With the Mars Volta, Veruca Salt, Pink, Cher, and more, Eva Gardner has become a mainstay of the LA scene. The bass guitar is in her blood, as her father, Kim Gardner, was a four-string linchpin of the 1960s British Invasion.
You’d think Kim would have been all for his daughter getting into the family business, but that wasn’t initially the case. “I started to show interest in the bass when I was about 12, but my dad wasn’t really into the idea,” Gardner tells Bass Player.
She explains: “He didn’t really encourage it, so it didn’t happen until his best friend, Andy Johns, came over when I was 14. Andy came over with a bass and an amp, and my dad thought it was for him, but he was like, ‘No, dude, this is for Eva. She’s been begging for a bass lesson.’”
Gardner says that Johns, an iconic producer who worked with everyone from Led Zeppelin to the Rolling Stones to Television, sat her down with a bass in hand, leading to her borrowing one of his basses. “I borrowed Andy’s bass because I wasn’t allowed to touch my dad’s basses,” she laughs. “That’s what sparked it.”
That spark led Gardner to sign on as Mars Volta’s original bass player in 2001. Gardner stuck around for the band’s first EP, Tremulantbefore departing after her father’s death while Eva was on tour.
“It was one of those best/worst times,” she says. “I was finally doing what I’d dreamed of doing. But the reason why I was doing it was my pops, and he was no longer there. It was just one of those things.”
Gardner rebounded in 2005 by joining Veruca Salt on tour, before securing even bigger gigs with Pink in 2007, where she’s remained for 18 years, and with Cher in 2014. And in 2022, Gardner rejoined the Mars Volta.
As for how she balances it all, she shrugs, “You just do it. You do what you need to do to make it work. It’s all fun for me, and it’s exciting. I’m excited that I get to do it; it’s fun to keep the brain going.”
“It’s just kind of a full-circle moment,” Gardner says of rejoining the Mars Volta. “To be doing those old songs, and to be a part of two records, the self-titled one, and the acoustic one, and getting to play that on my dad’s upright bass, it’s a nice full-circle homage to the past, and also, looking to the future.”
Did you choose the bass, or did it choose you?
“My dad was a bass player, so I grew up with the bass just in my face, everywhere, all the time. And my dad was my hero; he always talked about these incredible stories of being on the road and part of the London scene in the 1960s and 70s.
“So, I was just kind of like, ‘I want to do that; it sounds really fun.’ He was always so animated and vibrant when he would talk about those times and playing bass in bands. I was like, ‘Yep, I want that. I want to do that. So, I don’t know… that’s a good question. I don’t know if it chose me or if I chose it. Maybe a little bit of both.”
Was your dad very impactful on you as a player?
“Yes and no. I will say that equipment-wise, he played Fender basses and Ampeg amps. And I actually still have his Acoustic that he played from back in the day. So, I would say that his use of Rotosound strings and the kind of old-school tube amp tones and vibes definitely influenced me.”
That’s gear, but how about style?
I actually got Veruca Salt through Andy Johns. One of his friends was managing them, and he called me up when they had a tour of Australia booked and asked if I wanted to do it
“Stylistically, he played mostly fretless later, and with a pick, so he had his own thing. And I came through jazz band in high school, and I started with a pick, but when I was in jazz band, they were like, ‘Put down the pick,’ and that’s when I started playing with my fingers. I do both, but primarily, I play fingerstyle, and mostly with fretted basses. So, I formed my own thing.”
You were the original bassist for the Mars Volta. How did you get the gig?
“That was my first time recording on a label and going on tour. My friend Ike [Randolph Isaiah Owens]who was the keyboard player, was in a band called De Facto, was like, ‘I’m in a band with these guys; their band, At the Drive-In, broke up, and they want to start a new band. Do you want to come down, meet these guys, and do some playing?’
“I went to high school with Ike’s little brother, Brandon; we were both bass players, so I knew them from LA, around town, from school, and shows. So, he called me up and said, ‘Come down.’ I met them, and we got along. We started playing and writing songs, and that’s how it happened, just really organically.”
How did the Mars Volta’s debut EP, Tremulantcome together?
“Just from jamming with all of us in the room. Someone would come up with an idea, another person would add to it; it was a very collaborative experience. We had some demos, and those demos eventually turned into an EP.”
What gear did you use?
“I used the bass that I still use, my first bass that I got for Christmas when I was a teenager – it’s a Mexican [Fender] P-Bass straight up. And I was using an [Ampeg] SVT810 and a 1970 head. It was the first amp that I’d ever bought with my own money. I still have it.”
How did you end up joining Veruca Salt in 2005?
“So, I actually got Veruca Salt through Andy Johns. One of his friends was managing them, and he called me up when they had a tour of Australia booked and asked if I wanted to do it. I said, ‘Absofreakinglutely.’
“I’d gone to see them at the Hollywood Palladium in 1994 and was in the front row, so the opportunity to play with them was amazing. I was definitely into it. That experience was different because all those songs were established and had been on the radio for many years.”
In 2007, you joined Pink’s band. How did that happen?
“In 2005 I auditioned to be in the house band for a TV show called Rock Star: INXS. That didn’t work out, but the musical director from the audition called me two years later and asked if I wanted to try out for Pink.”
Did you have to audition again for Pink?
“Yes, it was an audition at S.I.R. on Sunset, which was right across the street from my family restaurant, The Cat and Fiddle. I was bartending in the daytime, and I was like, ‘Hey, mom, can you just watch the bar for like half an hour? I have an audition across the street…’
My mom watched the bar for me, I threw my bass over my shoulder, ran across the street, and did the audition. After it was done, I ran back across the street, finished up my shift
“So, my mom watched the bar for me, I threw my bass over my shoulder, ran across the street, and did the audition. After it was done, I ran back across the street, finished up my shift, and got a call a couple of days later that I’d gotten it. That was 18 years ago.”
Pink’s music is very different from the Mars Volta and Veruca Salt. Did you approach the gig very differently?
“They were a well-oiled machine by the time I came along. I came in the middle of a tour, and basically, I had a set to learn. I learned the set and had to come in and be in the role of a hired gun to support the artist. It was amazing and fun, but it was a challenge because it was such a quick turnaround.”
“I had three days to learn the entire set, get on a plane, and fly to Ireland. [laughs] I had one rehearsal with the band, I met Pink at soundcheck right before the first show, and then I’m playing in front of thousands and thousands of people. [laughs]
“That was a new experience, being in a trial by fire, and being in a group setting that was part of such a larger production, on such a larger scale. It was exciting, but really made me step things up as far as recognizing that we’re just a part of a team.
“Everyone has a role to play, and I was up for it. I was leveling up in a different way because there’s so much at stake; I had to up my game.”
Is Pink very particular about the approach the musicians in her band take?
“We have a musical director who helps make sure everything is sounding good, and she hand-picks the band. She makes sure it’s people who can get things done, where she doesn’t have to worry about stuff.
“She’s in a position where she doesn’t have to micromanage because the work is done as a group with a musical director. But if she hears something off, she’ll say something, but for the most part, we’re there to make sure that we get it how we know she’ll want it.”
You’ve also worked a lot with Cher. Is that a similar experience to working with Pink?
“That’s exactly right – and there’s a lot of crossover because they have the same management. So, we often have the same musical director who sets things up, and the same band members.
“I mean, we finished a Pink tour one time, and several of us in the band moved on to Cher, so we’re all used to working together. And again, it’s set up so that she doesn’t have to worry – Cher can be Cher, do her thing, and the rest is taken care of.”
You’ve been back with the Mars Volta since 2022. That has to be gratifying.
It still felt like I was able to come in and lock in with these guys. I feel like I’ve always had a very special musical connection with them, so it just felt as if no time had passed
“Man, it’s been so great. I’d been in touch with the guys the whole time, pretty much, and I’d worked on some solo projects with them – but to be back in this particular band, playing these shows, and coming back to these basslines that I wrote as a 21 or 22-year-old, has been really cool, and fun.”
Can you give a snapshot of what it’s like working with Omar and Cedric?
“When I came in for the latest stuff, the album was already written, so I just came in and put bass over it. But I mean, they’re so good, you know? And just hearing how it came out in the end, it felt like old times, even though we weren’t in the room writing together.
“I came in later this time around; it still felt like I was able to come in and lock in with these guys. I feel like I’ve always had a very special musical connection with them, so it just felt as if no time had passed.”
Considering how eclectic the music is, is there a specific headspace you need to be in to lock down a proper Mars Volta bassline?
I’m writing and recording, so I’ll probably be releasing some more solo stuff here soon
“I just let it flow. There’s no… I don’t know; I guess I’m not really overthinking stuff. It’s just a flow. It’s just flowing again; the musical connection is there. It’s easy to create because I’m inspired.”
You put out some solo music over Covid. Do you have plans for more?
“I do. I just did a couple of solo shows in LA, singing and playing acoustic guitar, so it’s something a little different for me. And I had a band, a bass player, a drummer, and a piano player, so I’m doing more of that stuff. I’m writing and recording, so I’ll probably be releasing some more solo stuff here soon.”
As for the rest of 2025, what’s on tap?
“I’ll be doing some more playing here and there. I’m actually working on a music documentary, and I’ll be working on that quite a bit, which is music adjacent. As far as touring, there’s some possible stuff, but I’m not sure. Nothing’s been greenlit yet, but we’ll see.”
