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Adam Carolla finds the funny in Fine Woodworking

Asa Christiana, editor, Fine Woodworking magazine

12 users recommend

Had a great time talking shop with one of my favorite comedians, Adam Carolla. At left, looking momentarily serious, is his co-host, Ray Oldhafer.

Carolla's weekly home-improvement podcast is the highest rated in its category. And his daily podcast, the Adam Carolla Show, is number one in the world! Both are on iTunes, and at AdamCarolla.com.

Didn't take long before we were on the air. The key was forgetting I was talking to a celebrity, and staying present. Only went out-of-body a few times, and had to reel myself back in...

Had a great time talking shop with one of my favorite comedians, Adam Carolla. At left, looking momentarily serious, is his co-host, Ray Oldhafer.

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Confession: I am a comedy nerd. I've been watching Saturday Night Live faithfully for decades, along with many other comedies, from stand-up to movies to sketch comedy to sitcoms. I'm also obviously a woodworking nerd. So when I learned that one of my favorite angry comedians, Adam Carolla, had a podcast about home-improvement, called Ace on the House, I started listening right away. Turns out Carolla was a carpenter and contractor for 12 years before meeting Jimmy Kimmel at an LA radio station and breaking into show biz.

I've been a fan of Adam since his days on Loveline, a TV and radio call-in show on relationships, where he was brilliantly paired with the now-ubiquitous Dr. Drew. I even stuck with him through The Man Show, a slightly sophomoric but usually funny sketch show with a red-meat sensibility.

So when FWW's new celebrity friend, Nick Offerman, was going to be a guest on Ace on the House, I asked him to pitch me for a future guest shot. I didn't have high hopes, since Carolla's podcasts give their guest spots almost invariably to people in show biz. Little do they know, I'm not that big a deal, and they invited me on.

Listen to Ace On The House via iTunes. Or you can listen to it from Adam Carolla's Blog.

It was really surreal. I feel like I know Adam really well, after listening to hundreds of episodes of his daily podcast in my ear buds over the past couple of years (love podcasts during my commute, mowing the lawn, and in the shop, too.), so it was weird to meet him in person. But I managed to get over that enough to settle down and have some real fun with him and his co-host, Ray Oldhafer, Adam's childhood friend and old contractor buddy. Check it out.

They were great to me, letting me get lots of plugs in for Fine Woodworking, StartWoodworking.com, and woodworking in general. He toned down his act for my benefit, I think, but there is still lots of colorful langauge and a few naughty references, so steer clear if that's not your cup of tea!

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Comments (15)

drllucas writes: O.k. I can admit when when I am wrong. I listened to Adam on Fox News. Solid thinker and insightful. Sometimes the humor is not the man, but a persona. Asa, maybe you need to make another visit.

Posted: 9:10 pm on October 13th

drllucas writes: Peetor, I don't think any of us are "haters" of Adam Carolla. As Asa notes, for some of us he is not our cup of tea. Thinking I might have unfairly criticized him, I listened to another of his podcasts. Nope, I had it right the first time. His persona is of a 7th or 8th grader who never escaped that particular worldview. As far as woodworking, he brings nothing to the game. My opinion only.
Posted: 10:39 pm on May 21st

peetor writes: Thanks for them email with the link... I look forward to listening to the podcasts! As far as the haters go, or those that seem to think the comedy styling of Adam Corolla are below the "standards" of Fine Woodworking magazine, go back to listening to a Prairie Home Companion. Give me a break.
Posted: 7:06 pm on May 21st

wolf23 writes: I'm a big Carolla fan, and listen to his regular podcast - saw Asa's name on the list for Ace on the House and had to listen. Good job, Asa - I thought you held your own with Adam (a challenge many of his guests don't meet). For goodness sakes, stop saying your boring - folks tune in for home repair, which is way more mundane and boring than furniture making.
Another reason to use hand tools - I can listen to podcasts while working.
Cheers,
-----wade hutchison
Working Wood in Milton, PA.
Posted: 5:24 pm on May 21st

Fabuladico writes: Admittedly I've never been an Adam Carolla fan, but about half the time he's tolerable. I think this podcsst isn't a bad idea, if they could leave all the profanity out of it, quit jabbering about nothing in particular and get to something that actually has to do with woodworking (okay maybe they did eventually, but not in the ten minutes of my life that I sacrificed to hear this thing).

Carolla has two large problems. He doesn't speak very well (sort of like he's got a chaw in his mouth), and he's not nearly as funny as he thinks he is.
Posted: 4:03 pm on May 19th

nordraw writes: Sounds like this is an attempt by Asa to do some spin control after his disastrous blog ripping what he considered unskilled woodworkers with blogs on the internet. Can't put that tooth paste back in the tube Asa.
Posted: 11:17 am on May 19th

oldman45 writes: It's not surprising the guy has a posterior carbuncle (caused by general poor hygiene) - seems like his butt is as filthy as his mouth. If this kind of rubbish is popular, that says nothing about the value of the program; it's only sad news about the mentality of the population. Associating Fine Woodworking's site with that program is a discredit to you.

Posted: 8:14 am on May 19th

drllucas writes: Asa, if he gets you in the basement with William H. Macy turning some bowls, it will have been worth it. Maybe also the old carpenter, Harrison Ford.

Posted: 12:33 am on May 18th

ctsjr82 writes: Asa, I listened to the podcast, and had to turn it off. Too much potty language and not enough woodworking. I'm no prude but really! There's a difference between "working blue" and this. And having "a huge audience" in no way makes this right.
Posted: 7:35 pm on May 17th

AsaC writes: drllucas: he is defintely not everyone's cup of tea. Can't say I didn't warn you! I'm trying to spread the good word about woodworking wherever I can, and Adam has a huge audience.
Posted: 1:28 pm on May 17th

beem writes: Another nice catch, Asa! You're on a roll. So who's next? William H. Macy, Daniel Day-Lewis? Doing a piece with Day-Lewis would be quite the coup...
Posted: 10:11 am on May 17th

drllucas writes: Sorry. Carolla is a foul-mouthed, poor representation of what woodworking is all about. Reach a little higher.
Posted: 10:58 pm on May 16th

AsaC writes: Added a more obvious link above. Try podcasts when you are in the shop. Nice companion when you don't have to concentrate too much. But turn it off when you turn on the power tools!
Posted: 9:34 am on May 15th

lighthearted writes: a link to the show would be helpful
Posted: 7:55 am on May 15th

ricksite writes: I used to love when he would go on home improvement rants on Loveline. I was excited to see he had a home improvement podcast. I have started listening to episodes from the beginning but I skipped ahead to listen to Nick Offerman. I'll have to skip ahead and listen to Asa too. Not everyone likes Adam's style but people who like him can't get enough of him.
Posted: 9:59 pm on May 14th

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