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Comprising of singer+guitarist Kevin Griffin, guitarist Joel Rundell,
bassist Tom Drummond and drummer Cary Bonnecaze this Alternative-Rock
band first came together in 1988 in New Orleans, Louisiana USA, while
all four were attending Louisiana State University; the quartet began
playing cover-songs in campus bars and in 1990 recorded on their own releasing
a cassette-only EP entitled "Surprise".
Sadly tragedy struck the band, on August 8, 1990, when Joel Rundell committed
suicide.
After several months the remaining members decided to continue as a three-piece.
In 1993 they moved to Los Angeles and released their first full-length
disc, "Deluxe", by an independent label, the album received
first-class reviews in the indie circuit and eventually the band was signed
to Elektra Records who reissued "Deluxe" in February 1995; around
this time it began to rise up the Billboard charts peaking at #3 on the
Top Heatseekers and reaching the #35 slot on the Top 200 Albums Sales
list thanks in part to the single "Good" which became a top
30 hit on The Billboard Hot 100 and climbed the Modern and Mainstream
Rock Tracks charts reaching respectively the #1 and #3 spots; "In
The Blood", reached the #4 and #6 in the same charts and the final
single, "Rosealia", hit the top 30 of The Modern Rock list.
Bonnecaze left the band in early 1996, Travis McNabb replaced him behind
the drum kit and joined Better Than Ezra before the release of the band's
sophomore LP, "Friction, Baby"; their second effort failed to
replicate its predecessor's success, in fact it stalled at #64 on The
Billboard 200 chart; the record included two singles, "King Of New
Orleans" and "Desperately Wanting", which both climbed
into the top 10 on both the Billboard Magazine's Rock charts.
In August 1998 the trio unleashed "How Does Your Garden Grow?"
which didn't rise higher than #129 on The Billboard 200 Albums chart and
featured a mid-sized hit in the Modern Rock Top 20 "At The Stars".
Better Than Ezra resurfaced three years later with "Closer"
which was issued on the band's new label Beyond Music, the set peaked
at #110 in U.S. Top 200 Albums chart and it generated only one charting
single, "Extra Ordinary", the track peaked at #13 on Adult Top
40 list but missed the top 20 of the Billboard's Modern Rock chart.
After a prolonged dry spell in September 2004, Griffin and company, released
"Live At The House Of Blues New Orleans", the set included a
couple of new studio songs: "Cold Year" and "Stall".
Better Than Ezra released its fifth album of all-new-material, "Before
The Robots", in May 2005 on Artemis, it includes the single "Our
Last Night".
Better Than Ezra biography is an exclusive of 100xr.com
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