Suzanne Gardner | |
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 Gardner performing in Germany, 2015 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | August 1, 1960 |
| Origin | Altus, Oklahoma |
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| Years active | 1982–present |
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Suzanne Gardner (born August 1, 1960) is an American musician and creative director best known for being a guitarist, vocalist, and co-founder of the rock band L7.
Gardner was born in Altus, Oklahoma [1] on August 1, 1960 [2] [3] to Anne B. Gardner. She had an older brother, Bob, [4] and grew up partly in Citrus Heights, California. [1] Gardner moved to Southern California in 1977. [5] She attended Orange Coast College in 1978 and studied physical anthropology and guitar. [5] In 1980, Gardner moved to Los Angeles. [5]
Before playing with L7, Gardner held a number of jobs in Los Angeles and had worked at LA Weekly . She was writing poetry and music at the time she met Donita Sparks in 1984. They had each worked at LA Weekly, although at separate times, and met through mutual contacts still connected to the publisher. Gardner co-founded the punk rock group L7 with Sparks by 1985. [6] [7] [8] When they began to write music together as L7, Gardner and Sparks were active in the creative Art punk DIY scene of musicians, poets, and performance artists in the Echo Park/Silverlake area. [9]
Gardner is a primary songwriter for L7 and is credited with the tracks "Bite the Wax Tadpole", "It's Not You", "Snake Handler", "Cat-O'-Nine-Tails", "Monster", "Stuck Here Again" and "Freak Magnet". Along with appearing on all seven of L7's studio albums, Gardner also provided guest vocals on the Black Flag song "Slip It In" on their 1984 release of the same title. With her L7 bandmates Donita Sparks and Jennifer Finch, she was also featured on the Bad Religion album Suffer , released in 1988, where she provided additional guitar with Sparks on the song "Best for You".
Gardner and L7 formed a pro-choice organization called Rock for Choice, which staged many benefit shows featuring popular bands such as Rage Against the Machine and Nirvana. The first Rock for Choice concert was in 1991. [10]
In a 1993 article for Spin which featured L7 on the magazine's cover, Renée Crist described L7 as "four of the funniest, meanest, strongest, coolest, most pissed-off women I know" and as "wild, rambunctious, spontaneous" with a stage show that "is a wash of buddy love, crowd working, and acrobatics". [11]
In 1994, Gardner appeared in the John Waters film Serial Mom as part of the fictitious band "Camel Lips". [12]
Gardner, in 2000, became the first woman to have her breasts plaster-cast by Cynthia Plaster Caster, the artist who had spent decades casting impressions of rock music's most famous phalluses. [13] [14]
Original video and consolidated interviews with Gardner are included in the documentary L7: Pretend We're Dead, released in 2016 and directed by Sarah Price. [15] The film was nominated for a VO5 NME Award for Best Music Film. [16]
Gardner continued to perform internationally with the original line up of L7 in 2015 – 2017 and co-wrote two new songs with Sparks: Dispatch from Mar-a-Lago, 2017 and I Came Back to Bitch, 2018. [17]
On the latest L7 album Scatter the Rats (released in 2019 to generally favorable reviews), [18] Gardner wrote several songs including "Fighting the Crave", "Proto Prototype", and "Cool About Easy". Gardner and the band announced a 6-week nationwide tour with a start date of May 10, 2019. [19]
Spin reported that Gardner appeared at the Roxy Theatre on January 11, 2020, and "delivered a blistering rendition of 'Keys to Your Heart'" by Joe Strummer at a tribute to the Clash. [20]
L7 is an American all-female rock band founded in Los Angeles, California, first active from 1985 to 2001 and re-formed in 2014. Their longest standing lineup consists of Suzi Gardner, Donita Sparks, Jennifer Finch, and Dee Plakas. L7 has released seven studio albums and has toured widely in the US, Europe, Japan, Australia, and South America. "Pretend We're Dead" was heavily played on US alternative radio and entered the top 10 on the Billboard Modern Rock chart in 1992.
Suffer is the third album by American punk rock band Bad Religion, released on the Californian independent record label Epitaph Records on September 8, 1988. It was the first album that was both released and distributed by the label. Following the release of the EP Back to the Known (1985), Bad Religion went on a temporary hiatus, then reunited with its original members and went to work on their first full-length studio album in five years.
Bricks Are Heavy is the third studio album by American rock band L7, released on April 14, 1992, by Slash Records. The album peaked at number 160 on the US Billboard 200 and number one on the Heatseekers Albums chart. As of June 2000, Bricks Are Heavy has sold 327,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen Soundscan.
L7 is the debut studio album by American rock band L7, released in 1988 by Epitaph Records. It demonstrates the band's punk rock origins, although there are traces of the heavier grunge sound that dominated their later work.
Jennifer Finch is an American musician, designer, and photographer most notable for being the primary bass player of the punk rock band L7. Active in L7 from 1986 to 1996, Finch also wrote music and performed with her bands OtherStarPeople and The Shocker in the interim before joining the reunited L7 in 2014.
Hungry for Stink is the fourth studio album by L7, released in July 1994 by Slash Records. The album peaked at number 117 on the Billboard 200 chart, as well as number 2 on the Heatseekers Albums chart.
Donita Sparks is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter most notable for being the co-founder of the band L7. Sparks also initiated, performed, and released original material with her solo project, the band Donita Sparks and the Stellar Moments.
Smell the Magic is the second studio album by American rock band L7, released in 1990 by Sub Pop. Originally issued as a 12" EP containing only the first six songs, it was reissued on CD in July 1991, expanded to album length with three more tracks: "Packin' a Rod," "Just Like Me," and "American Society." The opening track "Shove" was released as the band's first single.
The Beauty Process: Triple Platinum is the fifth studio album by American rock band L7, released on February 25, 1997, by Slash Records in collaboration with Reprise Records. It was recorded at Conway Recording Studios in Hollywood and Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, California. The band recorded most of the album as a trio formed by founding members Donita Sparks and Suzi Gardner, and longtime drummer Demetra Plakas, following the departure of bassist Jennifer Finch. The album marks a departure from the tough rock style of its predecessors to a slower and more adventurous style.
Slap-Happy is the sixth studio album by the American rock band L7. It was released on August 24, 1999, by Bong Load Records in collaboration with Wax Tadpole Records, an independent record label that the band formed after being dropped by Reprise Records in 1997. L7 recorded the album as a trio formed by founding members Donita Sparks and Suzi Gardner, and longtime drummer Demetra Plakas, following the departure of bassist Gail Greenwood. It was made with a low budget and produced by the band and their friend Brian Haught.
Album – Generic Flipper is the debut studio album by the noise rock band Flipper. It was released in June 1982 by Subterranean Records. It is also referred to as Album, Album: Generic, Generic Flipper and just Generic. It was issued on CD for the first time by American Recordings in 1992 and later deleted. In 2008, the rights reverted to Flipper, and the album was reissued on December 9, 2008, by Water Records. Former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic, who joined Flipper in 2006, contributed liner notes to the new reissue.
Demetra Plakas is an American musician, best known for being the drummer in the rock band L7.
Stockholm Syndrome is an album by Backyard Babies, released in 2003.
Donita Sparks and the Stellar Moments was L7 co-founder Donita Sparks' solo project. The band also featured Alan Santalesa on guitar, Dat Ngo on bass, and former L7 drummer Demetra Plakas on drums.
"Pretend We're Dead" is a 1992 song by American all-female rock band L7, from the album Bricks Are Heavy. It was written by Donita Sparks. It was the first single from Bricks Are Heavy and achieved moderate international success. It spent 20 weeks on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks, peaking at #8. It also reached #21 on the UK Singles Chart and charted in Belgium and Australia.
This is the discography for the American rock band L7.
"Monster" is a song by the American all-female rock group L7. It was released as a single in support of their third album Bricks Are Heavy.
"Everglade" is a song by the American all-female rock group L7. It was released as a single in support of their third album Bricks Are Heavy.
"Shove" is a 1990 song by all-female rock band L7, from the album Smell the Magic. The cover photo was shot by notable music photographer Charles Peterson.
Scatter the Rats is a studio album by American rock band L7, released on May 3, 2019 through Blackheart Records. It is the band's first album in almost 20 years, following the band's 2014 reunion. It has received positive reviews.
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