprecipitated the sale.

The group appears to have been struck byfinancial troubles and institutional malaise, withonly unconfirmed reports that the social club hasactually produced one magazine this academic year.

Aboud claimed, however, that the social clubremains a publishing giant. He said the group nowfavors a more subtle form of parody, and hasprinted about 30 magazines this year but haschosen to keep the issues to themselves.

Aboud said the sale of the Lampoon will forceit to change "from a rollicking humor magazine tomore of a hard-rocking magazine with an emphasison jamming."

Said Aboud: "The new Lampoon will be bigger andbolder and lots of changes will be seen.