Lynette Carolla is the Co-Host of the For Crying Out Loud podcast show on the Carolla Digital Network. She is a proud mother and the wife of comedian, media personality, and author Adam Carolla. Lynette Carolla is an outspoken fan of Bruce Springsteen and as you will notice, Lynette Carolla is downright likable.
You’ll be very glad that you spent some time with Lynette Carolla in this light-hearted conversation right here on The Paul Leslie Hour.
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Well, tell all the listeners out there…I asked Jim Carolla this question and he had a very philosophical answer.
Of course he did.
Who’s the real Lynette Carolla?
The real Lynette Carolla….you’re talking to her right now. I think I’m…what is…I am doing three things right now. I’m in the kitchen with the kids. I just made them lunch, which, uh, was salami, string cheese, crackers, corn chips and an apple. I just poured myself a cup of coffee and we’re about to go take our blind dog, Mollie, for a walk and then we’re going to go run some errands. And that’s what my Saturday looks like. And then we’re going to come home and go to bed. They’re going to go to bed and I’m going to stay up and watch my reality TV.
ACE Broadcasting is kind of like a family business.
Yes.
You and your husband, Adam, you both have a podcast.
Yes.
And then Adam’s father has a podcast.
Yes.
What inspired you to want to have your own show?
(Laughs) Well, it wasn’t really my idea. What happened was that I did….I was very lucky and privileged and it was an honor that I got to be able to do a guest DJ on E Street Radio….on Sirus FM Radio because I’m a Bruce Springsteen fan. I don’t know if you’ve heard. But what happened was I emailed Baba Booey in New York, a friend of ours, and the producer of the Howard Stern show…I told him what a great job…I heard him on E Street Radio. I’d just got Sirus…it was in my car. I turned on E Street and he was doing a guest DJ on E Street. My girlfriend, Jody’s here…Hey Jody…say hi to the Paul Leslie show.
Hi!
(Laughs) Hello
I told him that he did such a great job as a guest DJ. I said it would be a dream come true for me and blah, blah, blah, and then he like hooked me up with Sirus FM and long story short, I got to do an E Street Radio guest DJ and Adam’s partner at the time, Donny White over at ACE Broadcasting said, you know, we should…well, what happened was they wanted…they were building the network and they wanted to get more female listeners so they thought, “We should have some kind of a female show on the network and so Donny’s wife, Kathy, said, “Well let’s do like a ‘mommy/parenting’ type show,” and thought that I would be good with Teresa Strasser who was working with Adam at the time and who had just had a baby. So that’s how that came about. I’m not a speaker, talker, comedian or whatever. I mean, I just, it just kind of fell into my lap and then we started doing it and it was fun and I, we’re continuing doing it now and it’s now ‘For Crying Out Loud,’ is the name of the show with Stephanie Wilder Taylor who is a best- selling author…who wrote ‘Sippy Cups are not for Chardonnay’ and ‘Naptime’s the New Happy Hour’ and all that. She’s y co-host and it’s more than a “mommy” show now. There’s more women issues and stuff like that and we cover all kinds of…we just talk about whatever’s interesting to us really. We just continue doing it and it’s kind of growing and it’s fun but more so, behind the scenes, I help Adam. I’m a…I’m like his glorified executive assistant I guess. I basically do whatever needs to be done which is a ton. I get like twenty emails a day about stuff, kind of helping back and forth as much as I can in all the different areas of Adam’s podcast. Everything, not just his podcast but his personal stuff, his travel, every…his book…oh, everything that’s Adam, I help. I mean, he’s got an assistant, Matt Fondiler and he’s got ‘Wish You Were Gay Jay’ who works down on his cars in the garage, but I’m with Adam all the time and things come up all the time and I help out where I can.
He’s a very, very busy guy and a very, very hard worker. When you first met Adam Carolla, what was your first impression?
Well even he will tell you, he’s the laziest, hard-working guy he knows. When I first met him, I was attracted to him. I mean, he was my type. That was my first impression, to be honest. At the time at 25, I was working in the entertainment industry. I was working at a syndication sales company, ‘New World Entertainment,’ andwas ran by Brandon Tartikoff. I was 25 years old and I was kind of dating douchie kind of guys that are in the industry and then I met Adam and I told Adam that I saw the pilot that he did for ‘Love Line’ and I said it was really funny and it was really good and our company produced the pilot and I met him and I told him what a great job he did and I said, “Do you have…you saw the show, right? You saw the pilot?” And he said, “No…no I didn’t.” And I said, “Really? Do you have a copy of the pilot?” He said, “No.” And I just thought it was very odd that this guy is a young, kind of unknown comedian who doesn’t….who doesn’t have a copy of their pilot that they did for Fox television stations, and I loved that. I was like, “Wow! This is a normal kind of guy.” So, he was very sweet and he courted me. I’ve told the story many times. Anyways, that was my first impression of Adam, the very “non-showbizy” kind of guy and that’s what I like about him.
We always vow when we’re younger to never do this.
Yeah.
But a lot of times, we become our parents.
Right.
My mother always says, “If you’re mad you got to make it glad,” in a very certain tone and I find myself saying that to my nephews and my niece. Now that you’re a mother, do you ever catch yourself doing something and then stopping and saying.
Yeah.
“I’m my mother” (Laughs)
Yeah, all the time. Yeah. Yeah well my mom was an immigrant from Italy and she…I grew up in the San Fernando Valley. I was born in Cleveland but I grew up…my family came here when I was seven. They tried to put me in show biz and I hated it…acting and all that kind of stuff…and my mom was kind of a weird…a pushy stage mom who didn’t speak English and she also taught self defense. She’s a third degree black belt in five martial arts and had a self defense academy and all that kind of stuff I was forced to do too so I had like a show biz kind of mom that was pushy but she spoke broken English and I was raised kind of different I guess. My parents were older. They were both Italian. They were both very conservative. They wouldn’t let me do anything. They wouldn’t let me spend the night at a friend’s house. So, I tell myself I’m not going to be like that but now I do get very protective over my kids. They’re not spending the night over anybody’s house that I didn’t…you know…I’m kind of strict. They were strict and I see myself doing that but it is what it is and in this world, I think it’s not bad to be strict. So…
What do you think the biggest challenge facing parents is?
Well, I know that in living in LA is tough as a parent because you’ve always had the philosophy…you’ve had the hippie mom, the helicopter mom…and all that kind of stuff they talk about is true. I mean, I run across these people all the time. My best friend is a different kind of mom than I am and I don’t know what the challenges…there’s always a challenge…there’s nothing but one big challenge really raising kids so there’s always going to be a challenge. I mean, for me, the biggest challenge is having twins, a boy and a girl, making sure they’re getting both their feelings…I don’t know…their attention, the love from both of us. It’s very weird. You start to see that one feels jealous more than the other…you hug one or you praise one more than the other, the other one’s like, “I did that too,” you know, and it’s kind of like a little competition going on. That’s my kind of challenge and also raising kids out here in LA not having them be self-centered and expecting things and kind of being, growing up, I guess, entitled and stuff like that. Luckily, knock on wood, my kids are not like that yet but I hope they don’t become that way and it’s hard and it’s very, very hard. You have to really keep a tight leash and you kind of have to rule with an iron fist I guess, and that’s what I do. So far, so good.
One of the things about having a show is that you get to invite interesting people to join in on the conversation. You’ve had David Alan Grier on your show. You’ve had some really interesting people. Who have you been most excited to welcome?
Well, I hate to say it ‘cause you just said it, but David Alan Grier, I was a nervous wreck. I have to say. I’m a huge DAG fan and whenever he’s on Adam’s show, he gets me going and I keep repeating and saying things that he said on the podcast to crack Adam up. He’s like the one guy in this world that really makes Adam laugh hard with tears, and that’s very rare and so I listen to the podcast when he’s on Adam’s show and it’s just so funny to listen to it and so I’ll repeat stuff that he says at home to Adam and I just got on it and was like, “You know what? Can we get him…you know, he’s got a little girl, “I said, “Can we get him on our show?” He was like, “Sure. No problem.” He came on the show and I was…the whole morning, I was a nervous wreck because, I mean, how is this guy not a bigger star? He should be hosting the Oscars in my opinion. He’s frigging talented. I mean, he sings opera, for pete’s sake. He’s on Broadway. The guy’s improvisational skills are just awesome…awesome, off the chart. So he’s a talented guy. Very talented. And was very honored to have him on the show. Other people? Kevin Nealon is amazing…he’s such a funny guy. Him and his wife, they’ve been on. His wife is a darling, darling girl. Mollie Ringwald…she was on. That was fun, talking to her. She kind of got teary-eyed. We made her cry. That was early in the episode. So, yeah, I mean, and just people you really haven’t heard of: authors of books and bloggers…stuff like that. Like we had the dad, a blogger, ‘Shake Hard (???)’, I’d never heard of them but they get like a million hits on YouTube a day, and he came with his lovely wife and they were a lot of fun and his whole family came. So just, I mean everybody, it’s just interesting the people that come through there. And sometimes we don’t have guests. Stephanie andI just sit and we talk about our week, what we’re dealing with, what’s going on at home, what’s going on in our marriage, what’s going on with our kids. We’ll talk about our first concert, our first kids…all that kind of stuff. It’s fun. I mean, I don’t know if anybody’s listening but it’s a good time, I guess. (Laughs)
There’s so many different options there with the ACE Broadcasting. I’m enamored with it. It’s really, really interesting to have Jim’s philosophical show and your show and then Adam’s show’s always really compelling. What do you see in the future for the ACE Broadcasting family of podcasts?
That’s a question for ‘Booker’ Mike August. Mike August has been very involved with Adam’s network. He’s a character Adam talks about from time to time but he is a brilliant guy. He understands the business like nobody else; he and Adam basically and he’s been doing a lot of work behind the scenes. Uh, the future? I think that Adam is doing something incredible, which is, he’s basically in uncharted waters. Nobody’s done it. Nobody’s really put their finger on podcasting. Now maybe they can but when Adam started they couldn’t and it was very hard, Like, how do you monetize this? How does this work? How do people access it? How does the content….everything, and we’ve managed to make the machine go and I guess the future, I’m hoping, is podcasting is going to get easier and easier meaning that, when people say, “How did I miss you on the morning radio,” you can say, “Well, I got a podcast now.” And people say, “I don’t know how to do that.” Well, hoping that, as the future goes, it’s going to be easier and easier where people can easily get a podcast in their car as they’re driving to work and listen to Adam everyday and stream it into their car. Stream it at work. Stream it in their homes. That’s what we’re hoping and you know what? From what I hear, it’s pretty close to that. It’s getting close and Adam was at LA Auto Show last week and Hundai’s doing stuff where they….something with the stuff…I don’t know…the technology that they’re getting in their cars. We’re looking towards the future and Adam’s sort of like the pioneer I guess and it’s flattering. I mean, I love… I’m a big fan. I listen to his show every day. I love Ball Bryan and Allison and I download it and when I download it and to see it up on ITunes, number one through five, number one, number four, every day, it’s just so satisfying to see that Adam is working hard but it’s paying off. People are really responding. I know that sounds cheesy, but it really is. It’s all about the fans and the listener base. They tell their friend and they and, you know, you can grow that listener base then you’ve really got something and obviously, Adam has done that. He’s got the best fans and the most loyal fans on earth, I think, and he’s very grateful and I’m grateful and it feels like we’re kind of all in this together. This is hopefully something that’s going to catch on bigger and better in the future I guess.
Well one of the great things about podcasting and the various options now for broadcasting is you’re not limited to just the LA area or the New York City area.
Right.
This question came from Georgianna Tiller and she wrote in to ask two questions of you. One: what do you most like to do as a family? And two: as a parent, what do you most want your children to learn from you?
Wow! Okay…as a family, we do a lot of laying around, watching TV together and relaxing but when Adam has time off, we hang out with the kids. We play with the kids. It’s all about them and one thing we like to do is we hike. We go on hikes. The kids are waiting for me right now to go on a hike but we take the blind dog and we go out. We go for walks up in the Hollywood Hills. We’ll go to the movies. We’ll take the kids to the movies. We love to go on a Saturday night. We’ll take the kids out to dinner to an Italian restaurant. We do that kind of stuff together. What was the second question?
She says: what do you most want your children learn from you?
Well, I want them to be good people but that’s it. I want them to be…Adam wants them to be smart. I want them to be good (laughs). I just want them to be good people and to be thoughtful and add something to society. I’d like for them, you know, to learn to follow through. If you’re going to start something you gotta finish it whether you like it or not. Adam’s got the football coach philosophy going with them which is a good thing. It keeps them disciplined. I want them to have discipline. I think that’s important. They both have a really good sense of humor, which is very important in our house. Just be good people and to be Springsteen fans would be nice too.
Oh of course (Laughs). What is the best thing about being Lynette Carolla?
The best thing about being Lynette Car…well I have to say…Jody’s laughing…well, that’s a loaded question too. The best (laughs), uh, the best thing about…alright…the best thing about being Lynette Carolla would be to be able to get good seats to concerts (laughs). I mean, really…I got to meet Bruce Springsteen last week alright. That’s sort of a big plus, I would say. Wouldn’t you say? I mean, I would.
Yeah.
I mean, I’ve admired the guy since I was eleven years old and I got to tell him what a big fan I was and sit down and have a conversation with him, which was unbelievable and just tell him what a true fan I was so there’s that but you know, also Adam is a great guy. Being married to Adam, you know, it ain’t easy…it’s not easy being married to Adam. I’ll be honest. He thinks…uh…I don’t know…he expects the best out of people so I think that a plus about being married to Adam, which I think is probably what the question really was, I think that the big plus is that Adam expects…it’s gonna sound bad…he’s not high maintenance at all but he expects…he expects better from people. He expects them to be at their best, I guess. That’s tough and it sounds…I know it’s coming out wrong, but he’s very big with discipline and stuff like that and I think that when I wasa bachelorette it was different. Now that I’m married to Adam and I have kids, he keeps order and stuff like that. Again, it’s probably sounding wrong. He’s not a hard ass or anything or whatever, but he expects very much from people and it’s good for me and it’s good for the kids, you know, and I think it’s a good thing. The other thing is, now I look at the world a different way and I know now it’s rubbing off on my friends. They’re stuck in traffic and they call me like, “Really? What…” and then they start going off on traffic or they start complaining about things because they listen to Adam…when you live with that, you start to see the world the same way and you can’t help but be a mini Adam and my friends are like, “You sound Adam.” I’m like, “Well, Yeah…I can’t…I live with the guy. I mean, I can’t help it. I know what can’t Adam complain about but it’s true.” There’s a lot of stuff you can complain about and now it’s like exemplified living with him. So, again, it’s a good thing a little bit but it keeps things moving fast I guess (laughs).
This last question is totally open-ended.
Yeah.
Answer any way you like…what would you like to say to all our listeners? Adam told me, he said: “Have a dance party with your kids.”
Yeah.
So what would you answer be?
What I want to say….I want to thank everybody that supports Adam’s show and anything that’s gone out of the network. And the future for Adam and his network, I think it’s changing a little bit. Things are going to be a little different in the New Year, in January. We’ve made some changes behind the scenes, obviously with the new website. We’ve got the app and stuff like that and I have the new show, ‘For Crying Out Loud.’ For the fans who are listening and support us and Tweet us…people whogo on Amazon through Adam’s website…is if, Adam, if he could, he would give a reach-around to every person that went on Amazon through his website. I mean, he’s just thrilled! It just…it shows him that people really do listen to what he is saying and is respectful to what asks and they want to give him a little bit a payback so it’s free…he goes in every night. He does a daily show every day. Nobody’s corporation’s paying him. It’s all being advertising and stuff like that and every little bit helps and it’s sort of a grass roots thing that wouldn’t work if we didn’t have such a strong listener base and that is something that trickles down to me that I’m grateful for, he’s grateful for and it’s just he’s delighted. His favorite thing to do is sit on Twitter and he personally answers people on Twitter as much as he can and especially the ones that support his show like, “I did use your tricks,’ or “I did use your sponsor,’ and that Amazon thing is insane! I mean, people going on there and using it, bookmarking it and using it. It’s so overwhelmingly…it’s overwhelming. I’d just like to say…I’d like to thank everybody…everybody for their support. I mean, everybody supporting my show, supporting Adam’s show and supporting Adam and everything he does and the New Year…January’s going to bring a lot of exciting things. Things are coming out soon that people don’t know about and it’s going to be an exciting year and I think…I think people are going to be pleased and I want to thank everybody.
Well, Ms. Carolla, thank you very, very much.
Thank you. Thank you.
Before we go, which Bruce Springsteen song do you want to play at the end of this interview?
Oh….(laughs)…well, you know what? I’ll do ‘The Ties that Bind.’ It’s a good, “poppy” kick-off. It’s the very first song on ‘The River.’ It kicks off Bruce’s double album called ‘The River.’ It came out in 1980 and it’s the very first song on that album and it’s called ‘The Ties that Bind’ and it’s one of my favorites and the lyrics I identify with. (Laughs)
Alright. Spoken like a true fan (laughs).
Thank you so much Paul! I really appreciate it. I appreciate it. Thank you!
TRANSCRIBED BY LORI DOMINGO
