Robert Gardner (born March 26, 1965) is an American musician best known as the drummer for the original lineups of

L.A. Guns L.A. Guns is an American glam metal band from Los Angeles, formed in 1983. The lineup currently consists of Tracii Guns (lead guitar), Phil Lewis (lead vocals), Ace Von Johnson (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Johnny Martin (bass, backing v ...

and

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff ...

, and was also the backup drummer for

Hollywood Rose Hollywood Rose was an American glam metal group formed in 1983. They are best known as the precursor for what would eventually become Guns N' Roses. The group was founded by Axl Rose, Izzy Stradlin and Chris Weber, while they were aided during li ...

Early life

Gardner was born in Manhattan, New York. His parents divorced when he was young and both had remarried. His father would move to

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wo ...

in 1972, while his mother remained in New York. Gardner moved to live with his father and attended

Fairfax High Fairfax may refer to: Places United States * Fairfax, California * Fairfax Avenue, a major thoroughfare in Los Angeles, California * Fairfax District, Los Angeles, California, centered on Fairfax Avenue * Fairfax, Georgia * Fairfax, Indiana * Fa ...

in 1979, where he met future

members Mike Jagosz and Tracy Ulrich. He also met future

member

Chris Weber Christopher Garrison Weber (born October 16, 1966) is an American musician best known as the guitarist and founder of the groups U.P.O. and Hollywood Rose (which featured future Guns N' Roses members Axl Rose, Slash, Izzy Stradlin, and Steven Ad ...

as well as future

members Saul Hudson and

Steven Adler Steven Adler (born Michael Coletti; January 22, 1965) is an American musician. He was the drummer and co-songwriter of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s. Adler was fired from Guns N' Rose ...

around this time. Gardner and Ulrich decided to form a band, rehearsing in a garage at Gardner's father's house. Gardner suggested Jagosz as singer for the band. Originally in a band together called Pyrrhus alongside bassist

Dani Tull Daniel Joel Tull (born 1966) is a contemporary American painter, sculptor and musician who lives and works in Los Angeles. Early life Tull was born in San Bernardino, California and attended Fairfax High School. In high school he met Michae ...

, they would officially form L.A. Guns after the group hired Danish bassist

Ole Beich Ole Beich (January 30, 1955 – October 16, 1991) was a Danish musician best known as the bass guitarist for the original lineups of L.A. Guns and Guns N' Roses. Early life Born in the city of Esbjerg, Beich, in his youth, achieved a degree of ...

to fill out the lineup. Gardner was 18 years old while, Jagosz and Ulrich were 17 years old at the formation of the band. He would also serve as the backup drummer for

. His drumming inspirations are

John Bonham John Henry Bonham (31 May 1948 – 25 September 1980) was an English musician, best known as the drummer for the Rock music, rock band Led Zeppelin. Esteemed for his speed, power, fast single-footed kick drumming, distinctive sound, and feel ...

Keith Moon Keith John Moon (23 August 19467 September 1978) was an English drummer for the rock band the Who. He was noted for his unique style of playing and his eccentric, often self-destructive behaviour and addiction to drugs and alcohol. Moon grew ...

Neil Peart Neil Ellwood Peart OC (; September 12, 1952 – January 7, 2020) was a Canadian-American musician, best known as the drummer and primary lyricist of the rock band Rush. Peart earned numerous awards for his musical performances, including an ...

Ginger Baker Peter Edward "Ginger" Baker (19 August 1939 – 6 October 2019) was an English drummer. His work in the 1960s and 1970s earned him the reputation of "rock's first superstar drummer", for a style that melded jazz and African rhythms and pio ...

Ian Paice Ian Anderson Paice (born 29 June 1948) is an English musician, best known as the drummer and last remaining original member of the rock band Deep Purple. He is often cited as one of the greatest drummers of all-time. He remains the only memb ...

, and

Mitch Mitchell John Graham "Mitch" Mitchell (9 July 194612 November 2008)In his book about the Experience, Mitchell states he celebrated his 21st birthday while on tour on 9 July 1967, which makes his birth year 1946.Mitchell's obituaries in '' Billboard' '' ...

L.A. Guns (1983–85)

L.A. Guns was first formed in 1983 by Gardner along with guitarist

Tracii Guns Tracy Richard Irving Ulrich (born January 20, 1966), known professionally as Tracii Guns, is an American guitarist best known as the co-founder of glam metal group L.A. Guns, as well as the supergroups named Brides of Destruction and Contra ...

, bassist

, and vocalist Michael Jagosz. Jagosz was arrested and was briefly replaced by William Bailey. Michael Jagosz came back to with the group recording the only material by this original incarnation of L.A. Guns. The material would be released as a bonus disc, titled ''

Collector's Edition No. 1 ''Collector's Edition No. 1'', (also known as ''L.A. Guns''), is the debut extended play (EP) by American hard rock band L.A. Guns. Recorded in 1984 at Westwind Studios in Thousand Oaks, California, it was produced by Chuck Rosa and released in 198 ...

'' in 1985, with the compilation album Hollywood Raw in 2004. In 1985, Gardner was replaced by

Nickey Alexander Nickey Alexander (a.k.a. Nickey Beat) is an American drummer. Biography Born Jeffrey Ivisovich, Nickey Beat lived in San Pedro, Los Angeles before moving to Hollywood to focus on music. There in 1977, alongside Cliff Roman and brothers, John an ...

Hollywood Rose, Guns N' Roses (1985)

Hollywood Rose reunited for a New Year's Eve concert in 1985, joined by Gardner and Tracii Guns. L.A. Guns would merge with Hollywood Rose, combining their names to become

. The first lineup consisted of Gardner, Rose, Guns, Stradlin and Beich. Duff McKagan replaced Beich and booked shows taking place between

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

and

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

, which was dubbed " The Hell Tour". During this time, Gardner quit the group and was replaced by

Discography

;with L.A. Guns * ''

'' (1985)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gardner, Rob Living people American rock drummers Guns N' Roses members L.A. Guns members Hollywood Rose members 1965 births