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