Better Than Ezra

Better Than Ezra
Members of Better Than Ezra in concert in Nashville, Tennessee, August 1, 2002.
Background information
Origin	New Orleans Louisiana  United States
Genre(s)	Alternative Rock Post-grunge
Years active	1987–present
Label(s)	Artemis Records Elektra Records Swell Records Sanctuary Records
Website	www.betterthanezra.com
Members
Kevin Griffin Tom Drummond Travis McNabb James Payne (tour support)
Former members
Cary Bonnecaze Joel Rundell

Better Than Ezra is an American alternative rock trio based in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Formation and early success

The band was formed in 1987 by Kevin Griffin while he and the other original members were attending college at Louisiana State University. By 1988 Better Than Ezra had released a demo cassette tape, Chime Street Studio Demo Tape. In 1989 the band released a cassette-only album, Surprise. Original lead guitarist, Joel Rundell, committed suicide in 1990. They released their first nationally-distributed album Deluxe in 1993 (Swell Records / 1995 Elektra). It was released on 2 different labels, the independent Swell Records first, in 1993, and later national label Elektra Records, in 1995. That same year, "Good" became a major pop hit, reaching the #1 position on the Billboard chart. Original drummer, Cary Bonnecaze, left the band after the release of Deluxe. Subsequent album releases include Friction, Baby (Elektra, 1996), How Does Your Garden Grow? (Elektra, 1998), and Closer, (Beyond Records, 2001). In addition to vocalist and guitarist Kevin Griffin from Monroe, Louisiana, the current members of Better Than Ezra are bass guitar player Tom Drummond and drummer Travis McNabb. The band does not disclose the origins of its name.

Comeback in the 2000s

The band released the B-Sides and rarities collection Artifakt on its own "Ezra Dry Goods/Fudge" label in 2000. In late 2004, the band simultaneously released an official live concert DVD, as well as an official live album, both entitled Live at the House of Blues New Orleans (Sanctuary Records). Recent releases include a Greatest Hits collection (Warner Brothers, March 15 2005), and an album entitled Before the Robots (Artemis Records, May 31 2005.) In 2005, Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry used the band's song "Juicy" as the background music for the second season of the show's promotional advertisement. The song "Juicy" has also been heard in the background in commercials for Applebee's restaurants.

Discography

Singles

• "Good" (1995) (#30 US, #1 US Modern Rock, #3 US Mainstream Rock)
• "In the Blood" (1995) (#4 US Modern Rock, #6 US Mainstream Rock)
• "Rosealia" (1996) (#71 US, #24 US Modern Rock)
• "King of New Orleans" (1996) (#5 US Modern Rock, #7 US Mainstream Rock)
• "Desperately Wanting" (1997) (#48 US, #11 US Modern Rock, #10 US Mainstream Rock)
• "One More Murder" (1998) (#32 US Modern Rock)
• "At the Stars" (1999) (#78 US, #17 US Modern Rock)
• "Extra Ordinary" (2001) (#35 US Modern Rock)
• "A Lifetime" (2005) (#11 US Adult Top 40)
• "Our Last Night" (2005)
• "Juicy" (2006)

External links

• Better Than Ezra (Official Site)
• Official Better Than Ezra Myspace
• All Music Guide entry for Better Than Ezra
• Better Than Ezra Lyrics