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Rocco Gardner

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Rocco Gardner
Born
London, England
NationalityBritish
Alma materUniversity of Bristol
Occupation(s)Entrepreneur, musician
Websitewww.esca.pe

Rocco "Roc" Gardner (born 21 June 1979) is a British musician and entrepreneur based in Las Vegas, Nevada.[1] He is the founder of Escape, a 140-acre creative retreat with recording studios near Joshua Tree, California.[2][3] The Times once likened him to Richard Branson, with Penni Pike, Branson’s longtime assistant, noting, ‘He’s got that same spark to build something extraordinary.’[4] His career includes producing and recording as "ROC," festival production, tribal partnerships, and hosting artists such as Arctic Monkeys and Johnny Depp at Escape.[5][6][7]

Early Life and Business Career

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Gardner was born in 1979 in London, England, the godson of the late Jaime Ortiz-Patiño, owner of Valderrama Golf Club and grandson of Simón Iturri Patiño, The Tin King.[8][9] Gardner began playing the piano at age four, laying the foundation for his career as a musician and music industry businessman.[1][10]

His early career included internships and roles such as working as the assistant to the president of Valderrama at The Ryder Cup (1997) with VIPs including President George H. W. Bush and Tiger Woods, interning at Rothschild (1996), Lloyds Bank TSB (1995), IMG Sports Management (1999), and Cazenove Capital (2000), and consulting for MP John Gummer at Sancroft (2006)—experiences that shaped his professional development.[1][11] In 2004, he founded Sidewalk 7 Ltd. in the United Kingdom, a company that expanded into a record label, artist management, and event production agency.[12][13]

Native American Tribes

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Meeting the Shinnecock Tribe in 2009 through the Branson family and various friends led him to move to New York that year, partnering with Secret Garden Party founders Fred Fellowes and James Whewell to create Escape to New York on the tribe’s land—a festival generating over $200,000 in land rental fees and employment.[14][15][16][17][18][19] In 2014, he partnered with the Seminole Tribe of Florida, sharing projects from his US vehicle Escape Productions, with a tribal representative noting, ‘Rocco’s vision opened doors to projects we hadn’t considered.’[20] That year, Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood sponsored an Escape for Good charity race, part of a series raising tens of thousands of dollars, with participants racing from New Orleans to Detroit.[21][22][23][24][25]

Escape

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"Escape to" Festivals

Gardner launched Escape to New York on the Shinnecock Reservation in August 2011 with Patti Smith and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.[26][27][28] He continued producing festivals like Escape LA (2012) with Thom Yorke and Escape to Montauk (2012) with Albert Hammond Jr..[29][30]

Escape Recording Complex

After recording at Rancho De La Luna, Gardner established Escape’s permanent home in Pioneertown, California in 2013—a 140-acre private ranch and recording complex a mile from Pappy & Harriet's, shifting its base from New York City.[2][31][32] Outfitted with state-of-the-art studios, it hosts curated guests and top clients like Usher, Arctic Monkeys, 5 Seconds of Summer, Cage the Elephant, Rüfüs Du Sol, Meduza, Peaches, Bob Moses, Aloe Blacc, and Albert Hammond Jr., producing tracks such as Hot Trash’s Las Vegas ode.[5][33][34][35] Business leaders Susan Wojcicki and Marian Goodell have visited, drawn by its creative nexus for music, film, and photography—a space for artists to decompress, create, and share the universe’s magic, encouraging humanity to improve its relationship with each other and the planet, including nature.[36][37][38][39][40] In 2009, Gardner founded Escape Productions LLC, encompassing festival ventures and a recording complex, later securing the "Escape" trademark under registration number 7549536 for services including recording studios and exhibition facilities, first used in commerce on November 3, 2013.[41] An entrepreneur with a focus on creativity and community impact, shaped by an early start and persistent effort, his interests extended into the art world, leading to a 2017 transformation of a Venice Beach property into the Tile House, where he placed 18,000 ceramic tiles with artist friends FAILE—a project contending for house of the year in 2020.[42][43]

Music Career

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From 1998 to 2004, Gardner played keyboards with Chillher alongside UK artist Ben Montague, recording at Queen’s The Mill and Genesis’s Sussex studio—venues with significant musical history—and opening for Ringo Starr in 2003.[44][45] Around 2012, he recorded with Kelly Halloran as Your New Crush under producer Mathias Schneeberger at David Catching’s Rancho de la Luna in Joshua Tree, with Catching contributing guitar—an experience that prompted his relocation to California and the founding of Escape’s recording complex in Pioneertown in 2013.[2][46] He continues producing and recording as "ROC," contributing to albums over 20 years, including Chillher, Your New Crush, and Hot Trash, ultimately releasing over 50 tracks in a 2024 compilation album titled "If You Didn’t Know; You Now Know" under the artist name ROC, available on Spotify, SoundCloud, and Linktree.[47][48][49][50] Most recently, in 2024, he has been recording with Jan Blomqvist, DJ Tennis, Jamie N Commons, and Joseph Ray of NERO, with releases expected in 2025, mixed by Grammy award-winning engineer Mick Guzauski.[51][52]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Rocco Gardner LinkedIn Profile". LinkedIn. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  2. ^ a b c "Rancho V: El sueño californiano de Rocco". Billboard Argentina. 5 June 2018. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  3. ^ "British Musician & Entrepreneur and his American Slice of Creative Paradise". BritzNBeatz. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  4. ^ "Awaiting the big payday". The Times. 14 May 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  5. ^ a b "Hot Trash's Rocco Gardner Talks Las Vegas Single Ahead of U.S. Tour Kickoff". Billboard. 14 October 2022. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  6. ^ "Meet Rocco Gardner of Escape/Rancho V". VoyageLA. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  7. ^ "Polo is not only for the posh". Palm Beach Post. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  8. ^ "Valderrama Golf Club History". Valderrama Golf Club. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  9. ^ "Jaime Ortiz-Patiño at the 1982 Bermuda Regional". New York Times. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  10. ^ "Vibration White Finger shake on deal". Wales Online. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  11. ^ "Sagging Toward the Harbor". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  12. ^ "Sidewalk 7 Ltd Company Profile". Companies House. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  13. ^ "Coachella Beyond the Music: Sound Baths, Desert Art and Luxury Recording Studios". Billboard. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  14. ^ "Escape to New York Festival Aims to Rival Glastonbury". New York Post. 28 July 2011. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  15. ^ "Escape to New York 2011". Shinnecock Nation. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  16. ^ "Escape to New York Economic Impact". Escape NY. 10 September 2011. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  17. ^ "Smaller 'Escape' fest to return". Long Island Newsday. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  18. ^ "Escaping To New York". The Sag Harbor Express. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  19. ^ "Transatlantic Reservation for Secret Garden Party". Festival Insights. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  20. ^ "Escape Studios presents The Seminole Tribe of Florida". YouTube. Escape Studios. 26 April 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  21. ^ "Seminole Hard Rock Supports Escape for Good Charity Race". Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood. 12 August 2014. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  22. ^ "Escape for Good Charity Series Raises Funds Across U.S." Charity Navigator. 20 September 2014. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  23. ^ "Group wants you to 'escape for good' from New Orleans to Detroit". Michigan Radio. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  24. ^ "Super heroes escape New Orleans for good". WWL. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  25. ^ "Live Action Battle Rap to Host Escape for Good Opening Party in New Orleans with Host Terp2it". Urban Music News Network. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  26. ^ "Escape to New York Festival Lineup Announced". Billboard. 15 June 2011. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  27. ^ "Day 3: Nigel Godrich and Special Guests Thom Yorke & Colin Greenwood". Milk Made. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  28. ^ "New 'Escape' Comes To Montauk". 27 East. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  29. ^ "Escape LA 2012 Lineup Revealed". Spin. 10 April 2012. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  30. ^ "Escape to Montauk 2012: A Summer Highlight". Hamptons.com. 15 August 2012. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  31. ^ "Finding Center and Getting Lost in Joshua Tree". Sunset Magazine. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  32. ^ "Pioneertown: Inside America's coolest town". Tatler. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  33. ^ "Touring Pioneertown, CA's Idyllic Rancho V". Cool Hunting. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  34. ^ "Pioneertown Wants to be the New Old West". New York Times. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  35. ^ "Peaches: Shemale, Chattes Et Pisse Dans Le Clip Non-Censuré De 'Rub'". Trax. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  36. ^ "We're Getting Out of L.A. and Going to Joshua Tree". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  37. ^ "Trend Report: Airstreams Shine Again". Elliman Insider. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  38. ^ "Rancho V: A Creative Landscape". Eforelisa. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  39. ^ "Escape: The Desert Retreat Redefining Creativity". Vogue. 15 August 2018. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  40. ^ "Resort and Tour News: Olive Oil in Tuscany; Palm Springs Retreat". New York Times. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  41. ^ "Escape Trademark Registration". United States Patent and Trademark Office. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  42. ^ "Faile's Large-Scale Venice Beach Installation". Cool Hunting. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  43. ^ "2020 House of the Year". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  44. ^ "Chillher Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  45. ^ "The Blue Eyed Shark Experiment". BBC. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  46. ^ "UK Inspired Music Festival 'Escaped To New York' Announces Initial Line-Up". BritScene. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  47. ^ "Rocco Gardner on Spotify". Spotify. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  48. ^ "Hot Trash by ROC on SoundCloud". SoundCloud. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  49. ^ "Hot Trash: Blah Blah Blah". Cool Hunting. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  50. ^ "El vocalista de Hot Trash y creador de 'Escape' abandona las redes sociales antes del lanzamiento del álbum 'Don't resist'". Billboard. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  51. ^ "Mick Guzauski". LinkedIn. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  52. ^ "Mixmag and the Smirnoff Sound Collective Are Driving Diversity in Dance Music". Mixmag. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
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