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 Sears drum kit 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, frequently playing on local shows.
He was soon recognized as one of the best drummers in town. He then joined the Juggernaut band and recorded his first album with them titled “Baptism Under Fire” in 1986. He ended up recording another album with them, but soon after he joined the metal band Riot to record a comeback album called “Thundersteel”. He got a lot of experience with Riot, traveling all over the country and even 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 decade, he took a brief hiatus from the band only to rejoin in 1997.
While with the band, he reconnected with his younger brother, Ron, to create WatchTower. They joined forces, along with Riot’s bassist Pete PĂ©rez. They then recorded 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 frontman of Judas Priest. Halford loved Bobby’s drums and therefore took him on as his own drummer. 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.
A 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 tour in the United States that was in support of their new album “The Glorious Burden”. He toured with them, and then the following year decided to help them further by recording his album “The Crimson King”. Iced Earth was put on hold for the next several 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 performed with Fates Warning at the Evolution Festival and also replaced 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 got together for one last album. They recorded 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 work and what he’s most famous for, but on top of that, he has made countless appearances that helped him become the drumming legend that he is today.