Wearing a piece of band merchandise is always a little bit like sending a secret message. To those unfamiliar with the band in question, the outfit choice might fly under the radar. But to fans, a merch sighting in the wild tends to be an exciting bit of common ground and a source of genuine excitement—particularly when the merch in question represents a niche band whose popularity is still growing. The old, “Hey, I know those guys, too!”

Fans of rising New Jersey jam quintet Dogs In A Pile enjoyed a dose of that merch-induced excitement on Sunday night when the latest episode of Sylvester Stallone-led Paramount+ comedy-drama Tulsa King featured a scene in which Bodhi, played by Martin Starr (Freaks and Geeks, Party Down, Silicon Valley), rocks a t-shirt pulled straight from the Dogs’ merch table—at a funeral, no less.

To those who watch Tulsa King, Bodhi/Starr’s jam band wardrobe choice shouldn’t be that surprising: The character is the operator of a medical marijuana dispensary who gets coerced into cooperating with a burgeoning organized crime operation led by Stallone’s Dwight “The General” Manfredi. In Season 2, Episode 9, Starr’s Bodhi, Stallone’s Manfredi, and the rest of their crew attend a moving funeral service for their cannabis colleague, Jimmy “The Creek,” after he is killed in a mob-related drive-by shooting at the dispensary. Bodhi, whose temperament matches many a familiar hippie weed shop worker, is understandably distraught by this violent act at his formerly legal business. But while the rest of the funeral attendees turn up in formal wear and Native American attire, Bodhi comes to mourn his fallen cohort in a t-shirt reading “Dogs In A Pile, Est. 2018, Asbury Park, NJ.”

…hey, we know those guys, too!

As a representative for Dogs In A Pile explained to Live For Live Music, the band had been approached earlier this year about the potential use of its merch as “incidental wardrobe” in Tulsa King season two but didn’t know when or how it would be featured until the episode aired.

After the episode aired, the members of Dogs In A Pile thanked Tulsa King for the sartorial shout-out by recreating a still from the funeral scene. Check out Dogs In A Pile’s recreation of the scene below and swipe to see the original version.

Of note, this isn’t the first time Bodhi has been spotted in a familiar band t-shirt on Tulsa King. He was also dressed in a Ween shirt during season one. [Editor’s note: If you’re the person on the Tulsa King team scouting bands like Ween and Dogs In A Pile for wardrobe choices, give us a shout at andrew@liveforlivemusic.com! We’d love to chat.]

Dogs In A Pile are currently in the midst of a lengthy 2024 fall tour. Over the next week, the band will make stops in Chicago, IL (11/16), Grand Rapids, MI (11/17), Nashville, TN (11/21), Atlanta, GA (11/22), and Brooksville, FL (11/23). On November 29th and 30th, Dogs In A Pile will join forces with Eggy for a two-night, co-headlining stand at Port Chester, NY’s The Capitol Theatre. Find a full list of upcoming Dogs In A Pile tour dates here.