Suzi Gardner

{{short description|American musician and creative director (born 1960)}}

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Suzanne Gardner

| image = L7 Rock am Ring 2015 (14).JPG

| landscape = yes

| caption = Gardner performing in Germany, 2015

| image_size =

| background = solo_singer

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1960|08|01}}

| origin = Altus, Oklahoma

| instrument = {{hlist|Guitar|percussion|vocals}}

| genre = {{hlist|Punk rock|grunge|alternative rock|alternative metal|heavy metal}}

| occupation = {{hlist|Guitarist|singer-songwriter}}

| years_active = 1982–present

| label = {{hlist|Epitaph|Sub Pop|Slash|Wax Tadpole Records|Blackheart}}

| associated_acts = {{hlist|L7|Black Flag}}

| website =

| current_members =

| past_members =

}}

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.

Early life

Gardner was born in Altus, Oklahoma on August 1, 1960{{Cite web|last=Rose|first=Mike|date=August 1, 2019|title=Today's famous birthdays list for August 1, 2019 includes celebrities Jason Momoa, Joe Elliott|url=https://www.cleveland.com/life-and-culture/g66l-2019/08/7fa0537a333192/todays-famous-birthdays-list-for-august-1-2019-includes-celebrities-jason-momoa-joe-elliott.html|access-date=June 21, 2020|website=cleveland|language=en}}{{Cite web|title=Biography – Suzi Gardner|url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0307117/|access-date=June 23, 2020|website=IMDb}} to Anne B. Gardner. She had an older brother, Bob,{{Cite web|url=https://www.pictosee.com/p/2019384181888454894_8015825326|title=Suzi Gardner @suzi_gardner_official (sibling day)|website=Pic to See|access-date=September 9, 2019}} and grew up partly in Citrus Heights, California.{{Cite news|url=http://submergemag.com/music/7-reasons-to-love-l7/|title=7 Reasons to Love L7: Alt-Punk Legends L7 Boomerang Back|last=Kangas|first=Niki|date=June 12, 2019|work=Submerge Magazine|access-date=September 9, 2019}} Gardner moved to Southern California in 1977. She attended Orange Coast College in 1978 and studied physical anthropology and guitar.{{Cite web|title='Til the Wheels Fall Off|url=https://www.pictosee.com/p/2091005129520008611_8015825326|access-date=September 9, 2019|website=Pic to See}} In 1980, Gardner moved to Los Angeles.

Career

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.[http://l7official.com L7 Official website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080701085615/http://l7official.com/|date=July 1, 2008}}.{{Cite web|url=http://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2018/04/03/l7s-donita-sparks-talks-about-why-the-hard-rock-band-came-back-to-bitch|title=Donita Sparks Talks About Why the Hard Rock Band Came Back to Bitch|last=Nielsen|first=Jeff|date=April 3, 2018|website=ww.clevescene.com}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-l7-ott-0805-20160802-story.html|title=L7 is, better late than never, getting respect|last=Dickinson|first=Chrissie|date=August 3, 2016|work=Chicago Tribune|access-date=April 7, 2018}} 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.{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/inside-l7s-rise-fall-and-unlikely-rebirth-w508450|title=L7: To Hell and Back|last=Grant|first=Sarah|date=November 21, 2017|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=April 7, 2018}}

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".

File:L7 at the Emerson Theatre in Indianapolis, IN circa 1997 - 4738783029.jpg

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.{{Cite web|url=https://crackmagazine.net/article/long-reads/turning-points-l7s-donita-sparks/|title=Turning Points: L7's Donita Sparks|last=Tehabsim|first=Anna|date=March 18, 2015|website=crackmagazine.net|access-date=April 7, 2018}}

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".{{Cite journal|last=Crist|first=Renée|date=July 1993|title=The Magnificent 7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YIwHlb1zNyoC|journal=Spin|volume=9|pages=32–35, 90|access-date=September 6, 2019|via=Google Books}}

In 1994, Gardner appeared in the John Waters film Serial Mom as part of the fictitious band "Camel Lips".{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111127/fullcredits|title=Serial Mom (1994) – Full Cast and Crew|website=IMDb |access-date=April 8, 2018}}

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.{{Cite web |url=http://www.nyrock.com/worldbeat/06_2000/060100.asp |title=L7's Suzi Gardner "Gets a Boob Job" (NY Rock) |access-date=June 26, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509154738/http://www.nyrock.com/worldbeat/06_2000/060100.asp |archive-date=May 9, 2008 |url-status=dead }}{{Cite book|title=Rock and Roll Woman: The 50 Fiercest Female Rockers|last=Ochs|first=Meredith|publisher=Sterling Publishing Co.|year=2018|isbn=9781454930624|location=New York|pages=134–137}}

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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6288290/|title=L7: Pretend We're Dead|last=Price|first=Sarah|date=November 11, 2016|website=www.imdb.com}} The film was nominated for a VO5 NME Award for Best Music Film.{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/premieres/l7-reveal-tour-slam-capitalist-motherf--kers-on-new-song-w516529|title=L7 Announce Tour, Slam 'Capitalist Motherf—kers' on 'I Came Back To Bitch'|last=Grant|first=Sarah|date=February 9, 2018|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=April 7, 2018}}

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.{{Cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/after-18-years-how-do-l7-return-with-a-song-about-trashing-trumps-mar-a-lago-interview/|title=After 18 Years, How Do L7 Return? With a Song About Trashing Trump's Mar-a-Lago|last=Berman|first=Judy|date=September 29, 2017|website=pitchfork.com|access-date=April 7, 2018}}

On the latest L7 album Scatter the Rats (released in 2019 to generally favorable reviews),{{Cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/scatter-the-rats/l7|title=SCATTER THE RATS by L7|website=Metacritic |date=May 3, 2019|access-date=May 5, 2019}} 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.{{Cite news|url=https://www.laweekly.com/music/scatter-rats-l7s-back-10150065|title=Scatter, Rats! L7's Back With Their First Album in 20 Years|last=Callwood|first=Brett|work=LA Weekly|access-date=May 5, 2019}}

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.{{Cite web|last=Chelin|first=Pamela|date=January 1, 2020|title=Duff McKagan, Jakob Dylan, and More Pay Tribute to The Clash at 'London Calling' 40th Anniversary Show|url=https://www.spin.com/2020/01/clash-london-calling-anniversary-tribute-show/|access-date=June 21, 2020|website=Spin}}