Meet Adam Levine | Angeleno & Entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Adam Levine and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Adam, what’s the end goal, career-wise?
I have one career goal in life, and that is to create something Great.

I am still trying to figure out what shape or form that might take; i.e. the form of a haunted touring business–or a painting, or novel, or restored Hollywood home. I have a lot of hobbies, probably too many. Whatever the platform, I’d like to create something like what Velásquez painted; or what Paul Williams designed; or what David Chase did with Sopranos; or Windex for household cleaners.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Grave Line Tours is Los Angeles’ only vehicular sightseeing tour operator that focuses exclusively on the morbid and macabre. We have a splendid roster of rides that span a pretty complete array of our city’s true crime, paranormal activity, haunted homes and fabulous homicides.

Each tour is conducted in a vintage Cadillac funeral limousine, which was restored custom for touring our mourners around town. They transport in both the literal and figurative sense. Combined with QR-code access to autopsy and crime-scene photos, and primary source audio like 911 calls and tv death announcements, the tours end up feeling pretty immersive. We really want to bring the crimes back in order to offer the most luscious experience for our dear mourners.

The business is only two years old and still in its fledgling state, but so far our services have been well received by the city. It’s a great honor to be the operator of murder tours in Los Angeles, and we are only the latest in a line of succession. We do not take this mantel lightly, and strive to ensure that each tour honor our predecessors. Our name, an obvious play on “Gray” Line Tours, is an homage to the first in line, the Grave Line Tours from LA in the 1980s and 1990s who drove passengers around in 1960s hearses converted into tour coaches.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Day 1 – Hop on a “Death Becomes Her” tour to check out LA’s true crime greatest hits. You’ll tour through Hollywood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hill and Bel-Air and visit iconic notorious locations like the Menendez family mansion, the Viper Room on the Sunset Strip and Michael Jackson’s death home.

Day 2 – Get to know the Manson clan and their tragic victims on our beloved “Manson Family Murders” tour. In visiting some of the relevant locations to the historic crimes you will actually get to see a vast expanse of LA county, which is much more vast than the city of LA. Plus, you will have the chance to eat one of the exact same hot dogs that were Manson’s favorite, at the historic Munch Box!

Day 3 – “A Star is Torn” will educate you on the darker side of the Hollywood myth. In two hours around town you’ll go see Diddy’s mansion, the hotel where Whitney Houston was found deceased in the tub and some great old mysteries like the “Rebel Curse” victims Natalie Wood and Sal Mineo.

Day 4 – You can relax. Maybe think about kittens to scrub some of the recent images from your senses.

Day 5 – Come with Grave Line Tours on our mesmerizing “Hollywood Horror Story: the Black Dahlia” deep dive true crime tour of the last and lonely days of Elizabeth Short. You’ll visit the Hollywood of yesteryear through some truly special haunts still open like Boardner’s and The Frolic Room. You will see the creepy former home of Dahlia suspect George Hodel, which was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, Jr. Before being confronted with the haunting location where Beth’s severely mutilated cadaver was found by a passerby you’ll see some haunted hotels, motels and grab a coffee at the delicious and popular Cafe 5 in Historic Jefferson Park.

Day 6 – You may be ready by now for “Gangsters’ Paradise”. It is literally the most fascinating true crime tour because it exposes the shocking degree to which our city was founded on sin. Without the notorious likes of Ben “Bugsy” Siegel, Mickey Cohen and “Handsome Johnny” Roselli, there would literally be no Sunset Strip. No Hollywood Reporter. A radically different film industry and union landscape. Who knew prostitution, gambling and horseracing was so important.

Day 7 – Travel safe.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There is one person in particular without whom Grave Line Tours would be dead. When I was searching for my vehicles I was referred by a local cemetery to Ronnie Grubs, the unofficial funeral limousine king of Southern California. I cold called him, and he could not have possibly been sweeter or more welcoming to me. Ronnie took me under his wings, took the time out to teach me all about both funeral homes AND vehicles.

As if that were not enough, Ronnie hooked me up with *both* the current company vehicles, Elizabeth “Betty” Longg and Limo LaBianca. It was an extremely glacial process to wait for just the right car to come along. He helped me zero in on both model to look for for my purposes and then find the actual ones. In an extremely niche market with very little supply, finding reliable, low-mileage, well-kept and largely rust-free Caddies is no small feat.

Not only did Ronnie refer me to both vehicles. He helped me with the negotiation immensely, and refused to accept a penny in commission. I will never be able to properly thank Ronnie for this and I consider him a dear friend.

After Ronnie, without my dear friend and mentor Sina, I would never have had an affordable location to house the cars before pulling the trigger on the launch. Sina in his typical aggressive generosity insisted I keep one car, then both on his property in a safe, secured and covered lot. He too refused to accept a penny. Sometimes God places little angels of death along the way to starting a murder sightseeing tour business.

Website: https://www.graveline.rip

Instagram: @gravelinetours

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-levine-027734328/

Twitter: @gravelinetours

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gravelinetours/

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/grave-line-tours-los-angeles

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@GraveLineTours

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@gravelinetoursrip