Brother Gardner was born and raised in Holbrook, Arizona. He grew up in a musically talented family of three sisters and four brothers. His father, George Gardner, was a musical professor at Northland Pioneer College. Brother Gardner’s musical career started in Holbrook High School.  He was involved in choir and band where they took regional and all-state. He also took piano lessons when he was young and learned only how to fool his piano teacher by memorizing what she was playing instead of learning how to read the music. To this day Brother Gardner can’t read “a lick of music” and simply sits at the piano and plays his music the good ole’ fashioned way, by feeling it. Although he’s written more than 200 songs, Brother Gardner can’t sit down at a piano and play a song from a hymn book without first practicing. Instead, he tinkers out the music then memorizes what he plays and eventually pieces it all together to make songs. When asked if his challenges were greater because he only has one ear, Brother Gardner remarks, “If one ear will grab someone’s attention and allow them to hear this music, then I feel there is no challenge”.

Music for Brother Gardner is a spiritual outlet; it’s a way of expressing his feelings. When asked why he is pursuing music, he states, “I’m not pursing music, I’m living it”. His goal is to bless the lives of others through his music. There was a time in his life when he wasn’t willing to share the music he wrote—he kept it to himself. Now, however, he feels that his life has been blessed in such a way that the gift of music is not only for himself but for him to share with others.

Brother Gardner’s inspiration for music comes from the mood he’s in at the time he writes a song as well as his life experiences and the lives of those around him. He says, “It makes me feel good inside to write and sing these songs. This music brings me peace and I believe Heavenly Father blesses me with the music I write.”

His day job involves working as an engineer for a communications firm in Rochester, NY. He once used to work in the sound system engineering and technology industry and was nicknamed the “one-eared sound guy.”  He says, “I can tell you all you want to know about Dolby-surround sound but I don’t have the foggiest idea of what it sounds like.” He states that because of his musical background he can mix sound and has even done some sound mixing for groups such as the Four Tops, Ray Charles and Michael McDonald.

Brother Gardner, once hesitant about sharing his music, now does so through a variety of firesides featuring several original songs. The most popular, “Just the Music,” is presented with help from local ward and stake talent and includes many inspirational stories shared by Brent. Brent not only enjoys sharing his experiences with the youth of the church, he also hopes to touch the lives of those in attendance through his “upbeat yet reverent” firesides. Brother Gardner says, “I feel that I have been blessed with this talent to write music and if I don’t use the talent God has given me I’ll no longer be blessed with it and nothing scares me more.”