Karma

When he was 8 or 9 years old, Rob Bourdon and his brother used to play along to Aerosmith and Faith No More on their parents' couch with a pair of drumsticks. Later his brother got a drum kit and Rob started playing piano. When he was 12, he started taking drum lessons and switched to playing drums full time. He was inspired to play the drums after his mom took him to an Aerosmith concert when he was in the 4th grade and introduced him to Joey Kramer (Aerosmith's drummer).

In 6th grade Rob started playing in a band with 3 friends called No Clue, that would play cover songs in backyard parties. In 7th grade they switched their name to Physical Evidence and covered Nirvana, Bad Religion, and Suicidal Tendencies. When they started writing their own original music, the songs sounded like a blend of those 3 different artists, with most of the lyrics being about the teachers they hated in their junior high school.

When he was in the 10th grade his parents made him join in his high school's jazz band (the Calabasas High School Jazz Band). He was in the band for a couple of months and played one show, but he didn't like it. In the audience, two musicians who were contemplating forming a new band called Karma saw Rob performing and recruited him to audition. According to Rob on the second issue of the LPU 1 newsletter, he didn't get the job,but bass player Dave Garrett recalls it differently. "I don't remember ever rejecting Rob. The guy was one of the best drummers. The only concern I think we had at first was he was a drummer for the high school jazz band and just if he'd fit in from a style standpoint. But dude, the guy's an amazing drummer. I mean, he was probably one of the best musicians out of the whole group, you know?"

Band Members

Former

• Dave Garrett - bass (1995)
• Rob Bourdon - drums (1995)
• Steve Hever - guitar (1995)
• Josh Dulay - vocals (1995)