Adam Carolla was in a foul mood. During a recent interview, the comedian and host of a popular daily podcast struggled to remove a tire from a car. Automobiles are among Carolla’s many interests. He loves working on them, driving them, and as evident by his weekly “CarCast” that is strictly about automobiles, talking about them.
“My general approach to life is, kind of figure out what it is you like to do, and you’ll usually be better at it,” Carolla said from his shop, after cursing at the stubborn tire and apologizing for taking his ire out on an inquisitive journalist. “At least you’ll be motivated to do it. Then if you make a few bucks on top of it, it’s all gravy at that point.”
| Onstage |
| Adam Carolla |
| Where: Fillmore Silver Spring |
| When: 8 and 10 p.m. Saturday |
| Info: $29.50 to $49.50; fillmoresilverspring.com |
And yes, Carolla is making plenty of gravy at this point. Swimming in it. He has a successful self-titled podcast, which he launched two years ago after the cancelation of his terrestrial radio show; he’s on the upcoming season of “Celebrity Apprentice”; and he still finds time to do some stand-up, including a stop at the Fillmore in Silver Spring on Saturday.
Carolla’s podcast, available through his website, iTunes and his own app, set the Guinness Book of World Records for most downloaded podcast. He loves the freedom of the format, and he doesn’t just mean the ability to curse.
“If you want to go out and do a stand-up run where you’re going to be out on a Friday night, you can tape a podcast, you can bank one and leave,” he said. “You don’t have to worry.”
The podcast includes Carolla, a couple of co-hosts, and usually a guest or two. Topics tend to tackle pop culture, and whatever rant Carolla might go off on. The language is often crude, the riffs hilarious.
Carolla keeps busy doing stand-up. He likes the freedom to pick and choose his gigs, and admits he’s still working his way through the comedian ranks.
“It’s nicer to play a nice big theater than six shows in Addison, Texas, in a place that use to be a Pizza Hut,” said Carolla, 47. “There’s a sort of small, medium and large version of doing the stand-up, and I’m trying to work my way up to the medium.”
The next season of “Celebrity Apprentice” kicks off on Feb. 19, and includes Arsenio Hall, Dee Snyder and Debbie Gibson, among others. Carolla said it was “not fun, but a good experience.”
In addition to two podcasts, the stints on reality shows like “Celebrity Apprentice,” and live appearances, Carolla has had a long, rich career. He co-created “The Man Show” and “Crank Yankers” on Comedy Central, penned the book “In Fifty Years We’ll All Be Chicks” and co-wrote a film. But for many, Carolla came into the public consciousness when MTV started airing “Loveline” in 1996, which Carolla co-hosted with Dr. Drew Pinsky. For some, he will always be the dude cracking wise on “Loveline.”
“I accept that,” Carolla said “To me, I don’t really make a great distinction between where you know me from what as long as you know me and occasionally by a book or a ticket to a show. Then we’re cool.”
