April 21, 2021 • 39 mins
Though she is the daughter of British Rock Royalty bassist Kim Gardner, Eva Gardner was never encouraged to pursue a career in music. She paved her own way and has played along side some of the most badass women in music: Cher, Gwen Stafani and has currently been with PINK for over a decade. Eva shares why she turned down the opportunity to play with the legendary band, The Wallflowers and how being told “no” was the best thing that ever happened to her. Eva opens up about the devastation she was experiencing when she finally got the opportunity to fulfill her dream and in contrast, shares her most embarrassing moment on stage which might be the most hysterical tour story of all time.
To learn more about Eva and to check out her new music, go to her website: evagardner.com
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:10):
On tour as a production of I Heart Radio and
Black Barrel Media. I'm your host, Brian ray On. This
show will take you behind the scenes of the music
business to give you the most raw and real tales
you've likely never heard before. We'll share our wildest, most unbelievable,
and yes, most embarrassing moments while on tour. Today, I
talked to someone who's more like family. I've known Eva
(00:33):
Gardner since she was a kid. Her mother and father
were both dear friends of mine, and it's been so
fun witnessing Eva's journey and music all these years. Though
she is the daughter of British Rock Royalty bassist Kim Gardner,
Eva was certainly not encouraged to follow in his footsteps.
She paved her own way and landed gigs with some
of the biggest names in music, share Gwen Stefani, Moby
(00:56):
and has been touring with Pink for well over a decade.
As we sat in my living room in Santa Monica,
even I reminisced over her years growing up with a
very famous father, her adventures touring the world with three
of the most badass women in music, and we end
with her most embarrassing moment playing bass on stage with Pink,
which honestly might be my favorite story of all time.
(01:16):
Here's my conversation with Eva Gardner Evil, Welcome to my show.
Thanks so much for having me on. Yeah, at a
young age for someone like you, you have a pretty
strong rock star resume. You've played with Pink, Share, KWin, Stefani,
(01:40):
Mars Volta, and a few names people just might know.
So we're going to dive into all of that. Let's
give everyone a little background, because this rock star thing
is really in your blood. Your dad, Kim Gardner, someone
I knew. He was around a group of friends that
I really loved, including your mom and Katie Segal and
Freddie Beck. My over at Valentino's old estate on Highland Avenue.
(02:03):
I think it was Villa, Yeah, the Villa Man. What
a great memory. And he was an incredible bass player
and played with icons like George Harrison, Jimmy Hendrix, here Clapton,
the list goes on, and obviously he'll He'll go down
in history. Is one of the architects of early garage
rock during the British invasion, playing with his band The
Creation and also The Birds with Ronnie Wood. Well, you
(02:25):
must be extremely proud of him, and I'm sure he
was an inspiration to you. But I've also heard you
talk before about how he didn't really support your dream
of being a bass player early on when you first started,
and he wasn't the first to teach you bass. Who
taught you to play? Yeah, So he wasn't that into
the idea of me playing bass. But it was all
I wanted to do, because you know, I looked up
(02:45):
to my dad and I grew up hearing all these
stories about him and all of his friends and touring
with The Who and hanging out with Entwhistle, and I
knew that's what I wanted to do. So when I
showed interest, he wasn't really that into the idea. And
it was actually his best friend, Andy John's that gave
me my first bass lesson. Is that right? Amazing? So
you had enough drive, though, too persevere and continue. And
(03:06):
was it that he did? You think he was protective
of you, that he didn't want you to go through
the biz or the you know, the sex, drugs and
rock and roll of what's out there for us? Yeah,
I mean he was in it. He was part of it.
He uh was in that whole scene. So I think
part of it sure was possibly protective of his little
girl and also protective of, yeah, the trials and tribulations
(03:26):
of the music business in general and all the things
that come with it. So I think it was probably
a lot of reasons that he didn't really want me
to get into it. But um, but I'm grateful for
that because it made me realize that it's actually what
I wanted to do. It wasn't just handed to me.
It wasn't easy, and I was told no, and um,
being told no it was probably the best thing that
ever happened to me. That's so interesting, Yeah, because you
(03:49):
had to really develop a drive to do it all
on your own without that sort of easy in of
having a famous dad in the scene already. And what
age was it that you first learned to play with
Andy John's. It wasn't until um, gosh, it was I
believe it would have been ninety let's see, I think
I was thirteen or fourteen. Wow. Yeah, And Andy, of
(04:12):
course was a huge producer of many of the biggest
acts in rock and roll. What was your favorite album
that Andy John's produced. I couldn't get enough of LEDs
Up be four. I mean that was my Um, he engineered,
he was he got those drum sounds, those famous drum sounds, um,
you know in the Levy breaks, that drum intro. I
mean that was that was him, That was Andy and
they were just experimenting and uh, you know, just kind
(04:34):
of threw a bunch of stuff against the wall and
see what stuck. And that was recorded in a stairwell
in some kind of manner somewhere in England, was on
the countryside. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I've seen pictures of it.
It's like, no wonder it sounds like that natural, huge,
big stairwell. Yeah. And so when did your dad finally
come around and start supporting your decision to to continue music.
(04:54):
I had booked a gig at the Whiskey and my
dad was like my first roadie. He was into it.
He rented me some gear from s I R because
you knew all the guys there, and uh, carried in
my AMP and helped me plug it in. And it
was kind of at that moment that I realized, like, Okay,
Dad's okay with it, Like he might even be proud
of me. That's amazing. And you just want to also
watch out for you and be an escort the whole time,
(05:16):
probably probably watch out for the guitar player. And interestingly
enough that gig. We used to play shows with a
band called Car's Flowers and that was one of those
gigs at the Whiskey, and Car's Flowers later became Ruined five.
Is that right? Well? Who in that Dan was in
Car's Flowers? Uh, well, it was it's Mickey Jesse. And
then Ryan was a drummer at the time who knew
(05:36):
our drummer. They were family friends, so that was the connection.
And Adam the singer he was singing lead at that
It was pretty much the same guy as and then
they started Ruin five and added some people down the line.
But um, but they were like high school friends of ours,
l kids. You know what was that first gig like
at the Whiskey? It was so much fun and um
they asked us if they wanted us to record a
VHS tape of it, and I think the drummer's dad
(05:59):
said yeah, or of course, And at the time we
didn't think much of it, but I still have that
tape and it's hilarious. We're all out of tune and
uh we sounded his all girl band. I was at Winton,
a girl Catholic high school, So we did a lot
of Go Goes covers and um do two songs, and
that's when I started writing original music. So I remember
tuning on stage, like without a tuner. That's like one
(06:21):
of the biggest things that I tell people. Now, get
a tuner first, age first, You're right. When I was
a kid, I was hanging out at places like the
Truebad War and the Ash Growth, and it was in
the folk scene in the country and folk and even
jug bands and stuff like that in the early sixties. Yes,
I'm that old. And all of the artists up there
(06:41):
tuned by ear and tuned on stage. No one had
a tuner back then, and it was part of your gig.
It's like, can you keep the audience's attention, do your tuning,
You do your tuning. You know, it's a sort of
a it's a talent. And you'd hear someone like Tim
Harden or um you know, John Hartman or any of
these guys and they're Earnie, Earnie or that. Well I
(07:01):
remember this one time and it becomes a part of
the pattern, you know, the banter. Yeah, So you were
getting invitations around that time to tour while you were
still in high school, like with the Wallflowers, and now
that's of course a legendary band with Jacob Dylan, and
clearly at that time you're doing fine. But what made
you turn down that opportunity and decide to go to college.
(07:22):
I remember getting a page on my pager and my
lunch time, I went to the pay phone and called
him back and they said they were finding people for
this new band, and I didn't know who they were
at the time. And I was also like, well, have
finals on Friday, so you know, I'm in school and
I wanted to finish school. And I it's funny because
my dad left school of fifteen, like those guys left
school at a young age and just went on the road.
(07:43):
And I thought that that's what I wanted to do,
and I thought that's what was supposed to happen. But
I realized, um luckily, that the world had changed and
it was important to me to finish school. And I
was also at music school, and I was getting a
really incredible experience. They're being exposed to just all different
types of music and different people, all kinds of genres
and walks of life and I just in my gut
(08:05):
felt that it was important for me to incumbate longer
before getting out there and jumping ship. That it marinated
for a little while. Well, at least you're getting those offers.
And you you applied to l A County music school
but then didn't get in, and why was that? Yeah,
La County High School for the Arts, and I auditioned
and I didn't get in because I was playing the
(08:27):
sort of you know, the rebellious punk rock card where
I didn't feel like I needed to learn how to
read music because Jimi Hendricks didn't know how to read
music and that whole scene, and so I was playing
the same, the same game, and uh when they asked
me if I was learning how to read us, not really.
And I played some very abstract, off the wall kind
(08:48):
of ambiguous bass solo art rock, some art rock staff
and I didn't get in. And I remember getting the
mail coming and I got the small envelope instead of
the big the big envelope, and again being told no.
I mean, that was the best thing that ever happened
to me, because I decided to get on the horse
and I learned the rules, and so my parents got
(09:08):
me a teacher, and I just dove into the other
side of music, the more academic side, and I decided
to try again. And you reapply the same school. Yep,
I re auditioned, same school, same teachers, but told them
different answers that time. Yeah, and got the big envelope.
And I got the big envelope. That's amazing, that's so cool.
Good for you. So after you graduated from us l
(09:29):
A with a degree in ethno music coology, which, in
a sentence, what is that for people who may not know. Sure,
ethno musicology is a study of world music and culture.
It's across between musicology and anthropology, and uh discusses the
correlation between the two. Um, how culture influences music and
vice versa. UM. So it was more of an academic major,
(09:51):
but I still UM we were still required to do performance,
and my performance I chose was. I got really into
Balanese music balin he has gone along, so that was
my focus when I was there. And UH, it's just
incredible to be there and be exposed to just different
kinds of music and see what the rest of the
world did. I mean, it's very different in the West. Obviously,
priorities are different, and I feel like a lot of
(10:12):
times we've moved away from why we started playing music,
why music came into our lives in the first place.
And so it was really important, I think, um, for
who I am as a person and a musician, to
come back to that. And I get that foundation too
before I went off into the world and started touring. Yeah,
I would imagine in a way that you had more
of a drive for a deeper understanding of music than
(10:34):
what started your dad along that path. He probably wanted
what most guys want when they're teenagers, sex, drugs, and
rock and roll, and you were like, you know, this
is something that I just love every aspect of and
I really want to know it more and I want
to master it and be really really good at it.
Probably in a way didn't understand that, I would imagine, Yeah,
And I think that early on I had surpassed my
(10:54):
father and what he knew technically right, because I took
the current conservatorial approach and I went to music school,
and um, you know, I think that was that was
kind of tough. It was tough for him and I
in a weird way, I felt kind of bad because
we couldn't communicate after a certain point. I mean musically
we could communicate, right because we would play together and stuff.
But I was going to school for music and was
(11:16):
doing when taking a different path, and he did. I
mean his path was perfect for him though. I mean
at the time in the sixties, and that's what everybody
was doing, all his friends in London in the sixties.
I mean it was the birth of a lot of that.
Those early movements. Well, certainly no one was reading music then.
I mean, Paul McCartney doesn't read music. You know, he
composes like crazy and he's an incredible arranger, but he
(11:38):
talks openly about that, and no one at that time did.
So it's just what you did at that time. So
after school you joined your first touring band, the Mars
bolta an amazing band that all musicians know of it.
They're not widely known outside of musicians as much as
say someone like Share or Pink, but they're really well respected.
(11:59):
The experience had to be that are sweet because finally
you're doing what you're dreamed of and uh and prepared
for all these years, and your dad was now recognizing
your passion and supporting it. You were ready to head
out on the road. But your father now had gotten
sick and he contracted cancer and talked to us a
little bit of what that was like. Yeah, like you said,
it was absolutely bittersweet. I mean, I was finally in
(12:21):
my element as far as writing with the band, recording
with the band, about to go on tour, and coming
out of school. I met them while I was still
in school finishing my degree. But I was playing with
these guys where they didn't know the rules, and it
was a push and pull. Right rules, no rules, get
back into your roots. And so I was writing with
these guys and throwing all those rules out the window
and just speaking from the heart again. And so I
was in this really incredible place with his musical family.
(12:43):
But the reason why I'm in that place in the
first place, you know, it was my father and he
was on his deathbed and I'm about to go on
my first tour ever, which was like my dream come true.
And he's literally in his bed dying, and I was
going to stay home and be with the family, and
he said no, talking about get out there, get out
there and do your thing. And I realized now looking back,
(13:04):
and it was at that very moment that he passed
on the torch. Oh, that's very sweet. Uh, you know,
that's crazy. I had a very similar experience eva my dad,
who was had emphasema. He and I had bonded in
the last seven years of his life, and I was
just getting a tour in France to go back out
(13:24):
with Johnny Halliday, and uh, I knew that he was
really declining quickly, and I I said, I'm going to
pass on the tour, and he said, I won't even
hear that. You know, you've got to get on tour,
just like your dad did for you. That's an amazing thing.
I didn't know we shared that, and of course I
(13:45):
did have a feeling that that was going to be
the last time I saw my dad, and that was
the case. I was somewhere in Carcasson when I tried
to call my dad and I was on hold and
the nursing station. I was on hold for minutes and
came back on and said, I'm very sorry, but we've
just lost your dad. He's just passed. That must have
been so traumatic for you. It was. It was traumatic,
(14:06):
and I so I left, you know, I left on
tour and he passed to me three days later. I
was in Georgia right after a show. And yeah, it was.
It was difficult, you know, like you said, it was bittersweet.
I was living my dream, but the person that I
wanted to be there wasn't. Oh God, I feel for you.
Let's see, let's go onto her after these were both
crying over here. Let's talk about your first experience in arena.
(14:29):
Your father is certainly smiling down on you through your
whole career, but your first arena experience, I'm sure he
would have been especially proud of. You're with Tim Bridges
of the Charlatan's and you were opening for the Rolling Stones.
Your father had opened for the Rolling Stones in the
sixties and of course was a friend and bandmate of
Ronnie Wood. So how old were you then when you
(14:50):
opened for the Stones with Tim Burgess. I was twenty four.
That was my first arena gig ever, was opening up
for the Stones. It was weird to start in England. Yeah,
and um, and it was just like this amazing full
circle moment because I was sharing a stage with with
ron Wood, who you know, my dad and him were
in their first band together. They lived in the same neighborhood.
They were neighbors amazing. So they grew up together, and yeah,
(15:12):
it's just this wild moment. And then of course the
Creation opening up for the Stones in the nineteen seven
just this really full circle, really cool, unbelievable, like multiple
full circles. Yeah, and had you met Ronnie before? Oh yeah, sure, Okay,
so when you were a kid or something whenever, yeah,
I mean, because they were around, He come around and
whenever we go to England, we'd be sure to catch
up with him. And I grew up with his son, Jesse,
(15:33):
so we're very close and he was always a fixture
in our lives. They shared a lot of their childhood together. Well,
ladies and gentlemen's side note, if you haven't checked out
the British Birds spelled b i r d s as
opposed to the California Birds b y r d s,
you must go check them out, and also the Creation,
two bands who are very important to the British invasion
(15:56):
and to garage rock. And that's why the Birds have
a y in their name. Actually the American Birds of
the original British Birds. That's right, it's the other way around, right. Yeah,
(16:19):
let's move on to your tours. It's safe to say
You've played with three of the most badass women in music.
What is was your favorite thing about playing with each
of them and how have your experiences with each of
them been different? Let's say starting with Share. Sure, well,
I mean they're all different people obviously, so um, but
they all are, like you said, a badass. So I mean,
(16:42):
my favorite thing about them is is probably that that
they're just such strong women. They're incredible role models, and
they're not afraid to have another woman on stage with
them like some people are. I've not gotten gigs sometimes
because the lead female singer didn't want competition on stage,
which is just so unfortunate because it doesn't have to
be like that. There's enough for everyone to go around,
you know, and um, we should be supporting each other,
(17:04):
lifting each other up. That's just such a thing that
I'm so grateful for that they all have a share. God,
I mean, what an icon right. And actually at our
at our very first show, my first show with with
her mom and Susan Antone were in the front row
and they yeah, and they used to sing that song
together I Got You Babe to each other because they
met each other as I think at twelve years old.
(17:26):
They were deep running buddies. Yeah, and uh, you know,
I'm just mom was there in the front row like
while I'm playing this song, and it was just this
really beautiful again the full circle thing, you know, just
these family ties run so deep, and for me to
be up on stage. Actually, I met Share several times
when I was a kid. One of her right hand
people got married at the Old Cat and Fiddle when
it was on Little Canyon, So she was there at
(17:47):
the wedding and I was like kid running around and
so I hadn't known her as a young child. And
then sharing the stage with her, being on her stage
and supporting her in that way as one of her
musicians was was an incredible feeling. I can imagine that. Well, yeah,
I remember seeing Sunny and Share at Allegian part and
it was classic Sonny and Share. He was wearing the
(18:08):
sheep skin vest and she was wearing the striped long
bell bottoms. Yeah, it's just a big memory for me.
I remember that. Well. What about Gwen Stefani again, another
trend setter, another just bad ass, incredibly creative and brave
and just it was so fun to play her songs
and her music and be part of her thing too,
(18:28):
because as much of a badass as she is, she's
also like her music is very open and raw, and
she's talking about real things and real real life, and
that really taught me a lot that it's okay to
be because you know, I think, especially with what I
do and who I am and being a female in music,
but you have to have a thick skin and you
have to learn how to run with the guys and
not really show your emotion. And playing with her and
(18:50):
really digging into these songs and really digging into what
these songs are about and what they mean, that really
helped me open up also as an artist myself. So
I mean, just susan inspiration in so many ways, and
getting to play in her band um open that other
source of inspiration for me too. Yeah. Well, I know
some of her songs really are coming from that place
where she's speaking to other women about being a strong
(19:13):
woman and you know, I am just a girl. Come on,
you know, it's that's not what she's really saying. And
and she's you know, up there doing push ups on
stage and stuff like that, and also very very expressive
and very emotional and open. Yeah, I can imagine that
was really fun. Where there are other women in that
band as well, Um not when I was there. Really, well,
(19:36):
good for her for being strong enough to, as you say,
you know, accept and invite another woman onto the stage.
And now you've been with Pink for how long now,
gosh it will be thirteen years. Amazing. Now, she's an
amazing artist. To me, what has it been like to
be a part of that touring band? That touring band
is uh has been the same touring band since I started.
(19:59):
I'm still one of new kids in the group. And
uh yeah, I mean and me going on thirteen years.
I mean that says a lot about about who she
is and the people that she has around her. And
it really is a family. It feels like a family.
We all love each other and have so much respect
for each other as musicians and as people, and um,
just it's been an incredible, incredible time with her. And
(20:19):
there's a lot of women in that band. There are
it's it's it's about it. It's about half half and half.
And it's weird because it's like, even though we are
you know, there's men, there's women, there's this and that.
It's like, but there's no you know, the guys are amazing.
They support us and we support them. There's no weirdness
that happens in the music industry, I think a lot
of the time, and things that I've heard, things that
(20:41):
I've seen, things that have been told to me, these
backhanded compliments and things like that. That doesn't exist in
that camp. Yeah, that's great. Yeah. And I know your
audition with her grew out of not getting a gig
with the reality TV show talk about that little exactly.
So I had tried out to be in the house
band for a television show called Rock Start in Excess.
They're looking for a new singer for an excess. So
(21:03):
I tried out and I got several callbacks and it
turned out to be It's funny because you know, with
those auditions with TV, it's not just the music, it's
also well, I'll tell you look a lot of the time.
But because it was that, there was casting as well,
television casting, and I had I'm naturally dark, dark hair,
so I had my dark hair at the time, and
the casting agent said, mmm, came up to me and
kind of rubbed her chin and said, have you ever
(21:23):
been a blonde? And I hadn't yet, and I said,
I'm sure I can be you know, I can whatever, um,
but I think they wanted to go with someone with
a different look or whatever it was. Didn't get that gig,
and of course, you know, you're mortified. You think that's
going to be your big break and this is my
opportunity of a lifetime. And uh. I ended up getting
a call two years later from the m D musical
(21:44):
director Paul Murkovich, who also works with Pink, and uh
he said, yeah, you know, remembered you from the audition
two years ago and Pink's looking for her new bass player.
Would you like to try out? But I said absolutely.
You just never know how people are going to come
back into your lives. That's right, when a note turned
into another opportunity. You know, I've had the same sort
of thing happened with me a couple of times. And
(22:06):
one was I accepted a gig to go play like
a blues gig at some club, some bar in l
A for sixty bucks to do three sets. And this
was in the early nineties and after the edit James
thing had slowed down, and I said yes, which is
something I didn't usually do for sixty dollar blues gig.
(22:28):
And I went down there and at the time of
my life, it was so much fun, three sets with
a bunch of buddies, with other buddies in the audience,
and I just said, I could have missed this whole
thing just staying home. It's not the sixty dollars. It's
not that. It's a little bit sort of it feels
like a downgrade to go play some bar for sixty bucks.
But the drummer that gig was playing with Rita Coolidge
(22:50):
and was her empty And after that the next day
asked me if i'd come up and do a gig
with Rita Coolidge as a sub because their guitar player
couldn't made it. And I of course turned into her
guitar player for the next four years. So it's kind
of like something that happens with us quite a lot.
You never just never know, Yeah, you never know. But
that wasn't a great TV show anyway. I never ended
(23:12):
up watching it, but kind of, you know, it's one
of those kind of broke my heart a little bit,
so I never ended up watching it. But you didn't
miss a lot. But I know all the I mean,
you know, all the guys in the band in the
house band and they're all doing the voice now. But
it's all part of that great network part of your
story as well. So I've read somewhere that after you
got the gig with Pink, you didn't actually meet her
(23:34):
until you were going on stage and in some castle
in Ireland, and you'd had a big experience before that.
But this was a huge star, full time gig touring
the world. Tell me what that was like, meeting her
for the first time just before going on stage. The
whole thing was a whirlwind because I only had when
Paul did eventually call me and tell me that I
got in the gig after auditioning. Uh. He said, okay,
(23:57):
so you got the gig back for three months, We'll
send four albums worth material and we'll see you in
three days. So it was very very quick turnaround. So
I flew to Dublin and did a rehearsal with the band,
and of course the arrangements that I was given were
not the live arrangements, so some of that stuff had changed,
and so it's definitely a trial by fire. And I
didn't even meet her until right before the gig first soundcheck.
(24:20):
Mala had castled this huge beautiful place and um near Dublin,
and she gave me a big old hug and said
welcome to the family, and that was it. Then the
rest is history. So let me get that straight. You
did how many rehearsals before the first gig? One? And
how many songs in this show? It was like a
ninety minutes at Holy crap, that's crazy. Wow. Yeah. My
(24:43):
My first gig with Paul was getting a call to
go do the super Bowl one song for the Super
Bowl two thousand two. And it was after giving ab
La Boreal the question who's going to play bass when
he plays piano and who's going to play guitar when
he play is bass? And Abe said, we're looking for
a guitar player who plays bass. And I put my
(25:04):
hand up and got a phone call from David Kahn,
who had produced Paul's recent album, and got the call
to just go down and meet with David Kahn. And
that turned into you know, a call the next day
saying can you get on a plane tomorrow to go
meet and play with Paul McCartney. And I was like, wow,
I think I can do that. Just thinking about this
industry is so competitive, but I love seeing so many
(25:27):
strong women supporting each other. Doesn't seem to be a
sharing the spotlight issue with any of these women. Um,
and you've spoken a little bit about that. Was that
the same with share and absolutely and you know when
you're when you're in the line of the hired gun thing,
it's like you know your place right and you, um,
you're there to support the artists. You're there to do
(25:47):
to do a job. You know, it's not it's not
about you. It's about you playing a role to help
the machine. You know. Yeah, it's never been an issue.
And it's pink quite the leader. Does she keep the
momentum going with the band, and she keep the sort
of the mood high. She drive it well, sometimes it works.
Sometimes it works both ways as well. You know. Sometimes
it's uh, if someone's not having a great day, it's
(26:10):
up to the rest of us to lift them up
and um, you know, do what it takes to keep
the energy high and and um and positive. What about
pre show traditions, you guys do any sort of prayers
or jamming or anything? Sure? Yeah, I mean our guitar
player usually is in the bathroom practicing. I've instagram, um,
(26:30):
and everyone's kind of got their own thing. A couple
of guys take naps, um, the singers will do warm
ups and uh, the band girls started doing she Gong
before shows, actually on the show, which was really really amazing,
and then we all end up doing a prayer with
the boss before we hit the stage. Everybody who's on
stage gather's right before and then hits it. These are
massive live shows. Things go wrong, I mean and Pink
(26:53):
especially as a crazy aerial and acrobatic shows. Anything ever
gone wrong? And and how did you all recover from it? Yes,
there's so many moving parts that absolutely things do go wrong,
and depending on what it is, everyone just does their
best to recover. Sometimes it's um the tracks will go out,
or sometimes it's it's the rigging sometimes one of the
(27:15):
motors that will go out for one of the contraptions
she's on. And in those situations, I mean, everyone just
works together to make it as smooth as possible. Sometimes
it's not so smooth. Sometimes it's like at the end
of the day, we're trying to make it uh so
that the audience is still having a good experience and
nobody nothing to see here, folks moving moving run along here.
(27:38):
Sometimes are empty God, Blastom is like, oh, I guess
I'm gonna do an extent the piano thing here. Okay,
keep going that, you give me the queue and um.
So it just depends on the situation and sometimes it's
not so graceful. Sometimes it ends up working out, but
it's just it's just the nature of those things when
you like that big. I remember seeing her one time,
(27:59):
I think it was at Staple Center where she had
injured her shoulder or something and had to stand on
stage for the song rather than do her It was difficult. Yeah,
that was just such a trooper. I've always been curious
how women like Paint and sharing Gwyn who have a
lot of full costume changes in our backstage so quickly.
What sort of machine is going on back there to
(28:19):
make all that happen. Yeah, Well, there's the wardrobes back there,
there's dressers, there's the audio guys that are back there
making sure the packs are working, Um, the mics are working. Uh,
there's a lot of moving parts and there's a lot
going on, a lot of people to make the well
old machine work. Um, it's a lot of elements. And
then we're all on in ears and so everybody everywhere.
(28:40):
Everyone on stage can hear the m D, and the
m D is communicating with the production manager and and
the same guys are everyone's connected. It's like to be clear,
the m D is getting information from backstage saying go
or stretch for the zipper broke, do something. We're not
hearing all that. We're not hearing that. The m DS
hearing that. The m D then tells you, guys, you know,
(29:03):
stretch or something, I'm gonna play a piano solo or
take it eva exactly. Yeah, that's hilarious. Yeah. Well, And
and with a tour family like mine with Paul or
yours with Pink, we're together seven for months at a time.
You guys hang out outside of the gigs when you're
off tour, you just enjoy your ala carte times off tour,
We're hanging out all the time, whether it's days off
(29:23):
on tour, we're all hanging out with the bosses, organizing
movie nights. You know, we're always doing stuff, which is great.
But even when we're off tour, um, we're hanging out
for birthdays, barbecues, whatever it is. We just all really
genuinely like each other, beautiful, We love each other it's
it's it really is like a family. We're gonna wrap
(29:49):
it up with our lightning round and we like to
call the encore. The non glamorous side of what we
do is to travel. And you've been packed in a
van with your Mars Volta days and a tour bus
and flow all over the world. Was the craziest travel
story that's happened to you? And was there ever a
moment of is this really as fun as I thought
it would be? Travel story? Gosh? The one that comes
(30:11):
to mind is being stuck in Shanghai in an airport
and I'd never been there, no one speaks the language.
This was like, I just remember being very scared because
we didn't know what was going on and there might
have been someone might have had some sort of paraphernalia happening,
and not knowing if we were going to get out
alive kind of kind of a thing. That's a little scary.
It's kind of scary. We're not naming names. Drummer, it's
(30:34):
always the drummer, But that was definitely like one of
those moments. Right, do you remember being a bit frightened
because because they weren't particularly nice, Oh, they would not
approve of that. No paraphernalia China, yea or Japan or Singapore.
Never been to Singapore, actually, but I can imagine it's
very clean. Yeah, oh yes, that's right. You can get
(30:54):
caned if you dropped bubble com on the street. That's
the place. Now it's coming back to memory. It hasn't
happened to me, but it does happen. Yeah. Well, it's
been said that tragedy plus time equals humor. What's the
most embarrassing thing that's happened to you on stage and
how did you get through it. I remember one time
during a show in Spain at a club gig, and
(31:15):
for some reason I really thought it would be a
good idea if I had stuck my head in the
bass drum. Well, I was playing I'm over here doing
this fit take. Now, I just took a simple water
and it's now coming out of my nose. It seemed
like a great idea at the time, and I all
bad to the ideas, So I proceeded to get down
(31:36):
on the ground and put my head in the bas
drum while the drummer was playing very loud music. Um,
and I might have gotten stuck. And this is the
best stuck a little bit, and I did, because there's
the hole. For those that don't know, there's a hole
cut into the drumhead, which is sort of a my
(31:57):
lar or a plastic thing that we all see the
front of the drum. So you've now stuck here head
in there. Yeah. It's very loud um. Yeah, and I
I had a not so graceful recovery man coming out
of that. Yeah, did you have to stop playing bass
and then push your push the drum away from him?
(32:17):
I think I was actually quite impressed with with not
having to stop playing. I think I figured that one out. Unbelievable.
Did anyone come to your rescuer? They just let this happen.
I don't know. I just happened to anybody notice it
and laugh? Not that I remember. I had my head
and then drum. I didn't see anybody. I guess. Some
of my most embarrassing times were being handed a guitar
(32:39):
that wasn't on and I was sure it was going
to be on in the second when I needed it,
and it didn't come on. So, I mean, but stuff happens.
You have all these musicians on stage, and like you said,
you have wireless packs and you have cables and you
have wireless guitars, and it can get confusing. Yeah, there's
definitely a lot of the technical things. Things go out,
and I just remember, even on this last run my
(33:00):
wireless pack going out. My base is completely out, and
everyone kind of looks around not really knowing what happened.
And I know it's me um, but I'm just sitting
there with a big old goofy smile on my face,
dancing around pretending nothing is wrong. I used that same
smile when my wireless went out. Nothing to see here, folks.
Is there any person that you've played with or met
backstage that you've been completely star struck by? What about
(33:23):
that first time on stage when The Stones were headlining
where you star struck to meet making Keith? And had
you met them before? I hadn't met I might have
met them when I was a kid, but not that
I remember. I think that whole experience was just a complete,
just surreal experience, and it was almost like it wasn't happening.
We took pictures with the Stones backstage and I just
had the scoofy smile on my face, like like, what
(33:44):
is this happening? This is the best moment ever. And
I remember watching the show from the side of the
stage and watching make running around and and just it
was amazing, incredible show and an incredible experience. We have
that in common too. I got to open for them
a bunch with Hedda James when I was twenty four
years old. I thought, Man, if this is as good
as it gets, I'm I'm good. Yeah. Did you know
that at a baby's at me when I was a kid? Yeah,
(34:06):
I remember that. I hadn't thought about that till right now. Yeah,
that's amazing. Small world here at a take care that
she spread with kids. As wild as she was in
her early day, she was a real family person. Okay,
So if who would you just be like over the
moon to meet, even let's say they're not even with
us anymore, I would definitely be over the moon to
meet Jimi Hendrix. I think that would that would just
(34:27):
be other worldly because he's just such a fixture of
my childhood and anyone who My dad jammed with him
back in the day and had amazing things to say
about him because he was friends with Mitch and Andy.
John's the way he used to talk about him, and
he was like not of this world kind of spirit.
There's some other there's some other stuff going on there
that I resonate with, and I think that would be
pretty wild. Yeah, he's sort of next level big loss,
(34:48):
but such an amazing Canada music he's left us. Do
you have any pre show tradition or do you have
any superstitions or good luck rituals before show? You know,
it's always changing and it depend ends on where I'm at,
like what kind of show it is and stuff. But um,
I'll do like a meditation usually before and just try
to get centered. And um, I had a good trick
from a life coach of mine who said that a
(35:10):
way to get centered is to name a few things
in the room. I remember how many, maybe five things,
but like just to really ground yourself because just to
be there, because you know, it can be such a
out of body experience a lot of the time to
be out to be out there doing what we do.
So that's one of the things. Like before the curtain
comes down, so to speak, I'll just sit there on
(35:30):
stage and and be like, Okay, there's an exit sign there, Um,
there's a guitar amp there, there's this there. Just name
name five things just to ground myself and your shoes. Yeah, exactly.
And our jobs are super loud and and tours can
be exhausting. We all need ways to escape and recharge
when we're not on stage. So what do you do
to stay healthy and recharge between tours. I do a
(35:53):
lot of I do a lot of yoga. I do
a lot of like just breathing, um meditation, just again, connecting,
just connection. I feel like it's so easy to just
get so lost a lot of the time, even when
we're driving, when we're walking around, we're on our phones,
we're not present, we don't pay attention. So I feel
like a lot of the things that I try to
do is to pay more attention to where I am,
(36:14):
what I'm doing, reconnecting with myself, reconnecting with people. You know,
nature is a good a good one to do that.
I'd like to unplug for a while, just kind of
go off the grid for a bit and get off.
I do the social media cleans, take all the apps
off my phone. Yeah, it's interesting. Yeah, I mean, I
know that you work at the Cat and Fiddle pub
sometimes is that still a case? Do sometimes work on
(36:34):
the I will, I will pour pints whenever they need
my help if I'm around. Yeah. Well, see, it's such
a different world, isn't it. Because pub life and and
a great bar in the British tradition is all about
communication and connection, and social media is supposed to be
about that, but it really is something that's a little
bit alienating for a lot of people. It's easy to
get go down the rabbit hole and get lost in
(36:56):
that stuff. So if I find that happening, all I'll
just kind of disconnect for a little while and come
act to life. And I mean growing up in a
bar literally, it's like you grow up with people all
around you and you learn how to connect in that way.
And I'm grateful that I did have that, because you know,
that's what it's all about, is connecting with people. That's true. Yeah,
it's the fine art of connecting. And what are you
listening to these days? I had listened to a lot
(37:16):
of classical music. That's my go to in the morning, afternoon,
at night, I'll mix in. Usually I'll put in like
a like a new indie playlist or something on Spotify,
just to listen to what's going on going on out there,
the rock scene or the alt scene or whatever. Yeah,
just to get my ears on that stuff. But but
I'm just really coming back to the classical stuff. It's
a way to sort of cleanse the palette in a way. Yeah,
(37:38):
it's inspiring for me. I paint to the classical music
and um, it just has a really wonderful flow that
I love. And let me ask you this, who would
you go to see live if you had to buy
tickets and wait in line with everybody else in the
crowd with no super parking, no super v I p
like a live or Dead Live or Dad led Zeppelin. Ah,
good answer. And what's your favorite? You know, a song
(38:00):
you've written and performed? Um, right now, I would say
my favorite song is a song called dirty Bird than
I wrote. Is that out now? It is out now? Fantastic,
It's on an EP that I released UM last year. Well,
thank you so much, Eva, it's been a real joy
to have you here. Thank you so much for having me.
It's I'd like to thank everyone for listening, and a
(38:33):
big thanks to Eva for joining me at my home
in Santa Monica for such a sincere conversation. Be sure
to check out Eva's solo music and amazing artwork on
our website, Eva Gardner dot com. On Tour is a
production of I Heart Radio and Black Barrel Media. This
show is produced by Mandy Wimmer with executive producer Noel
(38:54):
Brown and I'm Your host Brian Ray. For more information
about On Tour, visit our website black Barrel Media dot com.
For behind the scenes photos from these interviews and to
interact with us, Visit our social media at on Tour
pod on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. For more shows from
I Heart Radio and Black Barrel Media, visit the I
(39:15):
Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your
favorite podcasts. M
On tour as a production of I Heart Radio and
Black Barrel Media. I'm your host, Brian ray On. This
show will take you behind the scenes of the music
business to give you the most raw and real tales
you've likely never heard before. We'll share our wildest, most unbelievable,
and yes, most embarrassing moments while on tour. Today, I
talked to someone who's more like family. I've known Eva
(00:33):
Gardner since she was a kid. Her mother and father
were both dear friends of mine, and it's been so
fun witnessing Eva's journey and music all these years. Though
she is the daughter of British Rock Royalty bassist Kim Gardner,
Eva was certainly not encouraged to follow in his footsteps.
She paved her own way and landed gigs with some
of the biggest names in music, share Gwen Stefani, Moby
(00:56):
and has been touring with Pink for well over a decade.
As we sat in my living room in Santa Monica,
even I reminisced over her years growing up with a
very famous father, her adventures touring the world with three
of the most badass women in music, and we end
with her most embarrassing moment playing bass on stage with Pink,
which honestly might be my favorite story of all time.
(01:16):
Here's my conversation with Eva Gardner Evil, Welcome to my show.
Thanks so much for having me on. Yeah, at a
young age for someone like you, you have a pretty
strong rock star resume. You've played with Pink, Share, KWin, Stefani,
(01:40):
Mars Volta, and a few names people just might know.
So we're going to dive into all of that. Let's
give everyone a little background, because this rock star thing
is really in your blood. Your dad, Kim Gardner, someone
I knew. He was around a group of friends that
I really loved, including your mom and Katie Segal and
Freddie Beck. My over at Valentino's old estate on Highland Avenue.
(02:03):
I think it was Villa, Yeah, the Villa Man. What
a great memory. And he was an incredible bass player
and played with icons like George Harrison, Jimmy Hendrix, here Clapton,
the list goes on, and obviously he'll He'll go down
in history. Is one of the architects of early garage
rock during the British invasion, playing with his band The
Creation and also The Birds with Ronnie Wood. Well, you
(02:25):
must be extremely proud of him, and I'm sure he
was an inspiration to you. But I've also heard you
talk before about how he didn't really support your dream
of being a bass player early on when you first started,
and he wasn't the first to teach you bass. Who
taught you to play? Yeah, So he wasn't that into
the idea of me playing bass. But it was all
I wanted to do, because you know, I looked up
(02:45):
to my dad and I grew up hearing all these
stories about him and all of his friends and touring
with The Who and hanging out with Entwhistle, and I
knew that's what I wanted to do. So when I
showed interest, he wasn't really that into the idea. And
it was actually his best friend, Andy John's that gave
me my first bass lesson. Is that right? Amazing? So
you had enough drive, though, too persevere and continue. And
(03:06):
was it that he did? You think he was protective
of you, that he didn't want you to go through
the biz or the you know, the sex, drugs and
rock and roll of what's out there for us? Yeah,
I mean he was in it. He was part of it.
He uh was in that whole scene. So I think
part of it sure was possibly protective of his little
girl and also protective of, yeah, the trials and tribulations
(03:26):
of the music business in general and all the things
that come with it. So I think it was probably
a lot of reasons that he didn't really want me
to get into it. But um, but I'm grateful for
that because it made me realize that it's actually what
I wanted to do. It wasn't just handed to me.
It wasn't easy, and I was told no, and um,
being told no it was probably the best thing that
ever happened to me. That's so interesting, Yeah, because you
(03:49):
had to really develop a drive to do it all
on your own without that sort of easy in of
having a famous dad in the scene already. And what
age was it that you first learned to play with
Andy John's. It wasn't until um, gosh, it was I
believe it would have been ninety let's see, I think
I was thirteen or fourteen. Wow. Yeah, And Andy, of
(04:12):
course was a huge producer of many of the biggest
acts in rock and roll. What was your favorite album
that Andy John's produced. I couldn't get enough of LEDs
Up be four. I mean that was my Um, he engineered,
he was he got those drum sounds, those famous drum sounds, um,
you know in the Levy breaks, that drum intro. I
mean that was that was him, That was Andy and
they were just experimenting and uh, you know, just kind
(04:34):
of threw a bunch of stuff against the wall and
see what stuck. And that was recorded in a stairwell
in some kind of manner somewhere in England, was on
the countryside. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I've seen pictures of it.
It's like, no wonder it sounds like that natural, huge,
big stairwell. Yeah. And so when did your dad finally
come around and start supporting your decision to to continue music.
(04:54):
I had booked a gig at the Whiskey and my
dad was like my first roadie. He was into it.
He rented me some gear from s I R because
you knew all the guys there, and uh, carried in
my AMP and helped me plug it in. And it
was kind of at that moment that I realized, like, Okay,
Dad's okay with it, Like he might even be proud
of me. That's amazing. And you just want to also
watch out for you and be an escort the whole time,
(05:16):
probably probably watch out for the guitar player. And interestingly
enough that gig. We used to play shows with a
band called Car's Flowers and that was one of those
gigs at the Whiskey, and Car's Flowers later became Ruined five.
Is that right? Well? Who in that Dan was in
Car's Flowers? Uh, well, it was it's Mickey Jesse. And
then Ryan was a drummer at the time who knew
(05:36):
our drummer. They were family friends, so that was the connection.
And Adam the singer he was singing lead at that
It was pretty much the same guy as and then
they started Ruin five and added some people down the line.
But um, but they were like high school friends of ours,
l kids. You know what was that first gig like
at the Whiskey? It was so much fun and um
they asked us if they wanted us to record a
VHS tape of it, and I think the drummer's dad
(05:59):
said yeah, or of course, And at the time we
didn't think much of it, but I still have that
tape and it's hilarious. We're all out of tune and
uh we sounded his all girl band. I was at Winton,
a girl Catholic high school, So we did a lot
of Go Goes covers and um do two songs, and
that's when I started writing original music. So I remember
tuning on stage, like without a tuner. That's like one
(06:21):
of the biggest things that I tell people. Now, get
a tuner first, age first, You're right. When I was
a kid, I was hanging out at places like the
Truebad War and the Ash Growth, and it was in
the folk scene in the country and folk and even
jug bands and stuff like that in the early sixties. Yes,
I'm that old. And all of the artists up there
(06:41):
tuned by ear and tuned on stage. No one had
a tuner back then, and it was part of your gig.
It's like, can you keep the audience's attention, do your tuning,
You do your tuning. You know, it's a sort of
a it's a talent. And you'd hear someone like Tim
Harden or um you know, John Hartman or any of
these guys and they're Earnie, Earnie or that. Well I
(07:01):
remember this one time and it becomes a part of
the pattern, you know, the banter. Yeah, So you were
getting invitations around that time to tour while you were
still in high school, like with the Wallflowers, and now
that's of course a legendary band with Jacob Dylan, and
clearly at that time you're doing fine. But what made
you turn down that opportunity and decide to go to college.
(07:22):
I remember getting a page on my pager and my
lunch time, I went to the pay phone and called
him back and they said they were finding people for
this new band, and I didn't know who they were
at the time. And I was also like, well, have
finals on Friday, so you know, I'm in school and
I wanted to finish school. And I it's funny because
my dad left school of fifteen, like those guys left
school at a young age and just went on the road.
(07:43):
And I thought that that's what I wanted to do,
and I thought that's what was supposed to happen. But
I realized, um luckily, that the world had changed and
it was important to me to finish school. And I
was also at music school, and I was getting a
really incredible experience. They're being exposed to just all different
types of music and different people, all kinds of genres
and walks of life and I just in my gut
(08:05):
felt that it was important for me to incumbate longer
before getting out there and jumping ship. That it marinated
for a little while. Well, at least you're getting those offers.
And you you applied to l A County music school
but then didn't get in, and why was that? Yeah,
La County High School for the Arts, and I auditioned
and I didn't get in because I was playing the
(08:27):
sort of you know, the rebellious punk rock card where
I didn't feel like I needed to learn how to
read music because Jimi Hendricks didn't know how to read
music and that whole scene, and so I was playing
the same, the same game, and uh when they asked
me if I was learning how to read us, not really.
And I played some very abstract, off the wall kind
(08:48):
of ambiguous bass solo art rock, some art rock staff
and I didn't get in. And I remember getting the
mail coming and I got the small envelope instead of
the big the big envelope, and again being told no.
I mean, that was the best thing that ever happened
to me, because I decided to get on the horse
and I learned the rules, and so my parents got
(09:08):
me a teacher, and I just dove into the other
side of music, the more academic side, and I decided
to try again. And you reapply the same school. Yep,
I re auditioned, same school, same teachers, but told them
different answers that time. Yeah, and got the big envelope.
And I got the big envelope. That's amazing, that's so cool.
Good for you. So after you graduated from us l
(09:29):
A with a degree in ethno music coology, which, in
a sentence, what is that for people who may not know. Sure,
ethno musicology is a study of world music and culture.
It's across between musicology and anthropology, and uh discusses the
correlation between the two. Um, how culture influences music and
vice versa. UM. So it was more of an academic major,
(09:51):
but I still UM we were still required to do performance,
and my performance I chose was. I got really into
Balanese music balin he has gone along, so that was
my focus when I was there. And UH, it's just
incredible to be there and be exposed to just different
kinds of music and see what the rest of the
world did. I mean, it's very different in the West. Obviously,
priorities are different, and I feel like a lot of
(10:12):
times we've moved away from why we started playing music,
why music came into our lives in the first place.
And so it was really important, I think, um, for
who I am as a person and a musician, to
come back to that. And I get that foundation too
before I went off into the world and started touring. Yeah,
I would imagine in a way that you had more
of a drive for a deeper understanding of music than
(10:34):
what started your dad along that path. He probably wanted
what most guys want when they're teenagers, sex, drugs, and
rock and roll, and you were like, you know, this
is something that I just love every aspect of and
I really want to know it more and I want
to master it and be really really good at it.
Probably in a way didn't understand that, I would imagine, Yeah,
And I think that early on I had surpassed my
(10:54):
father and what he knew technically right, because I took
the current conservatorial approach and I went to music school,
and um, you know, I think that was that was
kind of tough. It was tough for him and I
in a weird way, I felt kind of bad because
we couldn't communicate after a certain point. I mean musically
we could communicate, right because we would play together and stuff.
But I was going to school for music and was
(11:16):
doing when taking a different path, and he did. I
mean his path was perfect for him though. I mean
at the time in the sixties, and that's what everybody
was doing, all his friends in London in the sixties.
I mean it was the birth of a lot of that.
Those early movements. Well, certainly no one was reading music then.
I mean, Paul McCartney doesn't read music. You know, he
composes like crazy and he's an incredible arranger, but he
(11:38):
talks openly about that, and no one at that time did.
So it's just what you did at that time. So
after school you joined your first touring band, the Mars
bolta an amazing band that all musicians know of it.
They're not widely known outside of musicians as much as
say someone like Share or Pink, but they're really well respected.
(11:59):
The experience had to be that are sweet because finally
you're doing what you're dreamed of and uh and prepared
for all these years, and your dad was now recognizing
your passion and supporting it. You were ready to head
out on the road. But your father now had gotten
sick and he contracted cancer and talked to us a
little bit of what that was like. Yeah, like you said,
it was absolutely bittersweet. I mean, I was finally in
(12:21):
my element as far as writing with the band, recording
with the band, about to go on tour, and coming
out of school. I met them while I was still
in school finishing my degree. But I was playing with
these guys where they didn't know the rules, and it
was a push and pull. Right rules, no rules, get
back into your roots. And so I was writing with
these guys and throwing all those rules out the window
and just speaking from the heart again. And so I
was in this really incredible place with his musical family.
(12:43):
But the reason why I'm in that place in the
first place, you know, it was my father and he
was on his deathbed and I'm about to go on
my first tour ever, which was like my dream come true.
And he's literally in his bed dying, and I was
going to stay home and be with the family, and
he said no, talking about get out there, get out
there and do your thing. And I realized now looking back,
(13:04):
and it was at that very moment that he passed
on the torch. Oh, that's very sweet. Uh, you know,
that's crazy. I had a very similar experience eva my dad,
who was had emphasema. He and I had bonded in
the last seven years of his life, and I was
just getting a tour in France to go back out
(13:24):
with Johnny Halliday, and uh, I knew that he was
really declining quickly, and I I said, I'm going to
pass on the tour, and he said, I won't even
hear that. You know, you've got to get on tour,
just like your dad did for you. That's an amazing thing.
I didn't know we shared that, and of course I
(13:45):
did have a feeling that that was going to be
the last time I saw my dad, and that was
the case. I was somewhere in Carcasson when I tried
to call my dad and I was on hold and
the nursing station. I was on hold for minutes and
came back on and said, I'm very sorry, but we've
just lost your dad. He's just passed. That must have
been so traumatic for you. It was. It was traumatic,
(14:06):
and I so I left, you know, I left on
tour and he passed to me three days later. I
was in Georgia right after a show. And yeah, it was.
It was difficult, you know, like you said, it was bittersweet.
I was living my dream, but the person that I
wanted to be there wasn't. Oh God, I feel for you.
Let's see, let's go onto her after these were both
crying over here. Let's talk about your first experience in arena.
(14:29):
Your father is certainly smiling down on you through your
whole career, but your first arena experience, I'm sure he
would have been especially proud of. You're with Tim Bridges
of the Charlatan's and you were opening for the Rolling Stones.
Your father had opened for the Rolling Stones in the
sixties and of course was a friend and bandmate of
Ronnie Wood. So how old were you then when you
(14:50):
opened for the Stones with Tim Burgess. I was twenty four.
That was my first arena gig ever, was opening up
for the Stones. It was weird to start in England. Yeah,
and um, and it was just like this amazing full
circle moment because I was sharing a stage with with
ron Wood, who you know, my dad and him were
in their first band together. They lived in the same neighborhood.
They were neighbors amazing. So they grew up together, and yeah,
(15:12):
it's just this wild moment. And then of course the
Creation opening up for the Stones in the nineteen seven
just this really full circle, really cool, unbelievable, like multiple
full circles. Yeah, and had you met Ronnie before? Oh yeah, sure, Okay,
so when you were a kid or something whenever, yeah,
I mean, because they were around, He come around and
whenever we go to England, we'd be sure to catch
up with him. And I grew up with his son, Jesse,
(15:33):
so we're very close and he was always a fixture
in our lives. They shared a lot of their childhood together. Well,
ladies and gentlemen's side note, if you haven't checked out
the British Birds spelled b i r d s as
opposed to the California Birds b y r d s,
you must go check them out, and also the Creation,
two bands who are very important to the British invasion
(15:56):
and to garage rock. And that's why the Birds have
a y in their name. Actually the American Birds of
the original British Birds. That's right, it's the other way around, right. Yeah,
(16:19):
let's move on to your tours. It's safe to say
You've played with three of the most badass women in music.
What is was your favorite thing about playing with each
of them and how have your experiences with each of
them been different? Let's say starting with Share. Sure, well,
I mean they're all different people obviously, so um, but
they all are, like you said, a badass. So I mean,
(16:42):
my favorite thing about them is is probably that that
they're just such strong women. They're incredible role models, and
they're not afraid to have another woman on stage with
them like some people are. I've not gotten gigs sometimes
because the lead female singer didn't want competition on stage,
which is just so unfortunate because it doesn't have to
be like that. There's enough for everyone to go around,
you know, and um, we should be supporting each other,
(17:04):
lifting each other up. That's just such a thing that
I'm so grateful for that they all have a share. God,
I mean, what an icon right. And actually at our
at our very first show, my first show with with
her mom and Susan Antone were in the front row
and they yeah, and they used to sing that song
together I Got You Babe to each other because they
met each other as I think at twelve years old.
(17:26):
They were deep running buddies. Yeah, and uh, you know,
I'm just mom was there in the front row like
while I'm playing this song, and it was just this
really beautiful again the full circle thing, you know, just
these family ties run so deep, and for me to
be up on stage. Actually, I met Share several times
when I was a kid. One of her right hand
people got married at the Old Cat and Fiddle when
it was on Little Canyon, So she was there at
(17:47):
the wedding and I was like kid running around and
so I hadn't known her as a young child. And
then sharing the stage with her, being on her stage
and supporting her in that way as one of her
musicians was was an incredible feeling. I can imagine that. Well, yeah,
I remember seeing Sunny and Share at Allegian part and
it was classic Sonny and Share. He was wearing the
(18:08):
sheep skin vest and she was wearing the striped long
bell bottoms. Yeah, it's just a big memory for me.
I remember that. Well. What about Gwen Stefani again, another
trend setter, another just bad ass, incredibly creative and brave
and just it was so fun to play her songs
and her music and be part of her thing too,
(18:28):
because as much of a badass as she is, she's
also like her music is very open and raw, and
she's talking about real things and real real life, and
that really taught me a lot that it's okay to
be because you know, I think, especially with what I
do and who I am and being a female in music,
but you have to have a thick skin and you
have to learn how to run with the guys and
not really show your emotion. And playing with her and
(18:50):
really digging into these songs and really digging into what
these songs are about and what they mean, that really
helped me open up also as an artist myself. So
I mean, just susan inspiration in so many ways, and
getting to play in her band um open that other
source of inspiration for me too. Yeah. Well, I know
some of her songs really are coming from that place
where she's speaking to other women about being a strong
(19:13):
woman and you know, I am just a girl. Come on,
you know, it's that's not what she's really saying. And
and she's you know, up there doing push ups on
stage and stuff like that, and also very very expressive
and very emotional and open. Yeah, I can imagine that
was really fun. Where there are other women in that
band as well, Um not when I was there. Really, well,
(19:36):
good for her for being strong enough to, as you say,
you know, accept and invite another woman onto the stage.
And now you've been with Pink for how long now,
gosh it will be thirteen years. Amazing. Now, she's an
amazing artist. To me, what has it been like to
be a part of that touring band? That touring band
is uh has been the same touring band since I started.
(19:59):
I'm still one of new kids in the group. And
uh yeah, I mean and me going on thirteen years.
I mean that says a lot about about who she
is and the people that she has around her. And
it really is a family. It feels like a family.
We all love each other and have so much respect
for each other as musicians and as people, and um,
just it's been an incredible, incredible time with her. And
(20:19):
there's a lot of women in that band. There are
it's it's it's about it. It's about half half and half.
And it's weird because it's like, even though we are
you know, there's men, there's women, there's this and that.
It's like, but there's no you know, the guys are amazing.
They support us and we support them. There's no weirdness
that happens in the music industry, I think a lot
of the time, and things that I've heard, things that
(20:41):
I've seen, things that have been told to me, these
backhanded compliments and things like that. That doesn't exist in
that camp. Yeah, that's great. Yeah. And I know your
audition with her grew out of not getting a gig
with the reality TV show talk about that little exactly.
So I had tried out to be in the house
band for a television show called Rock Start in Excess.
They're looking for a new singer for an excess. So
(21:03):
I tried out and I got several callbacks and it
turned out to be It's funny because you know, with
those auditions with TV, it's not just the music, it's
also well, I'll tell you look a lot of the time.
But because it was that, there was casting as well,
television casting, and I had I'm naturally dark, dark hair,
so I had my dark hair at the time, and
the casting agent said, mmm, came up to me and
kind of rubbed her chin and said, have you ever
(21:23):
been a blonde? And I hadn't yet, and I said,
I'm sure I can be you know, I can whatever, um,
but I think they wanted to go with someone with
a different look or whatever it was. Didn't get that gig,
and of course, you know, you're mortified. You think that's
going to be your big break and this is my
opportunity of a lifetime. And uh. I ended up getting
a call two years later from the m D musical
(21:44):
director Paul Murkovich, who also works with Pink, and uh
he said, yeah, you know, remembered you from the audition
two years ago and Pink's looking for her new bass player.
Would you like to try out? But I said absolutely.
You just never know how people are going to come
back into your lives. That's right, when a note turned
into another opportunity. You know, I've had the same sort
of thing happened with me a couple of times. And
(22:06):
one was I accepted a gig to go play like
a blues gig at some club, some bar in l
A for sixty bucks to do three sets. And this
was in the early nineties and after the edit James
thing had slowed down, and I said yes, which is
something I didn't usually do for sixty dollar blues gig.
(22:28):
And I went down there and at the time of
my life, it was so much fun, three sets with
a bunch of buddies, with other buddies in the audience,
and I just said, I could have missed this whole
thing just staying home. It's not the sixty dollars. It's
not that. It's a little bit sort of it feels
like a downgrade to go play some bar for sixty bucks.
But the drummer that gig was playing with Rita Coolidge
(22:50):
and was her empty And after that the next day
asked me if i'd come up and do a gig
with Rita Coolidge as a sub because their guitar player
couldn't made it. And I of course turned into her
guitar player for the next four years. So it's kind
of like something that happens with us quite a lot.
You never just never know, Yeah, you never know. But
that wasn't a great TV show anyway. I never ended
(23:12):
up watching it, but kind of, you know, it's one
of those kind of broke my heart a little bit,
so I never ended up watching it. But you didn't
miss a lot. But I know all the I mean,
you know, all the guys in the band in the
house band and they're all doing the voice now. But
it's all part of that great network part of your
story as well. So I've read somewhere that after you
got the gig with Pink, you didn't actually meet her
(23:34):
until you were going on stage and in some castle
in Ireland, and you'd had a big experience before that.
But this was a huge star, full time gig touring
the world. Tell me what that was like, meeting her
for the first time just before going on stage. The
whole thing was a whirlwind because I only had when
Paul did eventually call me and tell me that I
got in the gig after auditioning. Uh. He said, okay,
(23:57):
so you got the gig back for three months, We'll
send four albums worth material and we'll see you in
three days. So it was very very quick turnaround. So
I flew to Dublin and did a rehearsal with the band,
and of course the arrangements that I was given were
not the live arrangements, so some of that stuff had changed,
and so it's definitely a trial by fire. And I
didn't even meet her until right before the gig first soundcheck.
(24:20):
Mala had castled this huge beautiful place and um near Dublin,
and she gave me a big old hug and said
welcome to the family, and that was it. Then the
rest is history. So let me get that straight. You
did how many rehearsals before the first gig? One? And
how many songs in this show? It was like a
ninety minutes at Holy crap, that's crazy. Wow. Yeah. My
(24:43):
My first gig with Paul was getting a call to
go do the super Bowl one song for the Super
Bowl two thousand two. And it was after giving ab
La Boreal the question who's going to play bass when
he plays piano and who's going to play guitar when
he play is bass? And Abe said, we're looking for
a guitar player who plays bass. And I put my
(25:04):
hand up and got a phone call from David Kahn,
who had produced Paul's recent album, and got the call
to just go down and meet with David Kahn. And
that turned into you know, a call the next day
saying can you get on a plane tomorrow to go
meet and play with Paul McCartney. And I was like, wow,
I think I can do that. Just thinking about this
industry is so competitive, but I love seeing so many
(25:27):
strong women supporting each other. Doesn't seem to be a
sharing the spotlight issue with any of these women. Um,
and you've spoken a little bit about that. Was that
the same with share and absolutely and you know when
you're when you're in the line of the hired gun thing,
it's like you know your place right and you, um,
you're there to support the artists. You're there to do
(25:47):
to do a job. You know, it's not it's not
about you. It's about you playing a role to help
the machine. You know. Yeah, it's never been an issue.
And it's pink quite the leader. Does she keep the
momentum going with the band, and she keep the sort
of the mood high. She drive it well, sometimes it works.
Sometimes it works both ways as well. You know. Sometimes
it's uh, if someone's not having a great day, it's
(26:10):
up to the rest of us to lift them up
and um, you know, do what it takes to keep
the energy high and and um and positive. What about
pre show traditions, you guys do any sort of prayers
or jamming or anything? Sure? Yeah, I mean our guitar
player usually is in the bathroom practicing. I've instagram, um,
(26:30):
and everyone's kind of got their own thing. A couple
of guys take naps, um, the singers will do warm
ups and uh, the band girls started doing she Gong
before shows, actually on the show, which was really really amazing,
and then we all end up doing a prayer with
the boss before we hit the stage. Everybody who's on
stage gather's right before and then hits it. These are
massive live shows. Things go wrong, I mean and Pink
(26:53):
especially as a crazy aerial and acrobatic shows. Anything ever
gone wrong? And and how did you all recover from it? Yes,
there's so many moving parts that absolutely things do go wrong,
and depending on what it is, everyone just does their
best to recover. Sometimes it's um the tracks will go out,
or sometimes it's it's the rigging sometimes one of the
(27:15):
motors that will go out for one of the contraptions
she's on. And in those situations, I mean, everyone just
works together to make it as smooth as possible. Sometimes
it's not so smooth. Sometimes it's like at the end
of the day, we're trying to make it uh so
that the audience is still having a good experience and
nobody nothing to see here, folks moving moving run along here.
(27:38):
Sometimes are empty God, Blastom is like, oh, I guess
I'm gonna do an extent the piano thing here. Okay,
keep going that, you give me the queue and um.
So it just depends on the situation and sometimes it's
not so graceful. Sometimes it ends up working out, but
it's just it's just the nature of those things when
you like that big. I remember seeing her one time,
(27:59):
I think it was at Staple Center where she had
injured her shoulder or something and had to stand on
stage for the song rather than do her It was difficult. Yeah,
that was just such a trooper. I've always been curious
how women like Paint and sharing Gwyn who have a
lot of full costume changes in our backstage so quickly.
What sort of machine is going on back there to
(28:19):
make all that happen. Yeah, Well, there's the wardrobes back there,
there's dressers, there's the audio guys that are back there
making sure the packs are working, Um, the mics are working. Uh,
there's a lot of moving parts and there's a lot
going on, a lot of people to make the well
old machine work. Um, it's a lot of elements. And
then we're all on in ears and so everybody everywhere.
(28:40):
Everyone on stage can hear the m D, and the
m D is communicating with the production manager and and
the same guys are everyone's connected. It's like to be clear,
the m D is getting information from backstage saying go
or stretch for the zipper broke, do something. We're not
hearing all that. We're not hearing that. The m DS
hearing that. The m D then tells you, guys, you know,
(29:03):
stretch or something, I'm gonna play a piano solo or
take it eva exactly. Yeah, that's hilarious. Yeah. Well, And
and with a tour family like mine with Paul or
yours with Pink, we're together seven for months at a time.
You guys hang out outside of the gigs when you're
off tour, you just enjoy your ala carte times off tour,
We're hanging out all the time, whether it's days off
(29:23):
on tour, we're all hanging out with the bosses, organizing
movie nights. You know, we're always doing stuff, which is great.
But even when we're off tour, um, we're hanging out
for birthdays, barbecues, whatever it is. We just all really
genuinely like each other, beautiful, We love each other it's
it's it really is like a family. We're gonna wrap
(29:49):
it up with our lightning round and we like to
call the encore. The non glamorous side of what we
do is to travel. And you've been packed in a
van with your Mars Volta days and a tour bus
and flow all over the world. Was the craziest travel
story that's happened to you? And was there ever a
moment of is this really as fun as I thought
it would be? Travel story? Gosh? The one that comes
(30:11):
to mind is being stuck in Shanghai in an airport
and I'd never been there, no one speaks the language.
This was like, I just remember being very scared because
we didn't know what was going on and there might
have been someone might have had some sort of paraphernalia happening,
and not knowing if we were going to get out
alive kind of kind of a thing. That's a little scary.
It's kind of scary. We're not naming names. Drummer, it's
(30:34):
always the drummer, But that was definitely like one of
those moments. Right, do you remember being a bit frightened
because because they weren't particularly nice, Oh, they would not
approve of that. No paraphernalia China, yea or Japan or Singapore.
Never been to Singapore, actually, but I can imagine it's
very clean. Yeah, oh yes, that's right. You can get
(30:54):
caned if you dropped bubble com on the street. That's
the place. Now it's coming back to memory. It hasn't
happened to me, but it does happen. Yeah. Well, it's
been said that tragedy plus time equals humor. What's the
most embarrassing thing that's happened to you on stage and
how did you get through it. I remember one time
during a show in Spain at a club gig, and
(31:15):
for some reason I really thought it would be a
good idea if I had stuck my head in the
bass drum. Well, I was playing I'm over here doing
this fit take. Now, I just took a simple water
and it's now coming out of my nose. It seemed
like a great idea at the time, and I all
bad to the ideas, So I proceeded to get down
(31:36):
on the ground and put my head in the bas
drum while the drummer was playing very loud music. Um,
and I might have gotten stuck. And this is the
best stuck a little bit, and I did, because there's
the hole. For those that don't know, there's a hole
cut into the drumhead, which is sort of a my
(31:57):
lar or a plastic thing that we all see the
front of the drum. So you've now stuck here head
in there. Yeah. It's very loud um. Yeah, and I
I had a not so graceful recovery man coming out
of that. Yeah, did you have to stop playing bass
and then push your push the drum away from him?
(32:17):
I think I was actually quite impressed with with not
having to stop playing. I think I figured that one out. Unbelievable.
Did anyone come to your rescuer? They just let this happen.
I don't know. I just happened to anybody notice it
and laugh? Not that I remember. I had my head
and then drum. I didn't see anybody. I guess. Some
of my most embarrassing times were being handed a guitar
(32:39):
that wasn't on and I was sure it was going
to be on in the second when I needed it,
and it didn't come on. So, I mean, but stuff happens.
You have all these musicians on stage, and like you said,
you have wireless packs and you have cables and you
have wireless guitars, and it can get confusing. Yeah, there's
definitely a lot of the technical things. Things go out,
and I just remember, even on this last run my
(33:00):
wireless pack going out. My base is completely out, and
everyone kind of looks around not really knowing what happened.
And I know it's me um, but I'm just sitting
there with a big old goofy smile on my face,
dancing around pretending nothing is wrong. I used that same
smile when my wireless went out. Nothing to see here, folks.
Is there any person that you've played with or met
backstage that you've been completely star struck by? What about
(33:23):
that first time on stage when The Stones were headlining
where you star struck to meet making Keith? And had
you met them before? I hadn't met I might have
met them when I was a kid, but not that
I remember. I think that whole experience was just a complete,
just surreal experience, and it was almost like it wasn't happening.
We took pictures with the Stones backstage and I just
had the scoofy smile on my face, like like, what
(33:44):
is this happening? This is the best moment ever. And
I remember watching the show from the side of the
stage and watching make running around and and just it
was amazing, incredible show and an incredible experience. We have
that in common too. I got to open for them
a bunch with Hedda James when I was twenty four
years old. I thought, Man, if this is as good
as it gets, I'm I'm good. Yeah. Did you know
that at a baby's at me when I was a kid? Yeah,
(34:06):
I remember that. I hadn't thought about that till right now. Yeah,
that's amazing. Small world here at a take care that
she spread with kids. As wild as she was in
her early day, she was a real family person. Okay,
So if who would you just be like over the
moon to meet, even let's say they're not even with
us anymore, I would definitely be over the moon to
meet Jimi Hendrix. I think that would that would just
(34:27):
be other worldly because he's just such a fixture of
my childhood and anyone who My dad jammed with him
back in the day and had amazing things to say
about him because he was friends with Mitch and Andy.
John's the way he used to talk about him, and
he was like not of this world kind of spirit.
There's some other there's some other stuff going on there
that I resonate with, and I think that would be
pretty wild. Yeah, he's sort of next level big loss,
(34:48):
but such an amazing Canada music he's left us. Do
you have any pre show tradition or do you have
any superstitions or good luck rituals before show? You know,
it's always changing and it depend ends on where I'm at,
like what kind of show it is and stuff. But um,
I'll do like a meditation usually before and just try
to get centered. And um, I had a good trick
from a life coach of mine who said that a
(35:10):
way to get centered is to name a few things
in the room. I remember how many, maybe five things,
but like just to really ground yourself because just to
be there, because you know, it can be such a
out of body experience a lot of the time to
be out to be out there doing what we do.
So that's one of the things. Like before the curtain
comes down, so to speak, I'll just sit there on
(35:30):
stage and and be like, Okay, there's an exit sign there, Um,
there's a guitar amp there, there's this there. Just name
name five things just to ground myself and your shoes. Yeah, exactly.
And our jobs are super loud and and tours can
be exhausting. We all need ways to escape and recharge
when we're not on stage. So what do you do
to stay healthy and recharge between tours. I do a
(35:53):
lot of I do a lot of yoga. I do
a lot of like just breathing, um meditation, just again, connecting,
just connection. I feel like it's so easy to just
get so lost a lot of the time, even when
we're driving, when we're walking around, we're on our phones,
we're not present, we don't pay attention. So I feel
like a lot of the things that I try to
do is to pay more attention to where I am,
(36:14):
what I'm doing, reconnecting with myself, reconnecting with people. You know,
nature is a good a good one to do that.
I'd like to unplug for a while, just kind of
go off the grid for a bit and get off.
I do the social media cleans, take all the apps
off my phone. Yeah, it's interesting. Yeah, I mean, I
know that you work at the Cat and Fiddle pub
sometimes is that still a case? Do sometimes work on
(36:34):
the I will, I will pour pints whenever they need
my help if I'm around. Yeah. Well, see, it's such
a different world, isn't it. Because pub life and and
a great bar in the British tradition is all about
communication and connection, and social media is supposed to be
about that, but it really is something that's a little
bit alienating for a lot of people. It's easy to
get go down the rabbit hole and get lost in
(36:56):
that stuff. So if I find that happening, all I'll
just kind of disconnect for a little while and come
act to life. And I mean growing up in a
bar literally, it's like you grow up with people all
around you and you learn how to connect in that way.
And I'm grateful that I did have that, because you know,
that's what it's all about, is connecting with people. That's true. Yeah,
it's the fine art of connecting. And what are you
listening to these days? I had listened to a lot
(37:16):
of classical music. That's my go to in the morning, afternoon,
at night, I'll mix in. Usually I'll put in like
a like a new indie playlist or something on Spotify,
just to listen to what's going on going on out there,
the rock scene or the alt scene or whatever. Yeah,
just to get my ears on that stuff. But but
I'm just really coming back to the classical stuff. It's
a way to sort of cleanse the palette in a way. Yeah,
(37:38):
it's inspiring for me. I paint to the classical music
and um, it just has a really wonderful flow that
I love. And let me ask you this, who would
you go to see live if you had to buy
tickets and wait in line with everybody else in the
crowd with no super parking, no super v I p
like a live or Dead Live or Dad led Zeppelin. Ah,
good answer. And what's your favorite? You know, a song
(38:00):
you've written and performed? Um, right now, I would say
my favorite song is a song called dirty Bird than
I wrote. Is that out now? It is out now? Fantastic,
It's on an EP that I released UM last year. Well,
thank you so much, Eva, it's been a real joy
to have you here. Thank you so much for having me.
It's I'd like to thank everyone for listening, and a
(38:33):
big thanks to Eva for joining me at my home
in Santa Monica for such a sincere conversation. Be sure
to check out Eva's solo music and amazing artwork on
our website, Eva Gardner dot com. On Tour is a
production of I Heart Radio and Black Barrel Media. This
show is produced by Mandy Wimmer with executive producer Noel
(38:54):
Brown and I'm Your host Brian Ray. For more information
about On Tour, visit our website black Barrel Media dot com.
For behind the scenes photos from these interviews and to
interact with us, Visit our social media at on Tour
pod on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. For more shows from
I Heart Radio and Black Barrel Media, visit the I
(39:15):
Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your
favorite podcasts. M
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