Formation and early success Better Than Ezra was formed in 1988 All four members were attending
Louisiana State University at the time of the band's formation. Though many theories abound, the band refuses to disclose the origin of its name. Joel Rundell, the band's lead guitarist, died by suicide on August 8, 1990. Elektra re-released
Deluxe in 1995, and the single "
Good" reached No. 1 on the
Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart which helped push the album to
platinum record status by the end of 1995. Success came quickly to Better Than Ezra. Tom Drummond commented later in a 1998 interview with
CNN, "It took us seven years to get signed, and then seven weeks to get to No. 1", when describing the overnight success of
Deluxe and its single "Good". He asked for approximately $1 million in damages. The album was produced by
record producer Malcolm Burn, who had formerly produced Iggy Pop and U2, and released on August 25, 1998. The album was recorded in New Orleans in the band's own studio, which allowed the members to focus on creating music rather than rental costs per day. Beyond Music's closure left
Closer out of print for several years. The DVD and album were filmed and recorded at two separate shows at the
House of Blues in New Orleans during the summer of 2004. The song "Juicy" has also been heard in the background in commercials for Applebee's restaurants.
Since 2009 Longtime drummer Travis McNabb left Better Than Ezra in February 2009 and their last performance together was Family Gras in
Metairie, Louisiana. The primary reason given for his departure was the demand on his time by
country and
bluegrass group,
Sugarland, with whom McNabb had previously been touring for some time. The split was amicable, with bassist Tom Drummond saying, "It's bittersweet. He's fantastic. We're still good friends, and there are no hard feelings. We'll miss him. But this is an opportunity he needed to take." Announced at the same time was McNabb's replacement, New Orleans–based drummer
Michael Jerome, formerly of the band Pleasure Club. In addition, Better Than Ezra announced the May 12, 2009, release date for their seventh studio album, entitled
Paper Empire, which is produced by
Warren Huart and singer Kevin Griffin. The first single, "
Absolutely Still", was released for
iTunes purchase on March 17. On May 22, 2013, Griffin confirmed that the band plans to release their first new album since 2009 later in the year. On February 10, 2014, it was announced that the band had signed with
The End Records for the release of their eighth studio album. The album,
All Together Now, was released on September 9, 2014. On August 29, 2014, the twenty-fifth anniversary edition of
Surprise was released. According to original drummer Cary Bonnecaze, "The family of Joel Rundell (our original guitarist who passed away in 1990) and I own the original recording, and we thought that with 2014 being the 25th anniversary of its original release, it would be a good time to release it." On June 1, 2018, BTE released a new track called "Grateful" via The End Records. On August 13–14, 2021, Better Than Ezra played a pair of sold-out shows at the
House of Blues New Orleans in order to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their second album
Friction, Baby. During these shows, the band played the album in its entirety, as well as some other fan-favorite songs. A few months later, the band returned to the same venue to play their album
Closer in its entirety to another sold-out crowd. In October 2022, during their "Legends of the Fall" tour, Griffin revealed that the band would be releasing a new album in 2023. "Mystified", a single from the forthcoming album, was released on July 18, 2023. The band's latest single, "Contact High", was released on November 3, 2023. On March 8, 2024, the band's ninth studio album
Super Magick was announced, and the single "Live a Little" was released. After some brief delays, Super Magick was released on May 3, 2024, on Round Hill Records. == Band members ==