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Better Than Ezra is an American alternative rock trio based in New Orleans, Louisiana.
HistoryFormation and early successThe 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 circulated a demo cassette tape, Chimes Street Studio Demo Tape. While not an official release, this demo is sought-after by the band's fans, and traded by collectors. In 1989 the band released a cassette-only album, Surprise. Shortly thereafter, original lead guitarist Joel Rundell passed away of an apparent suicide. After taking some time off to re-assess its future, Better Than Ezra re-grouped as a trio, playing house parties and frat shows all over the south. The band released its 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 Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart which helped push the album to platinum status by the end of 1995.. After the album's release, original drummer Cary Bonnecaze left the band, and was replaced by current drummer Travis McNabb, formerly of the bands Beggars, and Vigilantes of Love. Subsequent album releases from Better Than Ezra include Friction, Baby (Elektra, 1996), How Does Your Garden Grow? (Elektra, 1998), Closer, (Beyond Records, 2001), and Before the Robots, (Artemis Records, 2005) . In addition to vocalist, chief songwriter and guitarist Kevin Griffin from Monroe, Louisiana, the other current members of Better Than Ezra are bassist/background vocalist Tom Drummond and drummer Travis McNabb. In addition, James Arthur Payne accompanies the band on tour, singing background vocals and playing supplemental guitar and keyboard accompaniment. Though many theories abound, the band refuses to disclose the origin of its name.
2000 and onwardThe 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.
DiscographyAlbums
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)
- "Misunderstood" (2001)
- "A Lifetime" (2005) (#11 US Adult Top 40)
- "Our Last Night" (2005)
- "Juicy" (2006)
B-sides and Rare tracks- "Circle of Friends" (1995) (Empire Records Soundtrack/Surprise)
- "Know You Better" (1995) (Good B-Side)
- "Merry Christmas Eve" (1996) (Rosealia B-side)
- "Palace Hotel" (1996) (Desperately Wanting B-side)
- "Road Trip to Athens" (1996) (King of New Orleans B-side)
- "Revolver"
- "Imperfect" (Streamed on website)
- "Cars Crash" (Website download)
- "Dirty Work (Steely Dan cover)" (Website download)
- "Tom Collins" (One More Murder B-side)
- "Simple Song" (Streamed on both Better Than Ezra and Kevin Griffin's MySpace profiles)
- "Stall" (Better Than Ezra Live @ New Orleans House of Blues)
- "Cold Year" (Better Than Ezra Live @ New Orleans House of Blues)
- "False River" (played live on the air at KLSU in 1993)
- "Chain Smokin'" (bonus song on Christmas cassingle)
Copyright Citations
This article is licensed under the GNU License
Click here for original article: Better Than Ezra
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