Eva Gardner on Touring with P!nk, The Mars Volta, and Life as a Working Bassist

The Bass Nerds recently sat down with Eva Gardner while she was on tour with The Mars Volta and the conversation covers a lot of ground that will resonate with working players.

Gardner traces her path back to growing up around her father’s gear and his circle of musicians, which set the foundation early. She talks about being drawn to bass from the start, even when her dad wasn’t fully on board with her pursuing it professionally. That resistance ended up fueling her drive. As she puts it, it made her want it more and pushed her to turn those early no’s into yeses .

There are some great stories here, including how she got the call to join P!nk after an audition that didn’t even land her the original gig. A couple years later, the same musical director reached out, leading to a whirlwind moment where she had to learn multiple albums in a day and leave for tour almost immediately .

She also reflects on her early days with The Mars Volta, describing a creative environment where the rules went out the window and everything came from simply playing together in a room . It is a sharp contrast to the precision and scale of a major pop tour, where timing, production, and consistency are everything.

Throughout it all, Gardner keeps coming back to the idea of staying open, staying prepared, and never assuming anything is guaranteed, even after nearly two decades on the same gig.

Check out the full interview below!

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