#2499 - Marcus King

Episode of The Joe Rogan Experience · May 14, 2026 · 2 h 53 min

Joe Rogan and guitarist Marcus King discuss sobriety, antidepressants, cannabis policy, the state of rock music, porn-era cinema, and VR gaming.

Summary

Musician Marcus King joined Joe Rogan for a wide-ranging conversation that opened with King's account of quitting alcohol about a year and a half earlier after repeated relapses, including a blackout at an Avett Brothers show. King said drinking brought out a destructive urge, which he linked to repressed emotions, anxiety and depression. The two also discussed whether rock and roll is dead, with King arguing it is resurging and that bands like Led Zeppelin were essentially jam bands.

Rogan criticized Palantir's reported call for universal national service, arguing no U.S. war since World War II made sense. The pair discussed GLP-1 drugs, which King said curbed his desire to drink, and Rogan argued for discipline and exercise over medication. Rogan praised the rescheduling of cannabis to Schedule III, argued it should be regulated like alcohol, and claimed the 1970 Controlled Substances Act was aimed at the civil rights and anti-war movements.

King spoke openly about taking Cymbalta, feeling numb at his grandmother's funeral on an earlier medication, lingering intrusive suicidal thoughts, and his wish to taper off, crediting psilocybin microdosing as his most effective treatment. Rogan argued the chemical-imbalance theory of depression is outdated and that doctors are incentivized to prescribe. They also covered King's musical upbringing, the late Mastodon guitarist Brent Hinds, Rick Rubin, Colonel Bruce Hampton's documentary Basically Frightened, the 1970s mainstream reception of Deep Throat and Midnight Cowboy, Sandbox VR zombie games, and how King learned guitar and jazz theory.

Chapters

0:04
Obsession, golf and quitting drinking
King describes his destructive relationship with alcohol and his most recent relapse, and Rogan recounts taking eight months off drinking.
9:07
Is rock and roll dead?
King argues rock is resurging and that classic bands like Led Zeppelin and the Allman Brothers were jam bands.
13:15
Antique pistols and military conscription
After discussing a gifted musket pistol, the pair turn to the presidential fitness test and Rogan's criticism of Palantir's call for national service.
26:15
GLP-1 drugs, diet and BALCO
They discuss Ozempic side effects, Jelly Roll's weight loss, King's keto diet, chemist Patrick Arnold's death, and vocal health on tour.
42:41
Cannabis rescheduling and psychedelics
Rogan argues cannabis should be regulated like alcohol and says the Controlled Substances Act targeted 1960s movements, before discussing 5-MeO-DMT and salvia.
1:00:29
Dreams, reality and unsolved murders
A coma patient's imagined family prompts questions about reality, followed by the show From, forensic TV and unsolved homicide rates.
1:13:05
Difficult childhoods and gratitude
King recounts his sister's pranks and both argue suffering produces artists and deeper appreciation of good times.
1:25:00
Ketamine mishap and antidepressants
King tells of accidentally snorting ketamine and discusses his SSRI use, withdrawal fears and microdosing, while Rogan questions the chemical-imbalance theory.
1:56:59
Musical roots and influences
King describes his musical family, Brent Hinds, Rick Rubin and Colonel Bruce Hampton, and how films inspire his studio work.
2:12:41
Deep Throat and cinema's sex taboo
They discuss Midnight Cowboy's X rating, the mainstream audience for Deep Throat, Harry Reems' prosecution, and why sex is treated more harshly than violence.
2:30:57
VR porn, Sandbox VR and video games
Rogan rejects VR porn but champions Sandbox VR zombie games, and they discuss why King never played video games.
2:42:24
Learning guitar
King explains learning by ear from his family's records, studying jazz theory in Greenville, and using the Nashville number system.

Key points

What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.

Marcus King
King says drinking consistently triggered a self-destructive urge in him.
“There was just something in me that just wanted to completely burn my life to the ground every time I drank”
Listen from 2:13 · Addiction and recovery
Marcus King
King says a single relapse after six months sober convinced him he could not drink moderately.
“Yeah, I had one night off the leash, and I realized I couldn't handle it”
Listen from 4:31 · Addiction and recovery
Marcus King
King argues that rock and roll is experiencing a resurgence similar to the current popularity of cowboy fashion.
“I think rock and roll is kind of having a similar resurgence”
Listen from 11:41 · Rock music
Marcus King
King contends that the jam band label has become too narrow and that Led Zeppelin was effectively a jam band.
“you're not a jam band unless it's, like, widespread or, like, Phish or, like, The Dead or something like that”
Listen from 12:43 · Rock music
Joe Rogan
Rogan objects to a tech company advocating universal national military service.
“Why the fuck would a tech company be saying that we need to move towards a universal national military service?”
Listen from 23:29 · Conscription in the United States
Joe Rogan
Rogan argues that no U.S. war since World War II has been justified.
“I don't think there's one war that we've been in since World War II that makes any fucking sense at all”
Listen from 24:25 · Conscription in the United States
Marcus King
King says a GLP-1 drug reduced his craving for alcohol during an attempt to quit drinking.
“And I was trying it out, and it actually curbed my desire for a drink”
Listen from 27:55 · GLP-1 receptor agonists
Joe Rogan
Rogan argues cannabis should be regulated like alcohol and restricted to adults.
“It really should be regulated the same way alcohol is. It should be for adult use, 21 and older”
Listen from 43:21 · Cannabis rescheduling in the United States
Joe Rogan
Rogan claims most illegal cannabis sold in the U.S. is grown by cartels on California public land, a result of prohibition.
“I think it's more than 80 percent of all the weed that's sold in the United States that's illegal”
Listen from 51:11 · Cannabis rescheduling in the United States
Joe Rogan
Rogan claims the Nixon-era scheduling of psychedelics was designed to target the civil rights movement.
“But the only reason they did that was to target the civil rights movement”
Listen from 56:03 · Controlled Substances Act
Joe Rogan
Rogan argues people only appreciate good experiences after suffering, which he says disadvantages children raised in wealth.
“You don't appreciate good unless you experience bad, which is why rich kids are fucked”
Listen from 1:16:36 · Gratitude
Marcus King
King says microdosing mushrooms was the most effective treatment he has found for his depression and anxiety.
“But like the best work that I did to combat my depression and anxiety and stuff was microdosing, you know, mushrooms”
Listen from 1:30:34 · Psilocybin microdosing
Marcus King
King says he wants to stop taking his antidepressant because he does not want lifelong dependence on a pharmaceutical.
“i don't like that i don't want to be like you know, enslaved by a drug, by a pharmaceutical drug, you know?”
Listen from 1:30:49 · Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors
Joe Rogan
Rogan argues the chemical-imbalance explanation for how SSRIs work has been discredited.
“They used to think that that was what these things do, that they treated a chemical imbalance”
Listen from 1:32:29 · Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors
Joe Rogan
Rogan asserts exercise is more effective than antidepressants for treating depression.
“They've shown that exercise is way more effective than antidepressants at actually helping people with depression”
Listen from 1:34:17 · Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors
Marcus King
King recounts that an earlier antidepressant left him emotionally numb even at his grandmother's funeral.
“Like, even at my grandmother's funeral, like, I just felt nothing. I just felt numb”
Listen from 1:38:11 · Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors
Marcus King
King says he fears treating his depression could remove the pain that drives his songwriting.
“Yeah, being fearful that it's going to take your drive away because you don't have anything to create for”
Listen from 1:40:14 · Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors
Marcus King
King says he refuses to let a social media team post for him because he wants his presence to be authentic.
“So I'm like, I want to be on there and be myself. And if this is a tool that I have to have, I want it to be me authentically”
Listen from 1:55:50 · Social media and mental health
Marcus King
King says he reluctantly removed his friend Brent Hinds from a tour after Hinds' behavior forced the decision.
“and then i ended up having to kick him off the tour which like broke my heart but he kind of forced my hand”
Listen from 2:01:18
Marcus King
King says he buys and gives away DVD copies of the Colonel Bruce Hampton documentary Basically Frightened.
“what I do now is I just buy copies of his documentary, Basically Frightened, and I just give it to people who aren't hip to the knowledge”
Listen from 2:07:49 · Basically Frightened
Linked moment · 2:15:23Skip to 2:15:23 using a listen link in the info box.
Joe Rogan
Rogan argues the outrage over the real sex scene in The Brown Bunny shows society tolerates violence more than sex on screen.
“I remember reading these articles on how outraged people were that they had actually seen real sex in a movie”
Listen from 2:15:23 · The Brown Bunny
Marcus King
King says studying jazz theory was valuable because it gave names to musical concepts he already understood by ear.
“it's good to put a vocabulary to the things that you kind of knew, you know, but you didn't know how to quite name it”
Listen from 2:43:11

People

In the conversation

Joe RoganAmerican comedian and host of The Joe Rogan Experience
Marcus KingAmerican singer, guitarist and founder of The Marcus King Band

Discussed

Tim DillonAmerican comedian and podcaster who appears in Busboys
Jelly RollAmerican singer whose show Von attended and who Langley says also got burnt out
Theo VonAmerican stand-up comedian and host of the podcast This Past Weekend
Neal BrennanComedian and Chappelle's Show co-creator who underwent ketamine therapy
Ari ShaffirAmerican stand-up comedian, storyteller and host of the podcast You Be Trippin'
Patrick ArnoldChemist behind BALCO's designer steroids and exogenous ketones, recently deceased
Victor ConteFounder of BALCO Laboratories
Brent HindsLate Mastodon guitarist whom King took on tour
Rick RubinAmerican record producer and author, a friend of Huberman's
Colonel Bruce HamptonSouthern experimental musician and subject of the documentary Basically Frightened
Charley CrockettAmerican country singer and former street musician
Harry ReemsActor in Deep Throat prosecuted for obscenity
Vincent GalloDirector and star of The Brown Bunny
Paul MooneyAmerican comedian and writer known for topical sets at the Comedy Store
Richard NixonU.S. president who ended the dollar's convertibility to gold in 1971

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From the publisher

Marcus King is the lead singer, guitarist, and founder of The Marcus King Band. His most recent album is “Darling Blue.” https://marcusking.komi.iowww.youtube.com/@RealMarcusKingwww.marcuskingofficial.com Perplexity: Download the app or ask Perplexity anything at https://pplx.ai/rogan. Get a free welcome kit with your first subscription of AG1 at https://drinkag1.com/joerogan onX Offroad: Try onX Offroad for 50% off- go to https://onXmaps.com/joerogan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on September 28, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.

Categories: Music Interviews·Mental Health·Society & Culture