345: Marc Maron - Partying with Sam Kinison

Summary

Podcast Summary: The HoneyDew with Ryan Sickler
Episode 345: Marc Maron - Partying with Sam Kinison
Release Date: August 4, 2025

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Introduction and Guest Welcome

[02:15] Bubba Wallace:
"Welcome back to the HoneyDew, y'. We're over here doing it in the night. Pant Studios."

Ryan Sickler extends gratitude to the audience and introduces Marc Maron as the special guest for the episode.

Marc Maron's Current Projects

[03:29] Marc Maron:
"August 1st, which I think will be behind us. When you see this, my HBO special Panicked is available to watch. What else is happening? The Bad Guys Too. If you got kids, I'm Mr. Snake. And there's a couple of films. I'm in the show Stick with Owen Wilson on Apple TV and I've got a documentary about me called Are We Good?... And I'm in the Bruce Springsteen movie too."

Marc Maron shares updates on his latest projects, including his HBO special "Panicked," the upcoming films "The Bad Guys Too" and "Mr. Snake," his role in "Stick" on Apple TV, the documentary "Are We Good?," and a part in the Bruce Springsteen biopic.

[04:13] Marc Maron:
"I play the engineer, Chuck Plotkin. It's a small part, but it's pivotal in the story of the making of Nebraska. Scott Cooper, the director, wanted me to be in it, and it was a... funny story about being a comic and... I took it to the next step and texted the director about my concerns with the script, and he said, 'Hey, man, you don't have to do it.' It ended up being a fun experience."

He elaborates on his role in the Springsteen film, emphasizing the creative process and his interaction with director Scott Cooper.

The Impact of His Early Podcasting

[07:03] Bubba Wallace:
"Any other president, I feel like..."
[07:38] Marc Maron:
"It was interesting. I think it was a big bump for the medium in general."

Marc reflects on the significance of his podcasting efforts, noting how high-profile guests like a sitting president elevated the podcast medium's visibility and credibility.

[08:37] Marc Maron:
"I think I helped bring something great to the world. But also, I think I kind of released the Kraken as well."

He acknowledges both the positive contributions and the unforeseen consequences his pioneering work had on the podcast landscape.

Marking the End of His Podcast

[09:10] Marc Maron:
"When we decided we wanted to wind down, the only thing was, if you've done alright and you're not about just putting content in the world, is it going to diminish? Are we going to lose interest? It's a lot of work, and we're a little burnt out."

Marc discusses the decision to conclude his long-running podcast after 16 years, addressing concerns about maintaining quality and audience engagement.

[12:26] Bubba Wallace:
"And will continue to also."

[12:28] Marc Maron:
"It's okay to leave."
[12:34] Marc Maron:
"I'm feeling a little relief, dude, because right now, in the culture, it's like no one ever shuts up. It's everyone is talking."

He expresses a sense of relief about stepping back, contrasting the podcast's intimate format with the pervasive noise in current media culture.

Early Life and Influences

[14:37] Bubba Wallace:
"Jersey born, New Mexico raised. What was that like growing up in New Mexico?"

[14:40] Marc Maron:
"It was great. Albuquerque had a pretty strong middle class... My old man was a surgeon, and he was in the service for a couple of years in Alaska doing his internship with the Air Force."

Marc shares insights into his upbringing in Albuquerque, highlighting the cultural diversity and his family's background.

[15:35] Bubba Wallace:
"Both your parents are still alive and with us."
[15:39] Marc Maron:
"No, no, no. They got divorced when I was like 35. It was a long, complicated journey."

He touches on his parents' divorce, offering a glimpse into his personal history that influences his storytelling.

Partying and Drug Addiction

[16:34] Bubba Wallace:
"Who was an early influence or someone you saw before they became big?"
[16:45] Marc Maron:
"I saw AC/DC with Bon Scott open for Journey at the Civic Auditorium. And I saw Van Halen's first tour at the Pit."

Marc reminisces about attending legendary concerts in his youth, setting the stage for his later experiences.

[19:35] Marc Maron:
"I have to drive him because he's nodding out and I put him in a booth. I go up on stage and do my half hour, and I bring him up to perform. And he just nails it. It was like, what the heck."

He shares vivid memories of his partying days, including interactions with Sam Kinison and experiences with addiction.

Interaction with Sam Kinison

[32:21] Bubba Wallace:
"He really is that. You say you thought it was a gimmick, so I'm saying even off..."
[33:31] Marc Maron:
"So Sam's like, Sam is Sam, you know, all the time."

Marc delves into his tumultuous relationship with Sam Kinison, highlighting the chaos and intensity of their interactions.

[35:14] Marc Maron:
"That's my first encounter with him. And then... we're all doing blow... so it's all insanity."

He recounts specific incidents that exemplify Sam's volatile nature and the destructive environment they were part of.

Sobriety and Reflection

[57:34] Marc Maron:
"He was saying, you've gone far enough."
[58:22] Bubba Wallace:
"It's that Carlin acid joke. Like, we're done, button."

Marc describes the pivotal moment when he realized the extent of his addiction and the necessity to seek help.

[59:17] Marc Maron:
"I got sober in '99. Coming up on 26 next month. A lot of good stories in between those things."

He proudly shares his long-term sobriety, attributing his recovery to pivotal relationships and personal realizations.

Advice to Younger Self

[74:11] Marc Maron:
"Dude, relax. Don't be so hard on yourself. It's gonna be okay... And also like, you suck. You suck."

Marc offers heartfelt advice to his younger self, emphasizing the importance of self-compassion and resilience.

Conclusion and Final Promotions

[75:07] Marc Maron:
"My new special Panicked is available on HBO right now. Got The Bad Guys Two, Mr. Snake, and you'll see me in the Bruce Springsteen movie Road to Deliver Me from Nowhere. And Stick is always on Apple TV."

As the episode wraps up, Marc promotes his latest projects, encouraging listeners to engage with his work across various platforms.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• [08:37] Marc Maron:
  "I helped bring something great to the world. But also, I think I kind of released the Kraken as well."

• [12:34] Marc Maron:
  "I'm feeling a little relief, dude, because right now, in the culture, it's like no one ever shuts up."

• [14:40] Marc Maron:
  "Albuquerque had a pretty strong middle class... My old man was a surgeon."

• [35:33] Bubba Wallace:
  "You gotta get the..."

• [57:37] Marc Maron:
  "I packed up everything I could in my car. I paid off my drug debts. I gave away some. And I just left."

• [74:14] Marc Maron:
  "Don't be so hard on yourself. It's gonna be okay. And also like, you suck."

Final Thoughts

In this episode of The HoneyDew, Marc Maron offers an unfiltered glimpse into his past, detailing his experiences with addiction, his tumultuous relationship with Sam Kinison, and his journey to sobriety. The conversation is candid, introspective, and filled with humor, aligning perfectly with the podcast's theme of highlighting and laughing at life's lowlights. Listeners gain a deeper understanding of Marc's resilience and the pivotal moments that shaped his personal and professional life.

Transcript

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[Marc Maron]

Certified to operate by chef the Honeydew with Ryan Sickler.

[Bubba Wallace]

Welcome back to the Honeydew, y'.

[Marc Maron]

All.

[Bubba Wallace]

We're over here doing it in the night. Pant Studios. I'm Ryan Sickler. Thank you for supporting this show. Thank you for watching. I love my job and you guys are a big part of that. So thank you. And if you got to have more than you got to have the Patreon, it's called the Honeydew with y'. All. It is this show with you all. And it is, I promise you the wildest, best storytelling show on Patreon. It's five bucks. All right. It's been five bucks since day one. I won't ever change it. If you or someone you know has a story that has to be heard, please submit it to honeydew podcast gmail.com. if you're on the fence, check out the best of episodes we've put up on the free YouTube that we do with Josh Wolf. And go check those out and I promise you, you're like cup of coffee, you're in.

[Marc Maron]

All right.

[Bubba Wallace]

I am very excited. You guys know what we do here? We highlight the low lights. I always say these are the stories behind the storytellers. I'm very, very excited to have this guest on but waiting a long time hoping this would happen. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Mark Marin. Welcome to the Honeydew. Mark Marin. Thank you yourself in Dan.

[Marc Maron]

Thank you.

[Bubba Wallace]

Thank you very much for being here. Before we dive into whatever we're going to talk there, promote everything and anything you'd like, please.

[Marc Maron]

August 1st, which I think will be behind us. When you see this, my HBO special Panicked is available to watch. What else is happening? The bad guys too. If you got kids, I'm Mr. Snake. That's happening in August. I have a. There's a couple of films. I mean I'm in the show Stick.

[Bubba Wallace]

Yeah.

[Marc Maron]

With Owen Wilson on Apple tv and I've got a documentary about me which was a three year haul called Are we good? I don't know where that's going to be playing, but maybe by the time this is out you might be able to see it somewhere. And there's a. I'm in the Bruce Springsteen movie too.

[Bubba Wallace]

Are you?

[Marc Maron]

Yeah, I got a little, a little bit in there.

[Bubba Wallace]

As yourself or as a character in that?

[Marc Maron]

No, it's a very specific biopic. It's a story of the making of Nebraska and I play the engineer, Chuck Plotkin. Plotnik. Plotkin. And it's a small part, but it's a part. It's in there, you know, and Scott Cooper, the director wanted me to be in it and you know, it's kind of a. It's funny story that, that thing about being a comic and. Yeah, I've been acting a bit and I did a, a lead in an indie movie that I don't. We're waiting to see if it gets into Toronto. It was a big deal for me. And after that, you know, after being in every scene for a month, I, you know, I had to do this Springsteen movie and I re Looked at the script, and there was only like, five lines. Like, the fuck is this? I just did the lead. This is like an entry level job. I mean, why am I even doing this? Like, I'm not a diva. But it happened. And it got to the point where I contacted my manager. I'm like, why? They could get any guy to do this? And then I took it to the next step and I texted the fucking director. And I'm like, hey, Scott, I'm looking at the script again. Not a lot in there for me is, am I wrong? And, yeah, but it's so, like, what the fuck was I thinking? And he text back. It's like, hey, man, you don't have to do it. You know, we'll do something again some other time. I just thought it would be fun. And then right away, I'm like, all.

[Bubba Wallace]

Right, yeah, you unplugged you right away.

[Marc Maron]

And it was great. It was great. Because the funny thing was, is it's. It's. It's not a big part, but it's a pivotal part in the story. The guy. And we're. We're recording, we're shooting in the studio that Bruce, you know, did a lot of the work in. But the funny thing was, is that Bruce and his manager, John Landau, the actual guys are just out at Video Village. They're there the whole time.

[Bubba Wallace]

Oh, he is there.

[Marc Maron]

He's there.

[Bubba Wallace]

Okay.

[Marc Maron]

He's watching everything.

[Bubba Wallace]

And before, is he also getting a bit of a. Does he have a say? And like. Well, I think that.

[Marc Maron]

I think Cooper wants to make it right. It's a very specific story about his commitment to the sound of the analog cassette tape. That was haunting. And it is what Nebraska was. So after a lot of fits and starts and, you know, people pushing back on him, he's like, we just got to use that. We got to use the cassette tape. And they didn't have any idea how to get that onto a record with the sound quality necessary. So it's kind of the arc of an artist possessed with this sound and figuring it out. So I. My character kind of facilitates how it's figured out. But going into it, I said to Cooper, I said, look, there's not a lot of footage on this guy, and he's a real guy, and I want to do, you know, respect him and try to get it right, but I don't know where to even look. And Cooper's like, don't even worry about it. Just, you know, just figure it out how to, you know, how to be on the Board and stuff. And I'm like, okay, man, I'll just do it as I feel it. And after the first take where I'm, I'm doing it, I'm being the recording engineer, a lot of this, you know, he goes, cut. And I walk out in a video village. And Bruce goes, you got it. You're. You're, You're Chuck. And I'm like, well, that was coincidental. I must have just summoned him from somewhere. But. But Bruce is. I. I had interviewed him, so I was able. It was kind of fun. It was fun to do, but that's what's happening.

[Bubba Wallace]

Well, before we get into your story here, I want to give you your flowers. I just want to say thank you. Thank you for, you know, being one of the pioneers of this platform. I mean, you got a sitting president in your garage. You didn't have to go to him like, you got the guy to come to your garage.

[Marc Maron]

Kind of crazy.

[Bubba Wallace]

Which says a lot about both of you, actually. You know, any other president I feel like. But go yourself. Yeah, you want to talk to me?

[Marc Maron]

It was interest. Interesting. You know, I think it was a big. I think it was a big bump for the medium in general.

[Bubba Wallace]

Well, no doubt it is 100 a tipping point of this medium when, When a city. So I, I also equate it to what Clinton did with the saxophone on Arsenio. Sure, there was. Now, he wasn't a sitting president at the time. I believe he was running campaigns. I think I might be wrong.

[Marc Maron]

I'm wrong. I wouldn't have done that. I. I wouldn't have had anyone running.

[Bubba Wallace]

But he came and went on these late night shows and opened up this whole new avenue for politicians. Presidents go there. You're taking that with the medium itself, too, where a lot of people hadn't. Still hadn't heard of this thing yet and be like, now they're coming in, they realize, oh, man, there's Home and Garden, podcast and sports and arts and craft. I had no idea, you know, so, yeah, you're a huge. That, that moment is.

[Marc Maron]

I think I. It was. I helped, you know, bring something great to the world. But also, I think I kind of released the Kraken as well.

[Bubba Wallace]

Well, you can't. Not when you do something like that. You know what I mean? When you tear down the wall, they're all coming.

[Marc Maron]

Yeah, there's a few of us there. Yeah. I mean, people are always. The nerds are really like, well, there were podcasts so, you know, way back, like. Yeah, but no one knew what they were right.

[Bubba Wallace]

What's his name from mtv? The guy from.

[Marc Maron]

Yeah. Is it Mark? Not Mark. I think it was at Adam. Oh, God.

[Bubba Wallace]

With the pretty hair.

[Marc Maron]

I forget his name.

[Bubba Wallace]

He was very early on and then. Yeah.

[Marc Maron]

There was no way to listen to any of it.

[Bubba Wallace]

Right. Yeah.

[Marc Maron]

When I started, it was. Rogan came a little after me. Corolla had basically moved his radio show, but it was like Jimmy Pardo, Benson, you know, Jim. Jimmy Dore. I mean. Yeah, there were some. A few guys in our world, I think. I don't know. When Jay Moore started. Hardwick, I think, started a little after me. Rogan started a little after me. I think Jay might have started a little after me, but there was a crew there that we were all doing each other's shows. It was very supportive community back then. Still is. I think I'm here.

[Bubba Wallace]

Well, I wanted to ask you, too, like, just. It's a life change for you to walk away from something that was not only so beneficial and so great to. For yourself, for everything here. Do you feel a sense of relief? Are you a little nervous? Do you feel like there's this new chapter where you got to get into a new groove? Because for so long this has been. Yeah, I'm getting old in your fiber. I know. But do you. Are you.

[Marc Maron]

It's interesting because it's always been just me and my producer, and we do an audio podcast, and that was the way it all started. And that's what we always done. We're audio guys. You do radio, right? So the thing was.

[Bubba Wallace]

Radio station in college, bro.

[Marc Maron]

Yeah.

[Bubba Wallace]

Towson.

[Marc Maron]

Yeah. Oh, wow.

[Bubba Wallace]

Yeah.

[Marc Maron]

Damn.

[Bubba Wallace]

They wouldn't let me on the fm, brother. I wasn't allowed.

[Marc Maron]

Was it all skinnered all the time? What was it? Here's another one from ZZ Top. Some of you remember this. You're like the Pixies who. But the thing was, we never got into it. We didn't think we could make money. We weren't jamming content. We were very specific. And as the show evolved, we did a certain thing that was uniquely ours together. And he's a very brilliant guy, and he's a very meticulous producer. So I have grown to believe that. We've talked to almost everybody that I could ever imagine and then some. But the quality of the thing has maintained and the audience has maintained. And, you know, we did all right. We got in under the wire on a deal with a platform, and we. We made out okay, and I think we got what we deserved. But then it becomes like, well, we've got this complete piece of work, which is 16 years of very specific and unique years. Yeah.

[Bubba Wallace]

And you were twice a week.

[Marc Maron]

Yeah.

[Bubba Wallace]

So you're looking at 32 years. If you were to listen to one episode, that's a week. That's incredible.

[Marc Maron]

It's crazy. So when we decided we wanted to wind down, the only thing that if you've done all right and you're not about just putting content in the world and the risk is, is it going to diminish? Are we going to lose interest? I mean, it's a lot of work, and we're a little burnt out. But it really comes down to, like, if you don't have to do it, you know, like, if it's ego, you know, why not just keep doing it? Like, well, why keep doing it? I mean, Stern, you know, God bless him. What? I don't have never said that in my life, but, you know, Stern, I don't know, but. But he was on his show talking about me hanging it up, and he said, well, if Marin's burnt out, I must be dead. And I. And I don't think he sees the irony in that because there is something to. Like that. Like, is he still. Is he still doing it? You don't want to be that guy. So I think in terms of the legacy, we now have a really an amazing piece of work that maintained its integrity and quality for a long time. And it's okay.

[Bubba Wallace]

And will continue to also.

[Marc Maron]

It's okay to leave.

[Bubba Wallace]

No, it's still there to listen to forever.

[Marc Maron]

That's right. And we're going to try to find.

[Bubba Wallace]

A place and everything else.

[Marc Maron]

Well, I appreciate the. That comparison, but we're trying to find a home for the. For the catalog, but it'll always be out there. But I don't. I don't know. I do. I am feeling a little relief, dude, because right now, in the. In the culture, it's like no one ever shuts up. It's. Everyone is talking. I mean, it's like there are so many. And I'm not judging anybody, but I see that. I scroll through my. You know, sometimes on Instagram, and it's just like, you know, two to four white guys in front of mics talking about the last time they shit themselves as adults. And I'm like, is this. Is this where we are?

[Bubba Wallace]

This is what you've helped contribute to.

[Marc Maron]

It's like, you know, but nine different sets of them again, so, yeah, you're not lying. And also, like, everyone's got one now, which is it's okay. It's fine.

[Bubba Wallace]

I don't feel it all started. Everyone, once the Internet hit, everybody had the keyboard and had a say up there.

[Marc Maron]

And that's right.

[Bubba Wallace]

Everybody's got the microphone and everything. Cameras and all of it now.

[Marc Maron]

Yeah. And it's really kind of. It's not as special. And I think that we did something special and, you know, by, by, by pulling back from it, it stays special.

[Bubba Wallace]

I agree.

[Marc Maron]

And. And I'm okay with it.

[Bubba Wallace]

Yeah, I'm. I'm blown away. My first podcast, I started podcast around 2010. It was the Crab Feast and it was audio only.

[Marc Maron]

Yeah.

[Bubba Wallace]

With Jay Larson.

[Marc Maron]

And I like, I like, I like audio.

[Bubba Wallace]

We're older guys, too. I'm still an audio file, but it's still like the younger generation.

[Marc Maron]

It's still intimate, though. You know, it's like, it's a different. It's a different thing. When I was starting the thing out, like, people would come and they'd be like, I don't have to do no makeup. And I'm like, no, you don't need makeup. You can tell all those people to go home.

[Bubba Wallace]

Lights.

[Marc Maron]

It was just hanging and it was easier to get intimate and to get, you know, to get connected. Like in these guys who were doing it on zoom. I'm like, you got to stop. Yeah. Get off the zoom. I mean, it's got to be about the connection.

[Bubba Wallace]

You got to be able to talk to them and see that person, feel their energy.

[Marc Maron]

I think so.

[Bubba Wallace]

So let's jump back to the beginning here. You're from what I look up here and, you know, never all accurate.

[Marc Maron]

Sure.

[Bubba Wallace]

Jersey born. Jersey born, New Mexico raised.

[Marc Maron]

Yeah.

[Bubba Wallace]

Okay. What's that like growing up New Mexico?

[Marc Maron]

It was great. You know, it was pretty standard. You know, it's probably half a million people at that time. Albuquerque.

[Bubba Wallace]

You were in Albuquerque?

[Marc Maron]

Yep. It was about, you know, 70. Chicano, I was gonna say.

[Bubba Wallace]

Is it a good mix of. Sure. People down there, Diversity and stuff? You're not getting just white and black people and now?

[Marc Maron]

No, it was mostly, you know, white and Latino.

[Bubba Wallace]

Okay.

[Marc Maron]

But, you know, it was kind of like, it had a pretty strong middle class, you know, My old man was a surgeon, you know, and he had. He was in the service for a couple years in Alaska doing his. I guess it would have been his internship with the Air Force. And it was just like an up and coming town, so we just ended up there. But, you know, it had a big university. It was kind of a life changing. I still, I. I love it there.

[Bubba Wallace]

But you do?

[Marc Maron]

Yeah. I. I go back, my old man's still there, kind of. He's half there. It's. It's slowly fading.

[Bubba Wallace]

That one. We were talking before you recorded. I'm blown away. Both your parents are still alive and with us.

[Marc Maron]

86. Well, it had me when they were children. I mean, my mom was 22. My dad was like, 26.

[Bubba Wallace]

Are they still together?

[Marc Maron]

No, no, no, no. That. That. That's a long, complicated journey. Yeah. But I used to do a joke about it, about how my parents got divorced when. When they got divorced, I was like, you know, 35. And it was. I just didn't know who to live. A rare Marc Maron joke. Joke. But. But no, Albuquerque was great. You know, I got a nice mix of, like, just classic American townie and nice mix of, you know, kind of Chicano culture. And then I. I had a job across from the University of New Mexico, and. And there was a guy in the record store next door who turned me on all the weird art music, and there was a lot of art around. My mom was a painter, so I got a well rounded kind of education. Plenty of Skynyrd, you know, and plenty of Brian Eno. I'll go both places.

[Bubba Wallace]

Who give me one that you. You know, and a bigger Albuquerque, like somebody back then that you heard early on that became bigger later that we all didn't know. Like a Leonard Skin, dude.

[Marc Maron]

I swear to God, man. I saw AC DC with Bon Scott open for Journey at the Civic Auditorium.

[Bubba Wallace]

I mean, that's a hell of a show.

[Marc Maron]

And I. And I'll be candid, I was there to see Journey. Yeah.

[Bubba Wallace]

Who? I mean, I'm sure you were.

[Marc Maron]

And like. And then ACDC came out. You're like, what the is happening?

[Bubba Wallace]

That's Bon Scott.

[Marc Maron]

First tour. First tour.

[Bubba Wallace]

Is that right?

[Marc Maron]

The first ACDC tour. And I did some event in San Francisco at some radio event with the bass player of Journey, and he swears that they opened for them. And I'm like, no, dude, he remembers it differently. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But there's no way. Journey was huge.

[Bubba Wallace]

Yeah, yeah.

[Marc Maron]

Huge. Yeah. So, yeah, I saw them. Who else did I see? When I was a kid, we used to go like, I had friends who were. I saw the Nuge probably three times, and I didn't really like him that much, but my buddy liked him. We saw. I was there. I saw Van Halen's first tour at the Pit, but I was too fucked up. Some guy from high school, you know, gave me a pipe and I took a hit off it. And I just. I don't know what was in it, but I. I just ended up, you know, throwing up and laying on the floor. But. But they were four seats, so you were right there. Yeah, yeah.

[Bubba Wallace]

You were right where you're supposed to be.

[Marc Maron]

I took it all the way down.

[Bubba Wallace]

So this is what I wanted.

[Marc Maron]

We went to Sunday Jam 2 in Denver. We drove 10 hours in two cars. I just remember we were. We had. I worked at this restaurant. We'd gone there and kind of, you know, be af. It was either. It was probably before they opened, and we just made a bunch of sandwiches and took a bunch of shit. I just remember driving. My buddy Chris had a Maverick, a white Maverick, and I had a ship Brown B210 dotson.

[Bubba Wallace]

That's we had.

[Marc Maron]

Really?

[Bubba Wallace]

Yeah, that's my 210.

[Marc Maron]

Brown. Yeah. First car. And the whole way up, we were just throwing, like, dressing. It was just a food fight on wheels. But on that bill, we drove up there. It was. It was UFO heart. The cars, the rockets and. Oh, was there one other one? There's a weird bill, but it was all day. And you're just out there in the heat. And my buddy, he's not really my friend, but Andy, he took acid. And, you know, he was just watching that. A Mile High Stadium. There's a giant horse. And I think he was just watching the horse, you know, walk around the top. The statue of the horse was moving around. But that was, you know, growing up. We drove to Denver once before to see Richie Blackmore's Rainbow because my buddy Dave was into him. And John Cougar Mellencamp open for Richie Blackmore's Rainbow in Denver after that first John Cougar record, before he added the Melon Camp, which is a great.

[Bubba Wallace]

And then dropped a Cougar.

[Marc Maron]

Yeah, exactly. That. That one had I Need a Lover on it.

[Bubba Wallace]

Won't drive me crazy.

[Marc Maron]

Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah. So that's that.

[Bubba Wallace]

That's that scene you mentioned. A friend, a pipe, all this. Yeah. I know you've been very open about addiction and stuff. So what was the first thing that you took or that you had where you were like this.

[Marc Maron]

This is good.

[Bubba Wallace]

Yeah. And how old were you?

[Marc Maron]

Well, we were very good at, you know, drinking and driving. You know, in high school, you know, in Albuquerque, you got your driver's license at 15, is that right? Yeah, driver's life. Yeah. 14, nine months awareness permit. So we all had.

[Bubba Wallace]

It was alcohol 18 or 21 then?

[Marc Maron]

No, I think it was 21.

[Bubba Wallace]

Or maybe it was West Virginia. Like when I was.

[Marc Maron]

I think it was 21, was still.

[Bubba Wallace]

18, but I was only 14 at the time. And then it became.

[Marc Maron]

We all had these fake ideas. The funny thing about the fake ideas. Ideas were there were like, there were about four of us that used to hang out and you know, we're kids, we're 15, 16. And there was a guy that used to go to show up at parties and the way they made the fake IDs was that he had a board. You know what I'm talking about, with the cutout.

[Bubba Wallace]

Yeah.

[Marc Maron]

With the New Mexico license on it. And he'd stand with a Polaroid and then you'd go get it laminated. And that was the thing. But he couldn't change the name. So all four of us were Tom Vines. Everyone, everyone was Tom Vines. And if we were going to try to get into a bar, we had to like, space out, you know, like, you know, you go first and I'll wait for some people to go in and. But usually you're just hanging out in front of liquor stores trying to get, you know, shitty grownups to buy you booze. And they did.

[Bubba Wallace]

A lot of them did.

[Marc Maron]

They did pine a Southern. A six pack. I didn't love beer because it was too filling. So I would always get. Because I was a Keith Richards fan, I would smoke Marlboro's and I would get Jack Daniels and I don't know if you like it. I don't think I ever liked it, but. And I was always the throwing up guy. I was always the problem. You know, eventually the, the evening would kind of revolve around me because they'd have to pull me off a lawn next door, pull over and get me out of a car. But it was booze. There was some, you know, some pills around, but not dangerous pills, just yellow jackets, you know.

[Bubba Wallace]

What are yellow jackets?

[Marc Maron]

Speed.

[Bubba Wallace]

Speed.

[Marc Maron]

White cross in half the time, it wasn't even real. And I guess I did blow, you know, pretty early on.

[Bubba Wallace]

High school. We talked. Yeah, yeah.

[Marc Maron]

Oh, yeah. There's some. Definitely some blow in high school, but not. Not a massive amount. Weed was around, but I didn't love it. I didn't really. It wasn't until I did my graduate work, you know, in drug addiction, you know, once I got out of the house and it didn't. It didn't really become a. A massive problem until I came out here and was a doorman at the Comedy Store. But in. In college, I was. I was pretty. I was going at the coke pretty good.

[Bubba Wallace]

And as that was your drug of choice when you finally settled in, Was it coke?

[Marc Maron]

Yeah, coke and booze and, you know, weed was sure.

[Bubba Wallace]

Even though you didn't really like it, you just.

[Marc Maron]

Well, you know, I got, I got better at it. I, I grew to like it. I, you know, I wasn't doing shots of. Flaming shots of Southern. That.

[Bubba Wallace]

Yeah.

[Marc Maron]

Or chugging half pints of.

[Bubba Wallace]

What do you.

[Marc Maron]

Jack Daniels. I think I went through a lot of different booze. You know, vodka was, I think, the easiest. You know, that was always good, mixed good. And then, you know, if you really develop a taste, you can drink it straight. Right before I got sober, I started to understand scotch. I stuck with bourbon. You know, bourbon was always around. I used to like bourbon, but I wouldn't drink it straight. You know, just mix it up. But it wasn't until the problem, I think, really happened out here. And I've told the story before because it's, it's a great, it's, it's a kind of a great story for drugs, but also for the Comedy Store, for kind of, you know, you know, hero worship in a way or being part of a celebrity situation that goes south. A lot of lessons were learned, you know, because when I came out here, I'd been in college, you know, five years. I was on a five year plan. Fortunately, my parents, you know, had money and didn't want me in the house, so I, I took that extra year and. But I was doing a lot of blow and drinking and I thought I was, you know, like the real deal. You know, when you're younger, you're like, I'm the, I'm like you. I'm. I'm hard, man. And I'm wearing, you know, like mirror sunglasses and.

[Bubba Wallace]

Are you a doorman at the time or you already.

[Marc Maron]

Well, that's what happened. So I come out here after college, I go back to New Mexico for the summer. I'm doing, I'm doing coke and I think I'm good at it. And drinking. Yeah, drinking and, and, yeah, yeah. No, I had not done any comedy a little bit in college, but, you know, I didn't stick with it. You know, one summer I was drinking pretty heavy then too. When I first started doing comedy, that was probably. I did a thing in college with another guy in a team thing, 84. And he went on to be a, you know, he's a big movie director. And then I tried solo the summer of 84, 85. And I. Doing open mics and stuff, but I didn't, I didn't stick with it. And I waited till I graduated to. To come out here. So I come out here to la and I want to be a comic, and I don't know where. How do you even start that? How do you even do it? And I go to the improv and I go to the Comedy Store doing what I think are auditions, but they were probably just open mics. But I remember I did the Monday at the Comedy Store, and Mitzi was there, and I had, like, three minutes, but it never went anywhere. I didn't even know how to follow up on it. So I. I started doing work as a. As a pa, you know, just getting, like, getting in that. That circuit where you just get on shoots and you do shit work. There's a funny drug story with that. I was. I was a PA on something called Kid Songs. They were making videos for kids and they had themes, and this one was a circus theme, so. So the Circus Vargas was docked out there in the valley somewhere. So it's just that, you know, they're just buying time and feeding tigers and shit out there. The heat. Yeah. Yeah. And I'm out there, like, you know, half. You know, half awake and drinking all night, and I'm just running around getting coffee for people, but they're doing all. They have kids there and a director, and the clowns are there. I remember one night, one day after we shot the clowns, there were two clowns, and they're like, you want to come back to our trailer, get high? I'm like, yeah, yeah. So I go to this, like, little trailer where these clowns live, and. And they sit down and pull bag on these, rolling the joint. I'm like, oh, wait, wait, wait. You got to take the makeup off.

[Bubba Wallace]

Wait, they're still in costume right now.

[Marc Maron]

Yeah. Like, I don't think I can handle it. Yeah, I'd like to.

[Bubba Wallace]

You can't get high with clown.

[Marc Maron]

No, dude. Yeah, obvious. Be scared. Yeah, I can't handle it. So.

[Bubba Wallace]

Watching clowns do blow.

[Marc Maron]

Yeah. Yeah, it was. We were just smoking weed, but it would have been good with the blow, so. Oh, so what happens is this. This is a drug story. It's all the way through it, right? So, you know, I get a job as a PA on some shoot that Mitzi's doing. She was doing. She was trying to make a comedy channel, so she was doing this whole series of skits and sketches with all the comics of that time where you probably wouldn't even know a lot of them, you know, like Karen Haber, Danny Stone. Charlie Burnett, you know, Joey Cayman, Jan Hart. They're all these. The crew from the late 80s there. Because this was like, what was it? 86, I think. Let me get that right, see? 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 86, 87, 81, 82. I think it was 87. Right. So I'm on this. Yeah, I think that's right. So I'm. I'm on a shoot that she's producing. I'm the PA and I realize it's my moment, you know, I see her and I go up to her, I go, mitzi, I'm Mark Marin. Do you remember me? I auditioned for you. You know, this was like weeks and weeks after. And she goes, oh, yeah, you, you're funny. You can be the head. The do man. You can be a head. No, she said you'd be the doorman. And I didn't even know what that meant. She'd go, go talk to Becker, which was her assistant, Mike Becker. So I go to Becker and I'm like, she just said I could be a doorman. And he's like, okay, do you want to be the head doorman? I'm like, what do I got to do? Well, you just got to do the schedule for the rest of the doorman. I'm like, okay, but you had to be a comic to be a doorman. That was a system. So now I got the gig as a doorman. So now I'm in at the store and also the head doorman, which was a pain in the ass because like, you know, she's opening a place out in Universal City and I got to get all these, like these gypsies, like these guys, they. She's like, yeah, get them all black jackets. I'm like, where the am I going to find some D? I'm down Chinatown trying to buy these guys jackets. Who are those guys? It was like J. Pope Mitch. What the hell was that guy's name? A lot of they're gone. Rod Blackman. So. So I'm in. And that. You're a non paid regular when you're a doorman. And I had to. It was so funny because there were other guys who were non paid regulars in the Belly Room used to just be for non paid regulars. There was no produce shows, no nothing. It was all in house. And usually to get people into the Belly Room, you'd hang around that door in the hallway to the main room and they do two shows or three shows in the main room. And when people were leaving through the Back you'd be like, come on, come on upstairs. More comedy. And I remember that in order to get like stage time in the.

[Bubba Wallace]

And so they didn't have to pay a separate fee once you're in, you.

[Marc Maron]

It was like strictly development for non paids. Yeah. But I remember I had an audition.

[Bubba Wallace]

I'm sorry, I mean, as a fan, I'm leaving the show. I don't have to buy a ticket. You're just saying, hey, yeah, if you want more, we got free comedy.

[Marc Maron]

That's right. Exactly. Totally. And. But I remember I had to audition for another comic to do time in the belly. Yeah. Because they. Each of them had their nights, you know. Yeah. And I remember I had to audition for this guy, Christopher Wheel, who. I don't know what happened to that guy. He used to have a banjo that had an applause sign on it that he could light up. Anyway, he said, you got to do a few minutes if you want to be on my show. And literally I did a few minutes for just him in the belly. It was fucking nuts. All right, so here's what happens at that time, you know, Sam Kenison was. He hadn't broke huge yet, but, you know, he was about to and whatever that mythology with him in the stories. But I had seen him on TV and I didn't like him that much. I thought it was a gimmick, you know, the screaming thing. And he wasn't really my. My, My bag. But, you know, he was kind of the, you know, that the. The comedy story is very susceptible to charismatic egos. You know, the guys can take it over and it happens. And at this time, he was sort of that guy. But he was on the road when I got the gig and I met Carl labow, his best friend.

[Bubba Wallace]

Carl.

[Marc Maron]

Yeah. And you know Carl, you're. You're the new head door guy, huh? And I'm like, yeah. He goes, we're all doormen. And I'm like, okay. He's like, so you're part of it now. And I'm like, all right, dude. And he goes, I'm going to give you a present. I'm like, what's happening? And he gives me a watch. He takes a watch, not a good one, off his wrist. He goes, now you're. You're. You're like one of us. You're in. And Sam was on the road at the time. I don't know where he was, but maybe he was shooting a movie, but that. I met Carl first and it was already weird. And because I was a doorman you know, you're. You're up for judgment. You know, you're. You're. You're a comer, right? So Sam comes back and at this point, the alcohol. So I was living out here in Culver City with my buddy Steve, and. And then he wanted to move his buddy Pete Bergen, the director, who was just a kid then. And they moved me to the couch and I was being treated like, you know, I was kind of. They were kind of being shitty to me. And I got, you know, I got kicked out of there kind of. And I moved down the hall in the same building to this woman's house who needed a roommate. And within a week, I, you know, drank all her booze. And, you know, within three weeks, you know, there was an intervention. She, you know, brought her friends and her boyfriend over and said, you got to leave. And I talked to Becker and he's like, well, you can live up in Cresthill, you know, which is the house behind the comedy Store that Mitzi owned for comics. But supposedly we had to pay rent. I don't think I ever did, but we're supposed to. So I'm living in Crest Hill, I'm a doorman. And then Sam comes back from the road and he comes up to me. He's like, so you're the guy? You're the new guy? And I'm like, yeah, man. He's like, well, what are you doing where you live in. I'm told him up. Up. Up in Crest Hill. And like, really? One of the first times I met Sam, he comes up to Crest Hill with like, you know, an eight ball or a couple grams. And we're just sitting there, just me and him. And that's the first time I met this. And I think I'm a professional blow guy, but this is graduate level, dude. So. So me. So me and Sam, you know, he's. And Sam's like, do you know his stuff? He's intense, dude.

[Bubba Wallace]

Yeah, I am a massive.

[Marc Maron]

Okay, so Sam's like, Sam is Sam, you know, all the time.

[Bubba Wallace]

He really is that. You say you thought it was a gimmick, so I'm saying even off.

[Marc Maron]

Well, what I learned about him is like, the gimmick was, you know, Steve Pearl. Well, I'll tell you so. So I'm up at Crest Hill with Sam and he's putting coke out.

[Bubba Wallace]

Just the two of you?

[Marc Maron]

Just two of us. And it's late, you know, it's after the shows. And he comes up there and he's like, look me in the eye, man. You know, I'm just like this angry Jewish kid, you know, from New Mexico who thinks he's. He's the. And I got my long hair and my John Lennon glass. Yeah. Look me out and look at me in the eye, Marin. Can't trust a man. Don't look me in the eye. And I'm like, all right, we're doing this. I'm looking Sam in the eye, and he's. He's chopping lines. He's like, I'm gonna see.

[Bubba Wallace]

He's already probably coked out of his mind.

[Marc Maron]

Yeah. There. He's intense. And, you know, and he's like, I'm gonna save you some time. I'm like, okay. You know, we're just doing blow. And then he's like. He's telling me there's supposedly lessons to be learned. Then out of nowhere, he's like, you ever burned money? I have not burned money. So we're gonna burn some money. Yeah. So he pulls out, like, a wad of cash. We're just sitting there burning money. And I'm like, all right. I don't know what I'm learning.

[Bubba Wallace]

This is your.

[Marc Maron]

And we're burning money. We're getting jacked. And so we're. We're gacked, dude. And we run out of blow. It's like 2 or 3 in the morning. He's like, we gotta get some more blow, right? She goes, let's go. And I'm like, where are we going? He's like, you got a car? I'm like, yeah. So we get in my Toyota. I go, a little Toyota then. And we're driving down Sunset. And the dealer was right over there on Crescent Heights. Down Sunset. Take a right on Crescent Heights. Those apartments right there. His name was Greg. And Greg doesn't know Sam's coming. So it's like the middle of the night. And Sam's, like, jamming on the intercom. It's me, man. You got anything? You know, like, what is happening, right? So I'm like. And, like, we're in the car was so funny, because we're in the car and Sam's, like, all drunk and coke. And he's, like, going in and out. And he, like, he. I remember he jumps up, he looks at me, he goes, I don't even know you. You could kill me. And I'm like. I'm like, where are we going, dude? Where are we going?

[Bubba Wallace]

He's worried about you.

[Marc Maron]

So we get. So we're pushing on the scene. You just hear this guy on the other end of the intercom, like, hello. And like, it's me. You got anything? Let me up. So we go up and this guy who was actually a hairdresser during the day down on Melrose.

[Bubba Wallace]

Hilarious, by the way.

[Marc Maron]

Yeah. Who has a roommate, a woman roommate. And we get up there and Greg's in his bathroom. He's like, what do you got? Just be quiet. Don't wake my roommate up. So we go into the back, he's like, you got anything? And give Sam a bend or half gram probably. And Sam's doing coke and he's like, got any booze? And all Greg had was those miniatures from the airplane. So Sam just like sits down on the floor and he's like, got a little miniature vodka. He's drinking it. And I'm like, yeah, nice to meet you, man. You know? And then Sam just goes out.

[Bubba Wallace]

He just passes the out at his disguise place.

[Marc Maron]

And I'm like, all right, well, I guess I'm gonna go. And the guy goes, you're not leaving him here. And I'm like, what do you want me to do? He's like, I don't want him to pull a belushi on me. I'm like, I'm big hearted guy. So now I gotta can get the, you know, Kenison up. And he was a, you know.

[Bubba Wallace]

Yeah, that's not easy.

[Marc Maron]

Yeah. And I get him into the car and I take him back to Cresto and he literally sweeps on the floor in the living room, like just, you know, face down on the floor in front of. And he used to sleep there a lot because we had a lot of parties up there. He liked to sleep on the floor.

[Bubba Wallace]

He did.

[Marc Maron]

Even in his house. Yeah, she's sleeping on the floor. So that was my first encounter with him. And then I was sort of in the. Now I was in the group. I wasn't part of the entourage, but somehow was in the group because I was the, you know, point guy at the store. So back then there was. It was like no cover night. I can't remember if it was Sunday or Monday, but there was one night that all the rooms were no cover. And that was like a shit show. All the freaks came in from all over Hollywood. All the metal guys from the Roxy and the True and the other one, Gazaris, and all the porn people, all the druggies and weirdos would come because that was Sam's night, man. Like, it was like no cover. And around 11:30 he'd roll in, hit the main room stage. And that's where, you know, he was doing that rock and roll. And that's where he became big. So my job became, you know. And I used to say, like, you know, we used to walk around. There was a couple of us lived up at the house, me and fat Todd. And Schubert was around some other people. But, like, I used to say, like, I can feel him coming, man. He's almost here, you know. And Sam would show up with Carl and whoever, you know, drug dealer, whoever porn star, he would come up to me and he'd go, like, all right, man, we're going to come to the house later. He'd give me like 300 bucks and I'd go down to the paint job back then, too. Yeah, well, it wasn't for coke. It was just to get cigarettes, get booze, get the mixers. And, like, you know, over time, I realized, like, we got to hide shit because it's going to go on for a while and there's going to be a lot of stragglers up there. A lot of weirdos are going to come. And I didn't. It was Mitzi's house. And I'm like, yeah, come on. And Tamayo Otsuki, who was a comic that Sam used to date, lived upstairs. So most of the time, after two nights of being up, Sam would just be pounding on her door. Tomayo. It was crazy. So we go up there, I go get booze, and like, you know, everyone I knew what everybody wanted, and I go set up the store for after this the set up the house for after the store closed. And he come up with who the knew who. Sometimes comics, sometimes weirdos, sometimes people that would steal. And we just do those runs, man. We do two or three days just doing blow, just up. And that was the thing, right? And that went on a lot, and it became a little weird. Becker used to call us the Manson family. You know, Mitzi was kind of getting upset because she would still think it was a nice house. And sometimes, like one time she bought us, you know, you know, she had new wicker furniture delivered to the house and, you know, in, like, lounge chairs with umbrellas for the. The patio. And, like, what is she like, we, you know, within weeks we were like, there was a gas fireplace and we're burning the wicker furniture, and the umbrellas on the lounge chairs were busted within days. And she's like, what the fuck is happening up there? And, like, it was crazy. And it was a fairly condensed period of time. But what started to happen, what led to me getting sober the first time, was I still had to work, man. I had to drive the fucking Jeep for her. I do the phones, so I'm doing the phone some days and some days I'm driving the Jeep, going to get her chicken salad or driving, you know, axe to the Burbank so they could go to the dunes when she had a room out there. So I get up on one hour sleep and I go down the Jeep and like, I'd see John Mendoza and John Campanera going like, what the fuck, man? We're late. And I'm like, sorry, man. I'm like, oh, shit. No gas. It was a fucking nightmare. I used to go over to Steve Pearl and Steve Kravitz's house because I needed to nap because. And they lived in Hollywood, the comics. I remember it was very funny. One time I was. I went over to their house during the day with the Jeep and I went. We went to 7 11. I got one of them, you know those vitamin packs.

[Bubba Wallace]

Yeah.

[Marc Maron]

They used to sell.

[Bubba Wallace]

Yeah.

[Marc Maron]

And I bought a vitamin pack and I had it in my hand. I'm with Pearl and I'm like, I don't even know what's in these things. And he goes, you would pick shards of glass out of a half gram of blow. But you're worried about the vitamin 711 pack. Yeah. So. Because I wasn't sleeping, dude, I started to get psychosis and I was already a little freaked out. I was hanging out with heavy dudes. Pretty demonic. The. The store kind of felt as it was a little Satany. Because Kennison was a little Satany. Yeah. And the people that were around, all the ghosts. That's right.

[Bubba Wallace]

Building.

[Marc Maron]

And now I'm starting to lose my mind. I'm starting to, you know, I. Like, it wasn't even a conspiracy theory. Some mystical universe I was living in. I thought, you know, Sam was a, you know, agent of chaos. And the Howie would tower, you know the towers at the hotel. Sunset Tower.

[Bubba Wallace]

Yeah.

[Marc Maron]

That was all gutted because they were renovating it. So it was this big concrete gray structure that was empty. And on top of it, it's still there. There's like an altar up there. It's an altar structure. And I would stand on the fucking front porch of the Comedy Store out of my mind, going, like, something's going to go down. The end of the world's going to start up on that altar, you know? And I was like. It was. I was out of my mind, dude. It was bad. And I was hearing voices and it was up.

[Bubba Wallace]

Really?

[Marc Maron]

Yeah.

[Bubba Wallace]

There.

[Marc Maron]

And it was Like, I. It got. It got a little weird and got a little scary, but I was. I was hanging on because I thought, you know, I. I thought I had a job in the mystical. You know, Like, I thought I, you know, I was going to be delivered some information that could possibly change the course of history. That's where I was at. And it got to the point where I was sleeping in my closet, you know, because it was. Got too scary. And I didn't know when those idiots were going to come and make me get up and do blow. I didn't have anything to come down. You know, like, a lot of them had, like, mandrakes or downers or stuff. And I think there was even maybe some dope around. I don't know. But I knew that other people were sleeping. I was not. And I was. I was drifting. This was going on for a while. And, you know, I would put it up Sam's ass a bit because I knew, like, eventually you want these people out of the house, and I was living there. And I knew his breaking point. And I would, you know, I would kind of push his buttons. And I was getting under his skin, and I knew that, but I. You know, it was. That's the only reason why I have any sort of personality, is I have enough fuck you and me to, you know, try not to, you know, get totally absorbed. And, you know, so what happens is there's a lot of this going on and it all gets weird. But there was this Satanist guy that used to hang around. His name was Dave. And he was like, he's a heroin junkie. And. And he, you know, he had like a pet, like a pentagram tattooed over his heart and like, oh, nice mark of the Beast on his arm. But he looked like Christopher Walk. And he was. He was not, like a physically threatening guy, but he was a creepy guy. Is he a comic? No, no, he just used to hang around. You know, he'd show up and, you know, he was. There was a lot of fixtures around that place. Always had that. That kind of vibe. I remember it was funny. That one funnier part was the. The room I lived in in Crest Hill used to be Dice's. And one time Dice came up, he's like, you living in this room? You ever get a blow job in the tub? And I'm like, no. He's like, oh, you gotta get a blow job in the tub. Like, all these people were around, you know, and some nights, like, there were. Like, one night, Ted Nugent came up to the house and we all had to not do. Cos he's straight, you know, so everybody had to behave and like hang out with the nude. And there were a lot of stars that would come around. I remember one time Tommy Lee from Motley Crue came up to the house and I was like, what would a 15 year old want to do? And I'm like, we got to do blow off the back of my guitar. So I'm sitting there with my Telecaster, you know, doing lines of Tommy Lee, that kind of shit. But so Dave London, the Satanist. Sam didn't like him, you know, because, you know, Sam was, you know, Mr.

[Bubba Wallace]

Satan and also comes from that religious background as well.

[Marc Maron]

Yeah, I think Sam really thought that. I think he believed, like he believed, you know, a couple. There were a couple pretty, pretty good lessons. Like shortly before the hit the fan. I think Sam was still a preacher in his mind and that he believed that, you know, if he had enough time to get in under the wire, he could.

[Bubba Wallace]

I believe you.

[Marc Maron]

Yeah. Yeah. And because he. Some guy just wrote an article and there's another brother. There's, you know, there's Bill and Kevin who killed himself and then there's another one who was a pretty popular preacher for a long time.

[Bubba Wallace]

Yeah, he was the oldest one, the cockeyed one.

[Marc Maron]

Yeah, yeah. And I didn't know about him, but I was around when Kevin killed himself and Bill was always kind of around.

[Bubba Wallace]

There's some old stuff on YouTube too, of Sam preaching before.

[Marc Maron]

Yeah, I saw some of that. Yeah. Yeah. But what was I going to tell you? The.

[Bubba Wallace]

The demonist, the devilist.

[Marc Maron]

Well, that guy. But like right before every real. The really hit the fan. Carl had a white wife, Christy, who went on to, you know, posse after Sam died. She had. I believe she had Sam's kid and I think that's real.

[Bubba Wallace]

I met Carl and he did share that story.

[Marc Maron]

Yeah. And the Kenison's never copped to it.

[Bubba Wallace]

The way. The way he told me was they were all out partying while she's giving birth and then they come back to the hospital and.

[Marc Maron]

And.

[Bubba Wallace]

Or maybe they're at a show, Carl comes in and during childbirth she says this is Sam's baby or something like that. This is Carl telling me this before he passed and.

[Marc Maron]

But Sam was already dead, right?

[Bubba Wallace]

He was, yeah. And no, no, he was not.

[Marc Maron]

Okay.

[Bubba Wallace]

No, no, not when the baby was born. He was not dead. She said this and the doctor tells him, listen, your wife or girlfriend is under a lot of Medici. Don't even listen to what they'll say the wildest thing and he doesn't. But then after a couple of years, Sam passes and the daughter starts to look a lot like.

[Marc Maron]

Yeah.

[Bubba Wallace]

Carl actually was gonna watch my words. I don't want to say pioneering, but Carl was a big leader in. So he got stuck paying child support.

[Marc Maron]

That's right. Yeah. Yeah, I know. For his whole life, I interviewed.

[Bubba Wallace]

He was. You know, he went down to the courts here in LA and was fighting and was legally. So I actually. I'm pretty proud of this. When he first came back to California, after all of it, I'm. We're talking years later, I gave him his first spot at the Hollywood Improv on one of my shows, because I knew who he was. I didn't know that.

[Marc Maron]

I remember when he came back.

[Bubba Wallace]

Yeah, he was like, kind of living in great office, I think, like off the book, so that he could keep working and not be docked.

[Marc Maron]

Yeah, a great comic.

[Bubba Wallace]

Great.

[Marc Maron]

He was funnier than.

[Bubba Wallace]

Sam would get up. I'd see him do an hour, and I think he's gonna come do the same set. He'd do a whole nother hour.

[Marc Maron]

He was great. It's almost like performing. Sorry. The Adventures of Red West, Elvis's best friend.

[Bubba Wallace]

But he ends up. You're right. His daughter is his daughter. It's Sam's. And.

[Marc Maron]

And Christy was kind of. Kind of kooky and intense. But they were kind of this weird trio. They were all. Each other. Because, like, that's the thing I said. Because it wasn't a situation where his best friend, his wife.

[Bubba Wallace]

Right.

[Marc Maron]

Like, at the time, he was like.

[Bubba Wallace]

Well, we were pregnant.

[Marc Maron]

Yeah. That kind of thing. Yes. But anyway, so leading up to it, because Carl, like, you know, they were all. They. It was. They were intense dude. And Sam was kind of a. A meanie, you know. But I remember there was one time I was just, like, hanging out in the parking lot of the Comedy Store during the day because I lived in the house and I'd go make coffee and I listen to my CDs in the OR. I lived at the place. And out of nowhere, Sam and Carl on the road. Christie shows up in a new RX7. And she's like, you want to go for a ride? My new car. I'm like, all right. Get high. Okay. So we're driving around the Hoen smoking weed in her new RX7. Then she drops me off at the. At the store, and I'm like, all right, whatever. Like, then they all come back from the road, and Carl's all Bitchy. He's not. He's like, icing me. And. And like, the. Is happening. And, you know, Sam takes me out in the parking lot. It was at night, and he's got his arm around me, goes marin. You never want to put yourself in a position where a man has to trust you. Because I'd ridden his dumb car, like, whatever, you know, like, all right, weirdos. So I'm not the one. Friends, I love your impression.

[Bubba Wallace]

I could hear him saying like, this to you with his little head wrapped and crazy.

[Marc Maron]

I used to love with that guy. But anyway, so here's what happens. This is where. This is the. The first bottom with the drugs. Because I'm. I'm gone, dude. And, like, the night of Sam's HBO special premiered, you know, that first special which really made him that in the record. And we all go to Carl's house. I remember I go over there with Richard Belzer, because I'm hanging around the parking lot again, and Bells, I'm like, are you going over to Carl's? He's like, I'm not, unless you're going. So I get into the elevator. El Dorado. Bells used to drive this El Dorado. He's great. He used to have a certain type of weed back when, you know, you still had to look for good weed. He used to call it. I said, how's this weed? He's like, it's the Hammer. He used to call it the Hammer. So we get high. We're driving over to Carl's. I just remember we pull up right as Sam's crossing the street with some, you know, kind of druggie girl. And Bells are just guns it for Sam. Like, just guns it. And Sam didn't know who he was. And, like, literally, it scared the out of him. And he comes around the car, and he sees it's Bowser. He goes, oh, it's you. And Belzer says, yeah, I did that to Belushi once, too. Look what happened to him. I used to love when people could fuck with Sam. Belzer didn't give a fuck. So was the funniest thing about that thing is, like, everyone was gacked. And Christie had ordered, like, a million pieces of sushi that no one could even think about eating because everyone's up blow. So sushi was just sitting there. So after the HBO special, Sam brings all his guitars and shit up to the house and we jam out on the patio. I couldn't keep up with them. They. They were like, Sam could play. Yeah, yeah, he could play guitar pretty good. And. And. And Carl too. That's right.

[Bubba Wallace]

He did the Wild Thing video and all that.

[Marc Maron]

That was the downside.

[Bubba Wallace]

That was. He really did play.

[Marc Maron]

Yeah. Okay. Yeah, I think he always wanted to, but he could never figure out. I used to ask him, like, you ever do guitar in the act? He's like, I never could figure out how to. And put it in there, you know, without being hack. And then like, yeah, the music stuff. And that first record is the record, you know, in the HBO special that. That was it. Yeah. So we'd have this big jam session up there and, you know, Sam leaves the gear up there, his guitars, and. And I put him in my room, you know, for safety, lock him in the room. And I can't remember, it's the day after or that night, you know, a lot. There was a lot of little events, but this was the main event. And I've. I've told this story a couple times publicly. So we're gonna do a party up at the house. You know, I go set the house up and, you know, his guitars are still in the bedroom. And so a bunch of people come up and one of them's the Satanist, Dave London, who Sam doesn't like, you know, and we're all at the table. We just sit at that big table and do the blow. And there's a good crowd of people. A couple of things happened that night. There was this little guy, George, he used to be the booker, and he was kind of a. A, you know, a little. A little wormy guy, but he was up there too. And I don't know, he pissed Sam off somehow. And it was already. It got a weird vibe. It was like an Altamont vibe, like something wasn't right, you know, and your drugs weren't working and was going down. Yeah. And, you know, little George pisses Sam off and Sam throws a drink in his face and punches him. And I'm like, what the is that? Yeah. So he splits and then we're all sitting at the table and Creepy Dave is there. And I think that georging might have been. That was just weight that Sam fought. You know, drink first and then. Then a punch. So it might have been another night, because in the middle of the. I don't know what day it was in this. In this bender here. But Creepy Dave the Satanist goes, you know, you're not a real Satanist, Just Sam. You know, I'm going to tell. I'm going to tell Anton lavey about you, the Anton Levay, the head of the Satanic Church who was like a carnival huckster and whatever. It was just dumb Satanist problems. So.

[Bubba Wallace]

Just some Satanist.

[Marc Maron]

So, you know, Sam lunges over the table and throws a drink in the guy's face, grabs his collar, clocks him, and it's quite chaos. I'm like, what the. And then I'm like. I say to Dave, I'm like, you gotta get out of here, dude. It's. You know, this is insane. It's all insanity. And he's like, he's not leaving, so I don't know why, but I put him in my bedroom and I kind of locked him in there. I said, just be cool until this guy. We can break this up. But it's all crazy. And then I split because I got. Picked my buddy up, my buddy Bill de Donna. I got to pick him up at the airport. He's coming in from Boston, and I gotta go get him. And they're all. You know, they're all. It's all crazy. So I leave the guy in my bedroom. I leave whatever's going on there. I gotta go to the airport. Airport. So I go pick up Bill and. And, you know, I sweep it at his hotel, you know, on the couch. Because I didn't want to go back. It was too fucked up. And I'm telling him what's going on. I'm telling him, you know, Candace, I'm pretty tight with him, and, you know, we're just doing blow. And she's like, really? I. So we go sleep at the hotel, and I'm like, let's go back up to the house. It's morning now. We get there, and he's. He's still. Sam's still at the table.

[Bubba Wallace]

He's still there.

[Marc Maron]

Yeah. And this is. Most people had gone. There was a weird. I remember who was there, but I don't mention names because it was the end of the road for. For one of them who. Like that. That night. Her up to the degree where she never looked at drugs again. She's a comic. There's a couple other people there. And I walk in with my buddy Bill, and. And I see them all there, and I. I don't remember. I saw. But, like, I. I showed in my room first, and the door had been kicked in, and my bed's all up and all the gear is gone. What the happened? So I walk into the. I walk into the. The dining room where the table is, and I go, what's going on? And my buddy Bill and Sam goes, I pissed on your bed, Marin. And I'm like, what? Because I pissed on your bed, man. I'm like, why? And he goes, because you let that weirdo sleep with my guitars. This is how weird it got, Ryan. Yeah. And I'm like, what? What? And then, according to Schubert, and I hope it's true, I then turned to my friend Bill and said, I told you I knew him.

[Bubba Wallace]

The same thing. This is a guy going, this is.

[Marc Maron]

So hilarious. It. After that. After that, you know, I didn't sweep in the bed again. I went over to Crackholes. It was like. It was a. It was. You know, it was, like, territorial up, you know? You know, and I was like, well, all this, you know, and I'm already here. Like, I'm already sleeping in the closet. So, you know, I go to Kravitz's because he's out of town. So I'm sweeping over there, and I'm like, what the. And I'm kicked out of the group. You know, Like, Kennison, they're all icing me. And there was this drug dealer that they all used to deal with, Magid. That was another guy, dude, this Palestinian dude, Magic, he used to do. He used to. He's Sammy. To take him on the road because he was one of those guys, you know, no matter where you landed, he'd go find it, you know?

[Bubba Wallace]

Oh, yeah, yeah. He's that guy.

[Marc Maron]

Yeah. I remember one time I did a run with him. It was highlighting.

[Bubba Wallace]

Wait, I'm sorry. Sam would just take that guy and be like, like, you go find us coke while we're here.

[Marc Maron]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Bubba Wallace]

That's hilarious, dude. What a job.

[Marc Maron]

He was always around, man. You know? And, like, I remember one night, we were up at the house. It was a big night for me, you know, because Magic was like. The backstory on Magic, supposedly was that he, you know, he had been in. He was a Palestinian. He'd fought against Israel in the Six Day War. And then he came here and became a citizen, went to Vietnam. Oh. And I don't know if it's true, but the story was that, you know, one time he was on the ground, and they were in the. And the choppers were, you know, gonna come in and get him, but they said, it's too hot. We can't get in there. And Magic said, well, I got you in my sight, so it's your call. Like, that was the myth of Magic. But now he's like this. He always used to say, it's only rock and roll, man. You know, like, heavy dude. But I remember one night, you know, we ran out of coke at the party. And Magic was like, I'll go get more coke. And I'm like, can I. You want me to drive you? Where are we going? It's like three in the morning. He's like, no, no, I don't think you should come. I'm like, no. So we drive out into middle of the night, and he. Can we pull up at a house? I remember where it was. And I'm waiting for him. He goes in. He comes back in the car, and he's got, like, a half ounce. He's like, you got a magazine or something in here? And I'm like, yeah, you know, I found you, like, some magazine in the back. Back. He's just ripping off squares to make bindles. And he's eyeballing it. He's eyeballing half grams and grams with his fingers. And then he. Like, he's got this half ounce of coke, and I just see him like, Scarface it. Two fingers, like you would just. And I'm like, what, man? And I look at him like, can I. Can I do it? And I'm like, yeah, living it, man. I'm living it. Yeah. So anyway, so what happens? So I get kicked out of the group and I lose my. In the parking lot of the Comedy Store. Like, I just kind of break down because I'm out of my mind and I'm breaking glasses, and I'm like, all you. This place. Satan, you know, whatever. And. And Schubert, you know, Schubert comes out. And he had kind of gotten sucked into the crew too. He had been with Dice. And then he. We went south, and he was with. With. With them. And he's like, dude, you gotta chill out, man. You gotta chill out. It's all right. It's gonna be all right. I'm like, you know, you. You're one of them. You know, I'm losing it. And then the drug dealer, Magic pulls up and. And I go, hey, man, it's all up. I'm out of the group. They kick me out, man. I don't know what the I'm gonna do. And, you know, Magic's just sort of like, yeah, you gotta. Gotta get out of here. Do your own thing, you know, when the drug dealer tells you to leave.

[Bubba Wallace]

It is time to go.

[Marc Maron]

He's just like, yeah, yeah, you gotta get.

[Bubba Wallace]

You gotta get the.

[Marc Maron]

Out here. So. So I go back to Kravitz's, and I remember I'm laying in my bed, and I swear to you, dude, because I always had this ethic about Drugs that if I ever lost my mind, like, you're gonna know this. Time to pull back. I always had that in my head that, like, you know, if you can't. But I remember I was laying in bed and I'm listening to the voices. I used to do a joke about it. I used to do a joke. It was like when you hear voices in your head, it's never one, it's always many. And you spend a lot of time trying to get them to pick a leader, you know? So. So I'm laying in my bed and I'm. I'm thinking like, you know, like, how far out can I go, man? I swear to you. A voice like, clear, like outside of my head said, you've gone far enough. Yeah. Yeah. So I packed up everything.

[Bubba Wallace]

It's that Carlin acid joke. Like, we're done, button. Yeah, yeah. You don't need to keep doing it. That's the word.

[Marc Maron]

Done. That's right. So I packed up everything I could in my car. I paid off my. My drug debts. I gave away some. And I just left.

[Bubba Wallace]

Cold turkey right there.

[Marc Maron]

For your first job. I'm like, I. Like, I was pretty sure I was going to be chased. I didn't know by what either by Sam and those weirdos or. Or mystical forces. Like, I was like, way out and.

[Bubba Wallace]

Where are you going?

[Marc Maron]

I was like, I'm gonna go to Tucson because my brother's there.

[Bubba Wallace]

Okay?

[Marc Maron]

He's in school out there. And I'm like, it. I just need. I need a break. So I'm driving to Tucson. I remember, like, I see one of the worst car accidents I ever saw in my life. On the road. There's bodies. And I'm like, all right, this is sign. I gotta get some rest. So I pull off, you know, between here and Tucson. I'm in like a Motel 6. I got six pack and there's no blow. I remember Lauren Green is on tv and I'm like, I don't know what. This is it, man. I'm going down. And I get out to Tucson and I go to my brothers. I'm like, dude, I'm fucking. You know, I'm in trouble. And he's like, fuck, dude, I'm graduating. We're gonna party. I'm like, new crew. Okay? You know, so I'm back. Yeah.

[Bubba Wallace]

That'S hilarious.

[Marc Maron]

But I go home. I go home and I eventually get back to Albuquerque. I tell my parents I'm gone. I'm like, I'm in trouble.

[Bubba Wallace]

How old are you at this point?

[Marc Maron]

Too 22 maybe, right? 23. Yeah. And. And I'm like, you know, I'm just gone. And I'm like, I, I got, I gotta go to rehab. I need help. So they checked me into an inpatient program in my own town, which is kind of weird. So I'm at the care unit doing 28 days. And at that time I had to wear certain rings because of the mystical, and I always had to have a skull on my shirt for protection. I was gone.

[Bubba Wallace]

Yeah, gone.

[Marc Maron]

But I get, you know, I get, I get, I get through it and I get sober and I get chubby. And it was kind of funny rehab and.

[Bubba Wallace]

Can I ask you about the food at rehab? It's just starchy because everyone that's ever sat in that chair that's gone to like some kind of rehab or something swears that the food is fantastic.

[Marc Maron]

Not this one. It was a, it was a change.

[Bubba Wallace]

You said you got chubby. That's why I wonder. But you probably weren't even eating anything anyway if you're just coking.

[Marc Maron]

Yeah, it was, I, my, my memory was, it was like, it was just heavy food. It wasn't good. Carry unit was an okay situation, but, you know, they were just, you know, trying to get people to eat and get fat. And so I got out and, and I was like, all right, well, I'm sober. But I never locked in with the program. You know, I, I didn't lock in. And then I went to Boston and, you know, I, I got my. Together and I'm like, I got to keep doing comedy. So I drove back to Boston and I started over again, got a job at a coffee shop, was doing open mics and I came in second in a competition in 88. And that's when I started working. And that was like that, that scene for work was. It was a regional comedy scene. There was only. It was like you could work in Boston in the area, because there was two or three bookers. You do one nighters. So it was usually a two man show opener. Do a half hour headliner, do 45 at, you know, discos, bars, bowling alleys, wherever they could contract comedy. So that's sort of how I made my BU phones. I started working in 88 and there's some funny stories with the drugs because I, I got about a year and a couple months sober, cold turkey. Didn't really understand meetings, but eventually drifted back into it, but never as hard as that. But it was funny. That was funny. The characters. There's a guy. Do you remember? You remember Frankie Bastille.

[Bubba Wallace]

I don't know. Frankie Bastille.

[Marc Maron]

Frankie Bastille. That was good stuff. That was. I told comic. No, no, he was this weird road dog and he was like a dope fiend. And he was like. He was like. There were so many guys out on the road back and then that were just like, kind of, you know, you know, skirting the law, skirting alimony, skirting child support, you know, taxes. They're just borderline criminals. It's just, it's like preaching. It's just full of, you know, you know, morally bankrupt weirdos that are out, you know, kind of. Of getting away with it. Well, Bastille was one of these guys. He looked like Keith Richards, you know, he had Tibetan Book of the Dead tattoo and he's talk like this and he's pretty funny, you know, like. But there was a couple of stories with him where, you know, he. He moved to Boston. He didn't want to be in the paper because he was late. He won't pay child support. He didn't want anyone know. And he was kind of an outlaw. But, you know, I have to drive him places. So he locked into me because these devils are like this guy, guys, like, he's, he, he knows the devil thing, you know, he, he's a, you know, he's a good devil babysitter. I was a good, good devil babysitter. Yeah. But, you know, you go to pick him up and you could never find his tooth. He had a front tooth that was missing. You walk down the hallway, where's my tooth?

[Bubba Wallace]

You know, it would just come out.

[Marc Maron]

Yeah, it was in a retainer thing. He'd put it away to sleep, you know, and then you have to find his tooth.

[Bubba Wallace]

Where's my tooth? Just one of them.

[Marc Maron]

But one time. Dude, here's. There's two stories with him about drugs. One time, like, you know, I was just starting out doing these gigs. He, he, you know, he didn't stay in Boston long, but we drove to a gig and he, he. He's a real road guy and he's like, you gotta do your time, man. That was the whole. His whole thing was like, you gotta do your time. That's what you do your comic. You do your time. You got a half hour. I'm gonna do 45. You gotta do your time. I'm like, I get it, dude. You know, and then, you know, we're driving, we get to the gig. It's at some bar, and it's pretty well set up, up, and it's Crowded. And, like, he tells me. He recites a poem to me called the Road. And I'm like, all right, all right. So he's like, you gotta do your time. And I'm like, I get it. And I go up there and I, you know, I do everything I got, you know, so it's close to a half hour, right? So I do everything I got, and I bring him up. I'm like, this next guy. Clubs in college, Frankie Bastille claps. No one comes up. I'm like, what the. I introduce him again. Nothing. Awkward silence. And then from the back of the room, I Hear him go, 26. Four more.

[Bubba Wallace]

He wasn't doing it all. He didn't care. You brought him up twice. And he's like, no, at 26.

[Marc Maron]

So I did some street joke.

[Bubba Wallace]

Standing on this business back there. Yeah, Ridiculous. Also, that's funny, too, because what comic do you know that doesn't want to do more time?

[Marc Maron]

I didn't have it.

[Bubba Wallace]

So I get a screenshot you him.

[Marc Maron]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Bubba Wallace]

Any other comic get up there for three hours. But he was staunch. He probably only had that 45.

[Marc Maron]

No, he was like. He was trying to teach me something he used to do, like, just to get my rise out of me. He. He was not hacky, and he could definitely, definitely sell the material. But sometimes, if I was opening for him in the middle of the set, out of nowhere, he goes, remember the first time your mom cuts you, Shooting heroin in your. And the audience be like, what? Yeah, you're the real deal, man. But. But the other story with him was like, you know, there was a couple. But I was driving him down the Cape to do Johnny Yee's giant Chinese restaurant with a. You know, used to have a hula show and then they do a comedy show. It was one of those. Some of those Chinese places have the huge showrooms for. And it was a long standing gig. And I'm driving him down there, and he's. He's like, snorting heroin. We're driving down, Johnny. He's snorting heroin. And I'm like, all right. And he goes, you want to try heroin? I'm like, I don't think the first time should be while I'm driving.

[Bubba Wallace]

I'm driving.

[Marc Maron]

And he. He's like, pull over. The gas station goes in. He steals all the business cards from the gas station. And he's sitting there, he's writing his name on him. And I still got one. It's kind of funny.

[Bubba Wallace]

Do you really?

[Marc Maron]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. But so we're driving the fucking cape. It's like 45. It was my hour. I don't know. Was Cape Cod to From Boston. But, like, he's. He's not enough. And he's snorting heroin and he's fucking.

[Bubba Wallace]

Yeah, I was gonna say he's out.

[Marc Maron]

And we pull up to the gig and I gotta walk him in because he's nodding out and I put him in a booth and I go up on stage and I know what the. Was going to happen at this point. I'm doing my half hour and I do pretty well. And I bring him up and I don't know if he's going to get up.

[Bubba Wallace]

Yeah.

[Marc Maron]

And I brought him up Frankie Bastille. And he lunges onto the stage and he just leans in. He kills so hard, he's sweating heroin. It's like a James Brown concert. And he just nails it. I was like, what the. And we get back into the car within two minutes. Minutes.

[Bubba Wallace]

Boom. He just cries it.

[Marc Maron]

And all I think is like, that guy's a professional.

[Bubba Wallace]

That's a problem.

[Marc Maron]

I mean, it really is.

[Bubba Wallace]

If you could get. That's heroin. If you can wake up out of a heroine sleep and then go cr. Not just walk across the room for four, that's impressive.

[Marc Maron]

So, yeah, I was in and out. You know, I'd get a year. Year, year and a half sober. And then I go out for a while. But eventually.

[Bubba Wallace]

And what finally took. What finally.

[Marc Maron]

Well, what happened was. And that leads into when we do another episode is I was in New York. I'd gotten married and I shouldn't have. And, you know, I was back on the blow. And I'm doing blow in New York. I fucking get dealer New York dude. I love that guy Hammerhead. But there's like. I married a woman who was the best maid of honor at my brother's wedding, and she's all right, you know, but, you know, we were living out in Queens. My career was going nowhere. You know, I'm doing the alt comedy thing and I'm doing the Cellar and stuff, and I'm doing blow. And, you know, I would. I always used to think, like, if I get it, if I start at like 6, I'll be done by 11, you know, with the blow. Like that ever happens. But I remember one time the guy used to buy drugs from was this huge dude. Look like like four. The rest were from the Ed Wood movies. Shaved head. He used to live on the Lower east side. He managed a building kind of his. His whole apartment was like Some sort of art salon. He was, like, a funny, intense dude. And he'd always be, like, celebrities in there, but it was, like, grungy, but. But he was a real character. And I remember this is a great. A great blow moment where I go over there. I'm like, I gotta get. Get started early because I'm married, and I'm trying to hide it. It from her. So I go over there at like five, five thirty Hammerheads. I'm buzzing. He lets me up. He's like. He hasn't even opened for business. You know, he's putting the blinds down. And while I'm there. So the buzzer rings and he lets the guy in who gives, who he gets the blow from. I swear to God. This guy looked like a indigenous mountain person from South America. Like this Latino guy, old guy. He had a cane. He looked like he just came out of the farm, you know? But what. Whatever he. He gives. Gives. Jimmy gives Hammerhead the tinfoil, like, ball, you know, ounce or whatever it was. And the guy leaves, and Jimmy opens that thing up, and it's just this rock. And. And I'm going, can we. Let's do some of that.

[Bubba Wallace]

I was about to say, it's all pre cut.

[Marc Maron]

Yeah. Yeah, right? Yeah, let's do some of that. So he puts out a couple lines, and I. And I did a line, and I never felt anything like it. Like, just like this electricity, you know, peels back behind my eyeballs, all the way down my spine. I'm like, what the. And I'm like, dude, why don't you just sell that? And he says. He says, because people would never leave me alone. And then he just did.

[Bubba Wallace]

Sam Kinison will be ringing that bell all night.

[Marc Maron]

And then he just. I see him just drop this rock into a bag of shake. Pound it out.

[Bubba Wallace]

That's terrible. Oh, that's disappointing. That's great. I bet that was fire.

[Marc Maron]

But what got me sober for good was I had surrendered, you know, I. To this marriage into misery. And I was kind of, you know, bloated and sweaty, and I just decided, like, ain't gonna happen for me. Comedy. You made that?

[Bubba Wallace]

You really told yourself that?

[Marc Maron]

Well, yeah, I mean, I would still do it, but I'm like, I'm not gonna be big star. I don't know if I'll get in the. Another gig. And, you know, in terms of, like, TV or anything like that. And, you know, it was like, this was like 99 and 98. And I'd had a couple of bad run ins with. With the drugs. But you know, I, I did one of my last runs was with Hedberg, you know, in Seattle. And they, you know, and they were, they were doing that dope and he like, he come fully loaded and I was not a dope guy, but he had all that, that tar heroin and, and you know, I'm smoking it with him and him and Lynn are off doing it, whatever they're doing. But that was one of the last, I remember that. I remember like the two, the two last times I went on runs. One was at Hedberg in Seattle at the festival. And I remember getting up the next day and being in the lobby of the hotel and I just threw up in a blanket.

[Bubba Wallace]

It just gives me more appreciation for what's his name to pop right up and did his.

[Marc Maron]

Oh yeah, yeah, threw up in a planter, got on with it. And then the other time it was a three day run on Coco. Dave Stebbins, who's sober, you know him, he got sober too. But like we were in the hotel room at the Chicago Comedy Fest just doing eight balls. And I remember his brother worked at the hotel and, and he was kind of, you know, helping us get the blow. And I remember I'm checking out after a three day run and years later, you know, I saw, I saw his brother and he goes, dude, I remember that day, man. You were checking out and he goes, your luggage was sweating. So what got me sober is that, you know, I, I decided that I'm just going to do local tv. I got some gig in New York for a local TV station doing this weird sketch where I set up a talk show on the street. I was already doing some Conan's and stuff, but, but I was just like, I, I kind of given up. I didn't know how to get out of my marriage. I didn't know how to get off the drugs anymore. And it wasn't like I was doing them every night, but I was just one of those guys. I was changing and I'm like, this is my life and now I gotta own it. And then like a movie, I'm at the Cellar and this gorgeous, gorgeous woman comes up to me. You know, I'm probably, I'm sitting, I think I'm sitting at the bar with Scalero. Yeah, yeah, back in the day, 99. And you know, I'm probably, you know, holding court, like, well, I think prior was really the best, you know, whatever. And this woman comes out to me, just gorgeous, like model gorgeous. And she goes, goes, you're Marc Marin, right? And I'M like, yeah. She goes, what happened to you? And I'm like, what? And I'm like, what? She goes, I can get you help if you want it. I can help you get sober. And I'm like, I'll do anything to do anything with you. So she was a comic and, you know, starting out and she's like 23, 24, used to be a model, was doing comedy for a few years sober as. And she just started taking me to meetings and I just. And we started a relationship and that led to my, My first divorce. But it. She got me sober. She. Yeah, I'm divorced from her too. And she, you know, wants nothing to do with me, which is fine, but. But I. I do thank her for getting me sober.

[Bubba Wallace]

And you've been sober for how long now?

[Marc Maron]

Since 99. Damn.

[Bubba Wallace]

Good for you. 26 years.

[Marc Maron]

Yeah. Coming up on 26 next month.

[Bubba Wallace]

Good for you.

[Marc Maron]

Yeah.

[Bubba Wallace]

Dude, that's awesome.

[Marc Maron]

Yeah. A lot of good stories in between those things.

[Bubba Wallace]

Well, we can only do it. I want to have you back.

[Marc Maron]

You want? Yeah. We can cover the divorces now.

[Bubba Wallace]

Was about to say, if you're willing to come back, I'd love to.

[Marc Maron]

Sure, man.

[Bubba Wallace]

But before I let you out of here, give me advice you would give to 16 year old Mark Marin.

[Marc Maron]

Really? It's basic.

[Bubba Wallace]

Listen, that's. That's what most people need to hear. It is basic.

[Marc Maron]

Yeah, it would be just sort of like, dude, you know, relax. Don't be so hard on yourself. You know, it's gonna, it's gonna be okay. I was always so fueled to this day with, you know, panic and, you know, kind of FOMO and just wanting to, you know, like, I gotta, I gotta, I gotta. It's just like. And also like, you suck. You suck. You can't just lose that and try to, you know, just, you know, be in your body.

[Bubba Wallace]

Dude, this was great. Thank you very much, man.

[Marc Maron]

Thank you.

[Bubba Wallace]

Promote one more time, please, everything.

[Marc Maron]

My new special panic comedy special on HBO right now. Got the bad guys two coming out on Mr. Snake and. And you'll see me in the Bruce Springsteen movie Road to. What is it called? Deliver me from nowhere.

[Bubba Wallace]

Great. And stick.

[Marc Maron]

Oh yeah, Stick is always going to be on Apple tv. I don't know if we're doing more of those, but I think I did a pretty good job. And it's Owen Wilson and it's a sweet, sad little story. Brave.

[Bubba Wallace]

Thank you, brother.

[Marc Maron]

Yeah, thank you.

[Bubba Wallace]

You got it. As always, Ryan Sickler on all your social media. We'll talk to y' all next week.

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[Marc Maron]

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[Bubba Wallace]

A woohooer?

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[Marc Maron]

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[Marc Maron]

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[Marc Maron]

I'm sorry but no. But you can't split the banana split.

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[Marc Maron]

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