The Adam Carolla Show

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The Adam Carolla Show is a syndicated morning radio program, which began airing on January 3, 2006. The show is produced by CBS Radio as part of its Free FM format, and is based out of KLSX in Los Angeles. The show replaced Howard Stern's show in several west coast markets following Stern's move from the FM dial to Sirius Satellite Radio at the end of 2005.

The Adam Carolla Show features Adam Carolla, Danny Bonaduce and news reader Teresa Strasser. The supporting cast includes producer Angie Fitzsimmons, Adam's personal assistant Lindsey Case, sound effects guy Bryan Bishop, writer Mike Lynch, voiceover/technical producer Mike Dawson, technical production assistant Mike Cioffi, board operator Bill Mahoney, phone screener Kyle Baugher, and webmasters Jack Sullivan and Marc Chambers. Jimmy Kimmel serves as creative consultant, and hosted the show on June 7 and June 8, 2006, while Carolla was with his wife for the birth of their twins. [1]

1 Controversy
2 Former Staffers
3 Recurring characters
4 Recurring bits
5 Trivia
6 Syndication
7 References
8 External links

[edit] Controversy

On January 24, 2006, the show aired several segments spoofing the Asian Excellence Awards. The segments involved repeated use of the phrase "ching-chong". Contrary to the segments, the actual awards (honoring achievements of Asians and Asian-Americans in entertainment and science) are conducted in English. Branding the skit demeaning and racist, several Asian-American organizations threatened to pressure advertisers to withdraw support from the show if the station did not issue an apology. Donald Young, Interim Executive Director of the Center for Asian American Media wrote, "Clearly Mr Carolla found the rare example of the celebration of Asian-American achievement an easy target. While he does have the right to express his humor, doing so with racial epithets is unconsionable [sic]. Mr Carolla should be held accountable for his derogatory antics." [2] Notably, six cities that carry The Adam Carolla Show are in the top ten among US cities with the highest proportion of Asian-Americans (according to the 2000 Census). Carolla issued an on-air apology for the segment on February 22, 2006: "We do a show here that is a little irreverent, and, sometimes, we cross the line, and we definitely crossed it this time. It was not meant to offend, it did, and, for that, we sincerely apologize to the good people of the Asian community."

On July 6, 2006, conservative author and pundit Ann Coulter called the show an hour and a half late. She told Carolla she had been given the wrong number and "was really tight on time," to which Carolla responded, "All right, well, get lost," and hung up. [3] Coulter's publicist later demanded an apology from the show, which Carolla refused to give. This was Coulter's second attempted booking on the show, as she had been booked a week prior but did not call in. While numerous political blogs applauded Carolla's hanging up on Coulter, [4] [5] Carolla noted that his action was not politically-motivated, and that he actually agreed with some of her views. He said Coulter's behavior was unprofessional and disrespectful of the show.

[edit] Former Staffers

[edit] Dave Dameshek, Jimmy Brusca, Tad Newcomb and Mike August

In a December 17, 2006 message on The Adam Carolla Show message board, sports broadcaster Dave Dameshek wrote that he and the show’s producer Jimmy Brusca had been fired. [6] Dameshek also wrote that Danny Bonaduce would be his replacement. Tad Newcomb, also known as Fat Tad or Big Tad, was a regular on-air contributor to the show, and has also confirmed that he was fired via his MySpace account. [7]

CBS Radio released a press release on December 21, 2006 announcing Bonaduce as a featured member of the show starting January 2, 2007, but did not confirm or deny any terminations. [8] However, the bios of Dameshek, Brusca, Newcomb and talent booker Mike August have been removed from the show's Web site. [9]

On December 28, 2006, Carolla posted to the show's message boards, writing that network executives wanted to replace Dameshek because of the show's poor performance in Los Angeles. Carolla said the show's Arbitron ratings in that market declined from 1.2 to 3.3 to 0.7, and CBS used this as an excuse to "strip the show". [10] On the January 2nd show, Carolla commented on the firings and confirmed his posting that they were due to low ratings. He said that he had no say in the decision, and while he was upset about the firings, he expressed a desire to move on.

As of January 7, 2007, an online petition which was part of a "Keep Dave" campaign that was started by fans of the show, had collected over 1500 signatures.

On March 14, 2007, Adam told a caller that it appeared Dave will be doing a sports show from Pittsburgh, PA.

Mike August is still a member of the ACS team as of March 8, 2007.

[edit] Jaron Ferguson

Jaron Ferguson originally started on the show as an intern, but worked his way up to the position of production assistant. On November 15, 2006, Dameshek announced that Ferguson would be moving on to a better position at an alternative rock music station in California. [11] He left about two weeks later, and the show thanked him for his work. Ferguson was frequently brought up as the show's lone black staffer, and his departure spurred an on-air search by the show to hire another black staffer. [12]

[edit] Billy Moses

Billy Moses was employed as one of two assistant webmasters for The Adam Carolla Show. He was featured on-air a handful of times, including a bit where Kimmel talked his mother through finding his porn stash, a lie detector test to prove that he was not a virgin, and a short comedy routine where he accidentally made a racist slur. On July 21, 2006, Billy was laid-off by program director Jack Silver.

[edit] Rachel Perry

Former MuchMusic and VH1 VJ Rachel Perry was the original news reader on the show. In early April 2006, the show noted that Perry would be absent for a few days to work on a TV pilot. However, a few days turned into a few weeks, during which the show featured several fill-ins, including Strasser, former MSNBC anchor Claudia DiFolco, and actress Tracy Metro. The show also had guests and a few recurring characters fill in. In late April, Perry's pictures and bio were removed from the show's website. Finally, on May 1, Carolla announced that the show had taken the opportunity to use Perry's absence to drop her from the show, as they felt that the chemistry was lacking. On May 8, Strasser was named as Perry's official replacement.

On the December 14, 2006 show, Carolla further explained why Perry was fired, emphasizing that she did not really enjoy doing morning radio as she preferred to work in television. Carolla added that while Perry was technically fired, he doubted that she was that upset about losing the job.

[edit] Recurring characters

Deaf Frat Guy. He also goes by the name Jason or the nickname "Maverick", and is played by Josh Gardner (comedian). Deaf Frat Guy originally started his Greek membership as a Tau Kappa Epsilon at the University of Southern California. In May 2006, Deaf Frat Guy was removed from the fraternity, and decided to start his own, called Delta Fu Gamma. He created the fake Greek letter "Fu" because he believed that all possible Greek names had been used. The initials "DFG" also refer to "Deaf Frat Guy". Deaf Frat Guy first appeared on January 24, 2006. [13]

Drunken Tree Mascot. According to the show, the Drunken Tree Mascot was fired for being drunk while serving as the Stanford University tree mascot. She was brought onto the show in its early weeks to try out as the show's mascot. The character typically arrives drunk and hits on Carolla and other people in the studio. According to his MySpace account, comedian Jeff Richards voices the character, reprising a similar role he had as Drunk Girl on Saturday Night Live. [14] The character is loosely based on an actual woman, Erin Lashnits, who was fired for drinking while serving as the Stanford mascot. [15] The character first appeared on February 24, 2006. [16]

Fake Jack Silver. A parody of KLSX Program Director Jack Silver. Fake Jack Silver is voiced by sound effects engineer Bryan Bishop, as mentioned on the December 14, 2006 show. Fake Jack Silver frequently mentions staying "hip" with younger listeners and talks about watching the ratings "needle" drop, or refers to "radio-kryptonite" when a boring bit or caller is on the air. Fake Jack Silver's biggest concern is being portrayed as homosexual, and thus the last thing he usually says is, in a stressed voice, "Not gay!"

Peanut. This intermittently appearing character (voiced by David Alan Grier), is a black woman ostensibly hired to answer the phones at the studios of CBS Radio (the real life networks where the Adam Carolla Show is braodcast). The running gag is that every time Peanut is featured on the show, the phone banks that she is supposed to answer ring constantly, and the calls are often put on hold or disconnected. Peanut's character is disrespectful, possessed of a hair-trigger temper, speaks poor English (once taking the day off for what she called "Mobba Loofin King's Burfday"), and usually ends the sketch by threatening to take off her earrings and flip-flops and challenging Adam to "take it to the parking lot" whenever he makes the slightest suggestion that Peanut is not doing her job.

Republican Representative Richard Martin. Ostensibly a Republican congressman from the state of Ohio, Martin stands as a staunch supporter of the George Walker Bush administration and its policies, as well as conservative values in general. Martin is a character created by Paul Gilmartin. [17] Martin has appeared on other morning shows, including The BOB & TOM Show, and has his own website. The character first appeared on January 26, 2006. [18]

Yurgi the Romanian Porn Producer. Introduced as a random porn video store patron, Yurgi is presented as a Romanian Porn producer always on the lookout for new talent. He is played by comedian Tom Stern, who portrayed the same role in the infamous movie prank Windy City Heat. He frequently appears when the show has adult film stars as guests, including Jesse Jane, Sunset Thomas, and Kirsten Price. He often introduces comically named titles of porn movies he has produced, and takes the opportunity to direct the visiting adult film stars and Strasser in various scenes.

[edit] Recurring bits

1780s Guy. In this short segment, which occurs almost daily, Adam Carolla brings up a contemporary facet of life in today's world, when the 1780s Guy innocently either asks a question or makes a statement that is politically incorrect by today's standards. (In one segment, Carolla tells the 1780s Guy about modern day strip clubs, whereupon the character loudly exclaims, "So you say a man willingly empties his purse to have his balls made blue?!?"). Adam is usually left speechless grasping for satisfactory reply.

Ass-Kiss Rodeo. In this bit, callers or show guests must attempt to shower Adam with praise (i.e. kiss his ass) while he tries to throw them off by contradicting himself. The better the player is able to adapt to his rapid, drastic, and contradictory changes in opinion by continuing to shower him with praise, the better the score. The analogy is that Adam acts a rodeo bull trying to buck off a rider. For example: Adam: "I love sushi." Caller: "Sushi is great and so are you, Adam." Adam: "I hate sushi." Caller: "But sushi is highly overrated...", etc. The current celebrity champion is Survivor host Jeff Probst. The game was first played on January 13, 2006. [19]

Angel Adam and Devil Danny. A sketch that occurs almost weekly, wherein callers discuss difficult issues in their lives about which they ask Adma Carolla for advice. In many of the earlier shows, Adam would play both angel (with constructive criticism) and devil (with advice that is typically self-serving or self-destructive); in recent months, with the arrival of Danny Bonaduce, Adam plays the Angel and Danny plays the Devil.

Basic Cable Classics. Hosted by Adam and ESPN's Bill Simmons, but also features Dameshek and Strasser. Carolla and Simmons review classic "guy" movies from the 80s and 90s. Recently reviewed movies include Con Air, Face/Off, Gremlins, and Red Dawn.

Captain Blowhard. Occasionally, Adam will answer callers' questions regarding their lives as Captain Blowhard, a persona dating back to Adam's Loveline show. Captain Blowhard is a mesh of personalities of "blowhards" Adam has met in the past, often citing nonsequitur dates when he turned his life around (such as "June 18th, 1987, I took a long hard look in the mirror."). He "refuses to lie" to people, and insists on giving them the "cold hard truth" that life "isn't a bed of roses." He often prefaces this with "I wish I could blow some sunshine right up you, but I can't, I'm not going to, and I shalln't [sic]." He then gives off a long list of "not your [occupation]," invariably including "not your wet nurse." (Perhaps not coincidentally, Carolla's vocal lilt for Captain Blowhard is close to his Donald Trump impression.) Captain Blowhard debuted October 5, 2006.^[1]

Crank Yankers segments. Adam Carolla is one of the producers of the comedy show known as Crank Yankers, and he will intermittently play "the best of" the skits previously airing on the show.

Definitely Not a Jew!!. This bit is usually played as a bump after a commercial break, in the style of the vintage "Alcoa Presents… You Make the Call!" ads during football games. The show’s announcer Mike Dawson describes an outlandish crime or other foolish act, followed by a referee's whistle and a booming voice that proclaims

"…Definitely Not a Jew!" This bit is based on Adam's belief that ridiculous and stupid crimes are typically not committed by Asians or Jews.

Friday Bitch Bag. Created by writer Mike Lynch as a means to ensure open and honest communication with the staff. Every member of the show staff, including production staff and interns, submit a written complaint regarding someone on the staff. The person who receives the most complaint "votes" must read their "bitches" on-air. All other votes are shredded without being read. The August 11, 2006 edition resulted in Strasser breaking down and crying on-air.^[2]
- On October 26, 2006, Strasser requested, on-air, that she be excluded from the next Bitch Bag segment, saying that the bit was "vindictive and destructive" [20]. She decided to make the request after talking with her therapist about it. Her request caused a great deal of controversy among the show's staff. On November 6, 2006 Dr. Gary Corgiat, who appears as Bonaduce’s psychologist on the reality series Breaking Bonaduce, appeared on the show to analyze Strasser's problems with the segment.^[3] Since Corgiat's appearance, there has not been another Bitch Bag.

"Gay-walking". A play on the word jay-walking, and an homage to the sketch from The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, this is a sketch in which the openly gay "Pre-Op, Board Op" Bill tours the gay bars of California and asks the patrons questions about stereotypically "manly" subjects such as cars, sports and action movies. It is the job of Adam, Danny, Teresa, and a single randomly selected caller to guess whether or not the gay man will know the answer to each question. Callers who make the highest number of correct guesses are awarded a prize. Meanwhile, Adam, Danny, and Teresa make an on-air, cash bet as to who will score the most correct guesses amongst the three; Teresa has won almost all of these match-ups.

Hobo Power. Years ago, Adam invented a system to measure stink called Hobo Power (based on horsepower, the rationale being that if an engine's power can be gauged by the number of horses it can outrun, stink can be measured by the stench of a standard hobo). It is measured between 0 and 100, though Adam's past assessments have shown it to be a scale of magnitude, as many things can smell bad, but only a few things can smell so bad that they become legend.
This particular bit consists of callers telling the story of their smelliest experience, Adam would then "rank" the smell by number in the Hobopower scale.The rules/scale are as follows:
- 1 hobo = 1-Hobopower
- The visual and/or emotional component of a stench cannot be factored when determining hobopower.
- 25-Hobopower induces vomiting. Because it is impossible for a stench that does not induce vomiting to reach 25, call-in examples where the caller "held back" from vomiting often get a decimal number between 24 and 25.
- 50-Hobopower is "a cat that was fed exclusively blue cheese for a week, [before] defecating on a white-hot hibachi."
- 100-Hobopower is hypothetical: No man has ever smelled 100-Hobopower and lived.

Home Improvement. A former carpenter himself, Adam gives advice to callers on any of their questions regarding work on their houses. Most of this segment's humor comes from Brian, who hates the bit and constantly uses sound effects to interrupt it. For his part, Adam refuses to take generic home improvement questions, instead demanding that callers ask him really difficult questions.

Mark the Poet vs Dave's Cousin Brandon. In the first few weeks of the show, Mark the Poet, a poet living in Seattle, began calling to entertain the crew with his limericks and poems. Several weeks later, Dave's cousin Brandon took exception to what he considered less than stellar performances, and challenged Mark to a poetry duel. The first duel occurred May 3, 2006. [21] In their ensuing face-offs, Mark and Brandon offer poetry on a common topic, threading in verbal jabs at the other's expense.

Mr Brightside. Seen as the opposite to What Can't Adam Complain About, Mr Brightside features Carolla attempting to cheer up callers with serious issues, most notably a crystal meth-addicted daughter with an alcoholic mother and homicidal father. The bit is normally farcical, and sometimes features a Tom Leykis impersonator (Brian Whitman of The Conway and Whitman Show on KLSX) laughing as callers talk about horrible things happening in their lives. The bit was first successfully completed on June 16, 2006.^[4]

Morning Zoo. Carolla had always been openly disdainful of louder and more obnoxious morning shows, and this segment (much like the former "Lightning Round" bit from Loveline) spoofs them. This bit started as a response to the death of Jennifer Strange, and is based on the morning zoo concept. It runs as stream-of-consciousness improvisation, with Adam playing brash host "Dick Gobbler", who continually gives traffic and weather reports every few seconds (every location in his weather report is stated to have a temperature of 67 degrees). Throughout, "T-Bone" (Teresa) does a fake laugh and periodically gives celebrity news in an over-excited voice. "Marty St. Claire in the Air" (Bryan) gives traffic updates from a helicopter. "Red Bull" (Danny) is always on location, hosting a radio contest that is obviously potentially dangerous (almost always involving bodily harm to a fictional intern named Sludge, a parody of former staff employee Big Tad). The segment tends to be fast-paced with constant background sound effects.

Music Monday. Adam discusses a music-related topic with Dave, Teresa and the callers. Past installments featured the worst cover songs, the most homosexual songs, the best and worst strip club songs, and the manliest songs. The bit debuted on November 6, 2006. [22]

Name T's V. (formerly known as Name Teresa's Vagina). ...a departure from the normal "art" of finding interesting 'pet' names for genitalia, based on a distinct theme each time the game is played. (In one sketch, callers were asked to use TV shows to think up pet names for Teresa's genitalia, and came up with such novel offerings as "Monster Garage", "Land of the Lostz", "7th Heaven", and "Eight is Enough". Whenever an interesting pet name arises in the course of normal conversation, Adam will often break off the conversation to say ". . ..another good name for T's V".

Nerd-Off Challenge. A contest originating with actor and comedian Patton Oswalt, who competed with various members of the staff in a trivia contest for nerds. Common themes for questions include Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings, Dungeons & Dragons, and comic books. However, "there are no winners—only losers".
On May 30, 2006, Oswalt defeated Mike Lynch and Bryan Bishop to retain his championship. Brian Posehn, Dana Gould, and Patton Oswalt competed in a "Celebrity Edition" on June 13, 2006 for a Darth Vader replica lightsaber. Oswalt emerged victorious to retain the title.

Oswaldo's Movie Review. Each weekend, the show sends Castillo to review a new movie. The reviews are typically difficult to understand because of Castillo's heavy Nicaraguan accent, so Carolla stands in as his "interpreter". Castillo's first review was of Brokeback Mountain on January 17, 2006. [23].

Oswaldo's Rolling Stones Game. Oswaldo sings lyrics from a Rolling Stones song and listeners call in to guess what he is singing. Listeners who correctly identify the song win a prize. The Rolling Stones Game was first played on August 23, 2006 [24]. On recent shows, the game is played with variations, such as classic movie quotes, and listeners can guess for prizes.

Custom Strip-O-Grams. In this segment, Adam asks usually female listeners to call in to give him various details such as the car they drive, their profession, and various other details. He will then perform an exaggerated imitation of a strip club showman (with an echo effect and Mötley Crüe's 'Girls Girls Girls' in the background) using the volunteered information to portray the women callers as strippers using as many double-entendre references as possible. This popular segment typically occurs on Fridays.

Re-enactments. Carolla and Dameshek re-enact current events in "what-if" scenarios. They are often based on sad or traumatic news events, but given a comedic spin. Notable examples include an 18-year-old taking his life because he was not satisfied with his penis size and the ensuing phone call notifying his parents, a story where a man cut off his own penis for an $1800 bet, and an incident in which a man accidentally killed his son while demonstrating a tribal killing, with the ensuing phone call to a naïve parent or spouse (usually played by Adam) explaining what exactly had occurred.

Rich Man/Poor Man. This is a phone-in game in which callers suggest things characteristic of the upper class and the lower class, but not of the middle class. One notable example is an outdoor shower: a wealthy person might have outdoor showering facilities beside the pool or beachhouse, while the poor person simply cannot afford a real shower and must use a garden hose.

Same Name Game. Another phone-in game, where callers must give two notable yet widely contrasting public figures that share the same surname, for example, Barry White and Betty White. Callers with the most creative or amusing pairings are usually granted a prize.

Slippery Slope Guy. A sketch in which the commentator, Slipper Slope Guy, provisionally agrees with a side of a given issue, but then warns the audience that "...it's a slippery slope." He then proceeds to go the extreme, implausible examples of what could happen in an attempt to dissuade the listener from agreeing with a given course of action. For example, Slippery Slope Guy refuses to endorse alternate fuel vehicles because "the slippery slope" will eventually lead to jack-booted thugs abducting children for their blood to fuel the cars.

Teresa's Ex-Files. Teresa Strasser's exboyfriends come on the show to discuss what happened during their relationships. During a recent segment, Strasser admitted allowing a pervert to strip naked and masturbate on the floor of her apartment after he called her posing as a Stripper-gram.

The Jerk List, formerly known as the The Jerk Report/Rankings. Dameshek lists people who he believes were jerks because of their behavior the previous week. Callers, guests and forum posters are also encouraged to nominate jerks. The jerks are normally celebrities, athletes, or people associated with the show. Each name is accompanied by a Star Wars laser shot sound effect. The segment culminates with the naming of the "Creep of the Week", who was San Francisco Giants outfielder Barry Bonds for thirteen straight weeks. Bonds is now enshrined in Jerk Report Hall of Shame. Dameshek changed The Jerk Report to The Jerk List at the urging of Jimmy Kimmel, who believed that the report would make more sense if it were in the form of a numbered list. The segment debuted on March 14, 2006. [25]

What Can't Adam Complain About??. Started after Carolla spent an entire segment on February 21, 2006, complaining about his weekend being ruined because a Ferrari he purchased off eBay was delivered late. [26] Callers provide Carolla with things they do not think he can complain about, such as girls jumping on trampolines, but he manages to respond with complaints. Prizes are sometimes given to callers who manage to find something that he cannot complain about...which does not happen very often.

Which Weighs More? A game in which Carolla and other participants (including show crew and callers) try to guess which weighs more, random objects or show contributor Big Tad. A caller claiming to be hot dog eating champion Takeru Kobayashi calls in during "Which Weighs More" segments to mock Big Tad's size. Which Weighs More first appeared on January 24, 2006. (The impersonation of Kobayashi is provided by comedian Jo Koy.^[5])

[edit] Trivia

The show opens with the beginning of "Someday I Suppose" by the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, followed by a greeting of "Good morning, and welcome to another exciting broadcast day!" Dicky Barrett, lead singer of the Bosstones, is a friend of Carolla.

A regular bump is the sing-song melody of "Ad-am Carol-la" from a web cartoon, Adam Carolla Destroys The World. [27]

Adam frequently mentions differences in calf muscle size (specifically large calves) when discussing the different genetic hand individuals are dealt. He has also complained about having "skinny calves" on a number occasions and once asked a cosmetic surgeon guest about calf implants.

[edit] Syndication

The Adam Carolla Show can be heard on the following stations (broadcast weekdays from 6:00am-10:00am PST):

Los Angeles, CA - 97.1 Free FM
Phoenix, AZ - 101.5 Free FM
San Francisco, CA - 106.9 Free FM
Portland, OR - 101.1 KUFO FM
San Diego, CA - 103.7 Free FM
Las Vegas, NV - 107.5 KXTE FM
Sacramento, CA – 106.5 KWOD
Seattle, WA – 107.7 KNDD
Reno, NV – 100.9 KRZQ
Fresno, CA – 104.1 KFRR
Palm Springs, CA - 99.5 KMRJ

Most of the show is also available for download via podcast through FreeFM. The format varies depending on the station providing the RSS feed. The current feed links are:

Adam Carolla Show Podcast - hosted by KLSX

Adam Carolla Show Podcast - "Daily Top Segments" hosted by KLSX, linked to from The Adam Carolla Show's official website

Adam Carolla Show Podcast - hosted by KIFR

The feed can also be found for iTunes users through the iTunes Podcast directory.