The life of Bobby Jarzombek

Born in San Antonio Texas, Bobby Jarzombek grew up in an extraordinary music-based family. He started playing around the age of 10 when his mother bought him a cheap drum kit from Sears as a Christmas present. Shortly after receiving drums, he began playing with his brothers Ronnie and Ralph. By

by the time he was a senior in high school, he had already hit the club scene, playing local shows frequently.

He was soon recognized as one of the best drummers in town. He would then join the band Juggernaut and recorded his first album with them titled “Baptism Under Fire” in 1986. He ended up recording another album with them, but soon after joined metal band Riot to record a comeback album called “Steel Thunder”. He gained a lot of experience with Riot, touring all over the country and even in Europe and Japan. He recorded a total of 5 studio albums with the band and also some live albums. Although he remained with the band for nearly a full decade, he briefly took a leave of absence from the band only to rejoin in 1997.

While with the gang, he reconnected with his younger brother Ron to create WatchTower. They joined forces, along with bassist Pete Perez from Riot. They went on to record Ink Complete in 1997 and then Ink Compatible in 2004, both highly acclaimed albums. Between these two albums, Bobby was asked to send a package to vocalist Rob Halford, known to be the former leader of Judas Priest. Halford loved Bobby’s percussion and therefore took him on as his own drummer for him. Bobby was part of every recording Halford released, which included Ressurrection in 2000, Live Insurrection in 2001, Crucible in 2002, and Forging the Furnace (EP) in 2003.

The year after his last recording with Halford, Richard Christy asked him to take over his drumming duties with the band Iced Earth. They were in the middle of a US tour promoting their new album “The Glorious Burden”. He toured with them and the following year he decided to help them even more by recording their album “The Crimson King”. Iced Earth was put on hold for the next few years, but in the meantime he would tour with Sebastian Bach (former Skid Row vocalist) along with Guns N’ Roses. He continued to play with Sebastian Bach for a few years.

In 2007, Bobby played with Fates Warning at the Evolution Festival and also filled in for them during their European tour that same year. In September 2009, he also played with them. Before that, 2008 was when the Riot band members would reunite for one last album. They recorded it and released it in late 2009. Since then Bobby has been doing a lot of drum sessions and continues to do so. Riot and Watch Tower were Bobby’s best works and the ones he’s most famous for, but aside from that, he’s made countless other appearances that helped make him the drumming legend he is today.