Steven W. Marker (born March 16, 1959) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, best known as the co–founder and guitarist of the alternative rock band Garbage.

[1] Previously an audio engineer for the band Fire Town with future Garbage members Duke Erikson and Butch Vig, Marker was responsible for the sourcing of lead singer Shirley Manson for Garbage, following the music video for "Suffocate Me" from Manson's band Angelfish being broadcast during an episode of MTV's 120 Minutes.

[2] Impressed, Marker, Vig and Erikson contacted Manson in Scotland, advocating for her to travel to the United States to lay down vocals for, what was at that time, one track.

Marker felt that Manson differed from the high-pitched and screechy female singers of the 1990s and "was more like the voices that we loved growing up, which were more Patti Smith and Chrissie Hynde – sort of that classic pop sound—maybe Dusty Springfield.

"[8] Marker said his musical style was not influenced by "the guys that played twenty-minute solos", and that he preferred "guitar parts that sort of work melodically more in a Beatles sense", and artists such as Tom Petty, Keith Richards, The Pretenders, and Robert Fripp.