Are You Garbage? with Marcus King (October 9, 2025)

Main Theme / Purpose

In this episode of Are You Garbage?, hosts Kevin Ryan and H. Foley sit down with Grammy-nominated musician Marcus King. True to the show’s theme, they dig into King’s upbringing, career, and personal habits to find out if he’s classy or “absolute trash.” The episode is a colorful, revealing, and funny look at King’s roots in South Carolina, his blue-collar family, wild touring stories, and the chaos and hustle of life as a rising musician.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Marcus King's Upbringing & Family

• Roots in Greenville, South Carolina (02:10)

  • Suburban setting, former mill town (“It was a nice neighborhood in the 50s. Everybody in that neighborhood was like 70 plus.” – Marcus, 03:07)
  • Raised by his father (a working musician with a rocky career) and his grandparents after his mother left when he was four.
  • Grandparents from the “Greatest Generation”—lots of time together, old school TV shows, and culinary influences from his German grandmother.
    • “She was from Munich, Germany. She had this really intense, like, German and southern cuisine. She was always cooking, like, something amazing.” (Marcus, 11:20)

• Early Music Immersion (04:55)

  • Both father and grandfather were musicians; King started playing guitar as a toddler.
  • “No friends, but he's melting faces in the back room." (Kevin, 05:51)
  • Largely self-taught, spent hours alone practicing, admits, “Probably undiagnosed some type of autism.” (Marcus, 05:24)

• School Struggles & Dropping Out (09:39, 16:51, 21:35)

  • Dropped out junior year at 17 ("My wife’s favorite thing to tell people.” – Marcus, 09:46)
  • Not much of a social life; focused on music, felt misunderstood at school.
  • Faced potential truancy court due to sister’s actions and his own absences. Almost sent to a “reformatory school…they wanted to like shave my head.” (Marcus, 22:41)
  • Finished GED immediately after leaving high school.

The Making of a Young Working Musician

• Gig Economy Teenage Years (13:34)

  • Played in bands with much older musicians (“Had a band full of like 40-year-old men with wives and kids at home. I was working us four or five nights a week.” – Marcus, 13:34)
  • Booked his own gigs from age 14, using fake names, carrying all the gear in a Chrysler Town & Country van:
    • "I would hire the band on the basis of, like, you do whatever you want." (24:19)
  • Developed hustle early—played for tiny pay, relied on tips, and learned from his grandfather to “take anything that ain’t bolted down” if not paid (29:00).

• Early Money & Family Finances (23:43, 36:36)

  • Shared some earnings with family, especially his mother during hard times.
  • “I’d go down and try to help out a little bit. But then I'd come back, and the lights would be out...” (Marcus, 36:39)
  • “We didn’t want for a lot, we did okay.” (33:23), but faced utilities cut-offs—“I don’t think there were that many rolling blackouts. I think the bills just didn’t get paid that month.” (Marcus, 33:32)

Climbing the Ladder in the Music Biz

• The Regional Band Hustle to Industry Break

  • Played up to 200 nights a year, heavy in southern “shag” and “beach music” circuits (15:19).
  • Got first big break after a viral YouTube video filmed at Norman’s Rare Guitars in LA (41:55).
  • Original Marcus King Band formed with members met on the road, eventually managed by Warren Haynes’s wife, leading to record deals.

• First Big Purchases (42:34)

  • "Probably my Cadillac. 1980 Eldorado, black and red pinstripes." (Marcus, 42:57)
  • “My grandfather kind of taught me...make them stick...the Cadillac was part of that statement...if I’m somewhere recording, they’re gonna know I’m there because this car is parked out front.” (43:32)
  • Describes buying home, eventually converting it to a studio (51:22).

• The Realities of Touring

  • “We would drive straight to Paragould, Arkansas, and play for like 500 bucks and some pork steaks.” (Marcus, 38:26)
  • Lived out of vans, then a Ford Econoline, split motel rooms with the band.
  • “We would work the hell out of the tip jar. That was kind of my shtick for a while." (Marcus, 27:42)

Personal Habits & “Garbage” Credentials

• Childhood & Family Traditions

  • Grew up on hot dogs, buttered noodles, and leftovers. (32:11)
  • Yearly family vacations: “Once a year, we would make the pilgrimage down to Charleston, South Carolina. Occasionally Myrtle Beach to throw a little flare.” (33:32)
  • Christmas: “Grandma had a fake tree…” (34:15), colored/white lights split between family homes.

• Garbage-Tested Questions & Confessions

  • “Pee in the shower?” – "Hell, yeah." (63:42)
  • “Brush your teeth in there?” – “Yeah...That’s always the power move.” (64:13)
  • Loves McDonald’s, especially double quarter pounders and the filet of fish ("If there was any question if he's trash or not, there it is.” – hosts, 76:13)
  • “What's in the fridge?” – “Make a grocery list last...Chili becomes spaghetti, then hot dogs." (32:04)
  • Power move: Family used fake blackouts as “campouts.” (33:32)

Sobriety, Wild Years, and Rockstar Life

• Sober Journey (58:15)

  • “Yeah, I’m sober. I smoke my pot, though.” (Marcus, 58:16)
  • Described periods of heavy drinking (“MK Ultras”: Topo Chico, Grey Goose, grapefruit juice – 59:00)
  • “I was really into, like, benders, you know? I would go off for a week at a time.” (58:49)
  • Dabbled with “booger sugar” (cocaine) early on, recognizing it became a problem (59:42)
  • On recovery and relapse: “The thing about the wagon is you fall off, you get back on.” (67:25)

• Lifestyle Details

  • Vintage everything: clothes, luggage.
  • 70+ guitars—some left in Europe for tours ("That's like what Assassins do with guns." – Kevin, 49:44)
  • Custom cowboy boots and western suits; spent up to $4,000 on one pair of boots ("Just for performing.” – Marcus, 75:22)
  • Steakhouse favorite: St. Elmo’s in Indianapolis. Steak order: "New York strip, medium rare, sauteed onions.” (63:47)
  • On the rider: Peanut M&Ms, dark chocolate with sea salt, cigarettes (“American Spirits, blue pack” – 55:57), NA Heinekens, cashews, snacks for wife.

• Memorable Love Story

  • Knew he’d marry his wife when she “ate a whole rotisserie chicken with her bare hands on Molly at a festival.” (68:06)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “No friends, but he’s melting faces in the back room.”
  — Kevin, 05:51

• “I could never get past tuning the guitar from the strings. Like, you see how it sounds the same? I have no idea.”
  — H. Foley, 06:05

• “If they do that (don’t pay), you just gotta start taking their shit. Take anything that ain’t bolted down.”
  — Marcus quoting his grandfather, 29:00

• “We would drive straight to Paragould, Arkansas, and play for like 500 bucks and some pork steaks.”
  — Marcus, 38:26

• “That’s always the power move.” (on brushing teeth in shower)
  — Marcus, 64:13

• “I was really into, like, benders, you know?” — Marcus, 58:49

• “I knew I was going to marry my wife... she ate a whole rotisserie chicken with her bare hands.”
  — Marcus, 68:06

• “These boots are blue, they’re suede, you cannot… I cannot wear these boots out.”
  — Marcus, 75:22

• “He’s trash, baby. He’s 100% garbage – and we love it.”
  — H. Foley, 75:47

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:10] Marcus King’s family and grandfather’s influence
• [03:07] Growing up in a former mill town
• [04:55] Early music immersion; no social life, all music
• [09:39] Dropping out of high school
• [13:34] Playing gigs with 40-year-old bandmates
• [16:51] School and social struggles, misunderstood by peers
• [21:35] Truancy issues and near “reformatory” experience
• [23:43] Juggling finances and supporting family with gig money
• [27:42] Tip jar hustles and bar brawl for payment
• [33:23] Family finances, blackouts, and Christmas traditions
• [42:34] First big purchase: the Cadillac Eldorado
• [49:39] Guitar collection (70+), touring logistics
• [58:16] Sobriety, drinking history, and substance use
• [63:42] Peeing and brushing teeth in the shower
• [68:06] Love story: rotisserie chicken on Molly
• [75:22] $4,000 cowboy boots and write-offs
• [75:47] Hosts declare Marcus “100% garbage”

Tone & Highlights

• Conversational, fast, funny, and self-deprecating throughout.
• Marcus King is open, charismatic, and honest—shares both painful and hilarious personal anecdotes.
• Hosts riff on "garbage" credentials with loving mischief, keeping the episode lively.
• Standout moments include bar hustles, unique family traditions, custom western wardrobe, “garbage test” lightning round, and the unflashy but emotional realities of family life and growing up working class.

Useful for New Listeners:

This episode is a deeply engaging, rollicking oral history disguised as a trashy comedy show—offering insight into the life of a prodigy musician with blue-collar roots, tales of resilience and hustle, and hilarious proof that even Grammy nominees can be “absolute trash” (and proud of it).

Listen for:

• Unfiltered, funny Southern anecdotes
• Inside look at the unglamorous grind behind a music career
• Oddball details of band life, expenses, and family
• Marcus King’s self-effacing charm and the hosts’ quick-witted “garbage” tests