Art must have been joking.
I think that he is quite serious.
“February 2, 2012, Bell commented on the subject via a post on the Coastgab forum: “Hi there, I thought it would be ok to stop in here and say hi from the High Desert!....
The following day he elaborated: “As for Coast, the show has changed, which from my point of view is a shame, but it is the right of the host doing the show to take it in the direction they see fit.”
“On November 1, 2012, Bell updated his Facebook status with the following: “I wish my name was no longer associated with what Coast has become!”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_Bell#cite_note-36