Better Than Ezra
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Better Than Ezra | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Background information | ||
| Origin |    New Orleans, Louisiana |
|
| Genre(s) | Alternative rock Post-grunge |
|
| Years active | 1988–present | |
| Label(s) | Artemis Records Beyond Music Elektra Records Swell Records |
|
| Website | Official website | |
| Members | ||
| Kevin Griffin Tom Drummond Travis McNabb |
||
Better Than Ezra is an alternative rock trio based in New Orleans, Louisiana. Formed in 1988, the band has released five studio albums and one live album. They are best known in the United States for their platinum album Deluxe and their top 40 hit "Good". Their peak of popularity was in the early 1990s, but the band is still popular on American adult album alternative radio stations.
Contents |
[edit] Music career
[edit] Early work
Better Than Ezra was formed in 1988 by Kevin Griffin (vocals) Joel Rundell (guitar), Tom Drummond (bass), and Cary Bonnecaze (drums) while they were attending college at Louisiana State University.[1] The band does not currently disclose the origins of its name.[2] The phrase "Better than Ezra" also appears in the chapter "Birth of a New School," from A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway, although this might be coincidence. The passage refers to the sound of complaining; the author compares it to the sounds Ezra Pound made whilst learning the bassoon. Later that year, they released their first demo cassette tape, Chime Street Studio Demo Tape, on Swell Records.[citation needed] In 1990 the band released a cassette-only album, Surprise. On August 8, 1990, Joel Rundell committed suicide, and the band decided to go on hiatus until the end of the year.[1]
[edit] The Elektra years
Now a trio, the band moved to Los Angeles and released their first album Deluxe in 1993 on Swell Records. In 1995, the band signed to Elektra Records, who re-released Deluxe nationally. "Good", the lead single from the album, became a major alternative rock hit reaching the #1 position on the Billboard Modern Rock chart. The song would be the band's only top 40 hit, causing them to sometimes be referred to as a one-hit wonder. The success of the "Good" and subsequent singles "In the Blood" and "Rosealia" helped Deluxe sell over a million copies and peak at #35 on the Billboard 200 album chart in the US. In 1996, drummer Cary Bonnecaze left the band and was replaced by Travis McNabb.[1]
Friction, Baby was released on Elektra in 1996, but only reached #64 on the US album charts. "Desperately Wanting" and "King of New Orleans" both saw significant modern rock airplay, but did not repeat the pop success of "Good". After a support tour for the album, Better Than Ezra bought their own recording studio in New Orleans.[1]
How Does Your Garden Grow? was released in 1998, and was the band's last album with Elektra Records. The album had very disappointing commercial sales, peaking at #129 in the US, prompting the label to drop the band. "At the Stars" was a modest alternative hit, but became Better Than Ezra's first song to receive significant airplay on adult album alternative radio stations. A live version of "At the Stars" was released on the Live in the X Lounge charity album. The band also released a B-Sides and rarities collection entitled artifakt on its own "Ezra Dry Goods/Fudge" label in 2000.
[edit] Adult alternative success
Closer was released on Beyond Records in 2001. "Extra Ordinary" peaked at #13 on the Adult Top 40 chart in the US, though it received little airplay on other formats. Closer was slightly more successful than their previous album, peaking at #110 on the Billboard 200. In 2003, Kevin Griffin wrote the song "Testify" for Meat Loaf, which appeared on his 2003 album Couldn't Have Said It Better, and the song "Good Boys", which was a hit single for Blondie.[3] Better Than Ezra played for John Kerry during a post-debate party in 2004 and at the opening of the William J. Clinton Presidential Center and Park.[4] Late 2004 saw the band simultaneously releasing an official live concert DVD, as well as an official live album, both entitled Live at the House of Blues New Orleans on Sanctuary Records. A Greatest Hits collection was released via Warner Brothers on March 15, 2005.
Before the Robots, released on Artemis Records on May 31, 2005, is the band's most recent album. With a peak of #84, it was the band's most successful album since Friction, Baby, and three of its songs were Top 30 hits on adult alternative radio stations. Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry used the album's song "Juicy" as the background music for the second season of the show's promotional advertisement.[5] After Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, Better Than Ezra helped to rebuild an injured firefighter's destroyed house. They also held a golf tournament named "The Ezra Open" in order to raise funds for Katrina victims.[6]
[edit] Discography
| Year | Title | Label | Other information |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Chime Street Studio Demo Tape | Swell Records | Released on cassette only |
| 1989 | Surprise | Swell Records | Released on cassette only |
| 1993 | Deluxe | Swell Records (1993) Elektra Records (1995) |
Debut album |
| 1996 | Friction, Baby | Elektra Records | |
| 1998 | How Does Your Garden Grow? | Elektra Records | |
| 2000 | artifakt | Fudge Records | Collection of previously unreleased rarities |
| 2001 | Closer | Beyond Music | |
| 2004 | Live at the House of Blues New Orleans | Sanctuary Records | Live album, also released on DVD
|
| 2005 | Greatest Hits | Rhino Records | First compilation album |
| 2005 | Before the Robots | Artemis Records | Follow-up to Closer |
[edit] Singles
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
| 1995 | "Good" |
|
|
|
|
|
Deluxe |
| "In the Blood" |
|
|
|
|
|
Deluxe | |
| "Rosealia" |
|
|
|
|
|
Deluxe | |
| 1996 | "King of New Orleans" |
|
|
|
|
|
Friction, Baby |
| 1997 | "Desperately Wanting" |
|
|
|
|
|
Friction, Baby |
| 1998 | "One More Murder" |
|
|
|
|
|
How Does Your Garden Grow? |
| 1999 | "At the Stars" |
|
|
|
|
|
How Does Your Garden Grow? |
| 2001 | "Extra Ordinary" |
|
|
|
|
|
Closer |
| 2005 | "A Lifetime" |
|
|
|
|
|
Before the Robots |
| "Our Last Night" |
|
|
|
|
|
Before the Robots | |
| 2006 | "Juicy" |
|
|
|
|
|
Before the Robots |
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Prato, Greg. Allmusic: Better Than Ezra Bio. Last accessed October 23, 2006.
- ^ Benedetti, Winda. "Better Than Ezra, Worse Than... Radio-Friendly Sound Has Group", Spokesman Review, June 5, 1997.
- ^ See Couldn't Have Said It Better and The Curse of Blondie liner notes
- ^ Devenish, Colin. "Ezra Rock Kerry, Clinton", Rolling Stone, October 6, 2004.
- ^ Dehnart, Andy. "‘Housewives’ finale looks to the past", MSNBC, May 31, 2006.
- ^ Platinum Rockers to Restore House of Katrina Hero (September 12, 2006).
