Amdall Gallery

A couple days ago, I posted part one in a two part series on my favorite radio shows. I often listen to these old shows while I’m drawing, particularly after my family has gone to bed. In part one, I discussed my paranormal fix in the form of old Art Bell shows. In part two, I’m going to talk about Loveline; specifically the iteration of the show featuring Adam Carolla and Dr. Drew Pinsky as hosts.

“Hey it’s Loveline, I’m Adam Carolla and he is Drew Drew, board certified physician and addiction medicine specialist. Phone number 1-800-LOVE-191, our guest tonight…”

The gist of Loveline is that it was a call-in show offering relationship and medical advice, often with the assistance of a celebrity guest. It’s had a number of hosts over the years, but by far the best combination (and only one I enjoy) was Adam Carolla and Dr. Drew. The two worked very well together; Dr. Drew was essentially the straight man of the act, serious and professional. And as a practicing physician, his medical advice was actually legitimate. Adam served as both the comedic aspect and the practical/common sense perspective. Whereas Drew was calm and scholarly, Adam was vocal and prone to rants. It was a really effective combination.

Here are a few samples from the show. In these clips, you can pick up some fairly insightful pieces of wisdom that you might not expect from a late night radio show. Just a warning; Loveline is a bit more on the NSFW side, to the point that I don’t listen to this show with my kids around. It was broadcast on FM radio, so it’s nothing too crazy, but there are some mature topics discussed and light profanity.

One of the best things about this show was the consistency and surprisingly high quality of advice Adam and Drew dispensed. They talked often about the cycle of abuse, the nature of addiction, and effective ways to get treatment for a wide variety of issues. They were honest with callers, and didn’t try to peddle quick fixes or nonsense. Even though the show was entertainment, I think it actually did provide a valuable service to callers who were willing to listen, and listeners who may have had similar issues.

And, here is my sketch of Adam and Dr. Drew:

I think this one turned out well! My wife said she thinks it’s one of the most accurate depictions she’s see from me so far. This scene is actually from a more recent image of Adam and Drew, which I believe came from a podcast or online show they do now. I haven’t listened to it, but they’ve got a bunch of episodes at http://www.adamanddrdrewshow.com/. So, the Loveline show itself may be gone, but at least these two are at it!

I’m fairly pleased with the entire “radio favorites” series. It was fun writing about these great shows, and drawing the hosts went better than I expected. Loveline and Art Bell offer very different content and listening experiences, but I’m grateful to both for all the entertainment they’ve given me over the years.