Eva Catherine Gardner (born February 17, 1979) is an American bassist from Los Angeles. A founding member of

The Mars Volta The Mars Volta is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 2001. The band's only constant members are Omar Rodríguez-López (guitar, producer, direction) and Cedric Bixler-Zavala (vocals, lyrics), whose partnership forms the core of the ban ...

, she has been a studio and touring musician in bands for

Cher Cher ( ; born Cheryl Sarkisian, May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Goddess of Pop", she is known for her Androgyny, androgynous contralto voice, Music an ...

Gwen Stefani Gwen Renée Stefani Shelton ( ; born October 3, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter and fashion designer. Stefani rose to fame as a member and lead vocalist of the band No Doubt, whose hit singles include " Just a Girl", " Spiderwebs", an ...

, P!NK, Veruca Salt and

Tegan and Sara Tegan and Sara () are a Canadian indie pop duo formed in 1998 in Calgary, Alberta. The band is led by identical twin sisters, Tegan Rain Quin and Sara Keirsten Quin (born September 19, 1980). Both musicians are songwriters and multi-instrumentali ...

Early life

Eva Gardner is the daughter of The Creation bassist Kim Gardner, and cites her father as her primary influence. She is a graduate of the

Los Angeles County High School for the Arts Los Angeles County High School for the Arts (LACHSA, ) is a visual and performing arts high school located on the campus of California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is a public school, ...

, where she studied under trumpet player Bobby Rodriguez. She holds a degree in

ethnomusicology Ethnomusicology is the multidisciplinary study of music in its cultural context. The discipline investigates social, cognitive, biological, comparative, and other dimensions. Ethnomusicologists study music as a reflection of culture and investiga ...

from

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

(''

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

'').

Career

Gardner was the original bassist for

(2001). Her work appears on their first EP '' Tremulant'' and although she did not perform on the recording of '' Deloused in the Comatorium'', she did write some of the basslines. She left due to complications of her father dying while The Mars Volta was on tour. In 2003 she toured the UK with Tim Burgess (singer for The Charlatans) and also toured the US with El Vez. During January 2005, Gardner was touring bassist for Veruca Salt during a tour of Australia. She is also the bassist for Los Angeles–based band

Lyra , from ; pronounced: ) is a small constellation. It is one of the 48 listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and is one of the modern 88 constellations recognized by the International Astronomical Union. Lyra was often represented on star ...

. Gardner joined

Pink Pink is a pale tint of red, the color of the Dianthus plumarius, pink flower. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, p ...

's band in 2007. She completed touring Europe and South Africa in September 2007 and did promotion for the release of ''

Funhouse A funhouse or fun house is an attraction found in amusement parks and funfair midways, equipped with various devices designed to surprise, challenge, or amuse visitors. Unlike thrill rides or dark rides, fun houses are participatory attractio ...

'' in 2008. In 2009, Gardner was touring bassist for

's record-breaking Funhouse Tour (Europe, Australia, UK, United States). She continued touring with Pink in 2010 for the Funhouse Summer Carnival Tour in Europe, the final tour of the Funhouse album era. In 2011, Gardner formed Telstar with Chris Unck of Butch Walker and the Black Widows, recorded ''Hot Knives'' EP and the two singles "Getting Around Town" and "Lightning's Girl", plus released music videos for "Are You Hungry" and "everysinglebodyelse". Eva Gardner

As a returning member of Pink's band, Gardner began promotional appearances in support of '' The Truth About Love'', with a September 2012 album release date. Gardner appeared in an episode of ''My Ghost Story'' (season 6, episode 1), talking about her father's restaurant being haunted. While on a break in the middle of Pink's The Truth About Love Tour, Gardner joined

Moby Richard Melville Hall (September 11, 1965), known professionally as Moby, is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, disc jockey, and animal rights activist. He has sold 20 million records worldwide. AllMusic considers him to be "amo ...

's band for performances on '' Conan'', plus three live shows at The Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles on October 3–5, 2013. In January 2014, Gardner's signature Precision Bass was released for public purchase via

Squier Squier is an American brand of electric guitars owned by Fender. The former manufacturing company, established as "V. C. Squier Company" was founded in 1890 by Victor Carroll Squier in Battle Creek, Michigan, producing strings for violins, ban ...

by Fender. The bass features a graphic of a ship that is a replica image of a tattoo on her arm. On January 26, 2014, Gardner played bass at the 56th Grammy Awards during Pink's live performance. Gardner was the bassist for

's 2014 Dressed to Kill Tour. In 2015 she appeared in an episode of '' Transparent'' (season 2, episode 9) with The

Indigo Girls Indigo Girls are an American folk rock music duet (music), duo from Atlanta, Georgia, United States, consisting of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers. The two met in Primary school, elementary school and began performing together as Secondary school, hig ...

. In 2016, Gardner joined

on their Love You to Death Tour. In early 2017, she joined the Classic Cher residency show with dates in Las Vegas and Washington, D.C. From 2017 to 2019, Gardner was Pink's live bassist on the Beautiful Trauma World Tour. In 2022, Gardner officially returned as the bassist for The Mars Volta.

Discography

Eva Gardner (solo)

• ''Chasing Ghosts EP – (2019)'' • ''Love & Drugs (single) – (2020)'' • ''Darkmatter EP – (2021)''

With The Mars Volta & Omar Rodríguez-López

* '' Tremulant'' – EP (2002) * ''Arañas en La Sombra'' – LP (2016) * ''La Realidad de Los Sueños – Boxset'' (2021) * ''

'' (2022) * '' Que Dios Te Maldiga Mi Corazón'' (2023) * '' Lucro Sucio; Los Ojos del Vacio'' (2025)

With Lyra

*''Protocol'' – EP (2006) *''Move'' – EP (2007)

With P!nk

* Funhouse Tour: Live in Australia (2009) * The Truth About Love Tour: Live from Melbourne (2013) *Beautiful Trauma Live: P!nk (2017) *'' All I Know So Far: Setlist'' (2021) *'' Pink: All I Know So Far'' (2021 film) * Pink: Summer Carnival Tour (Australia and New Zealand Tour 2024)

With Moby

*Moby: innocents – Live at the Fonda, LA] (2014)

With Alice Bag

• ''Blueprint'' (2018)

With Marissa Nadler

*''For My Crimes'' (2018)

With Telstar

*''Hot Knives'' – EP (2011) *''Lightning's Girl'' – single (2011) *''Getting Around Town'' – single (2011)

Happy Endings Soundtrack w/ Maggie Gyllenhaal

*''Music From the Film'' (2005)

With Miranda Lee Richards

*''Light of X'' (2009)

With Leerone

*''Imaginary Biographies'' (2007)

With Little Sandwitch

*''Little Sandwitch''

References

External links

Eva Gardner Website
*
Telstar
on

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online music distribution platform founded in 2008 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with an office and record store in Oakland, California. Acquired by Epic ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gardner, Eva 1979 births Living people Los Angeles County High School for the Arts alumni American women bass guitarists Guitarists from Los Angeles American women guitarists The Mars Volta members 21st-century American women musicians 21st-century American bass guitarists