# Better Than Ezra
**Better Than Ezra** is an American alternative rock band formed in [Baton Rouge, Louisiana](https://www.edgepedia.org/baton-rouge-louisiana), best known for the 1995 single "Good", which reached No. 1 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart, and for its platinum-selling album *Deluxe*.[1](https://www.the-dowsers.com/the-dowser-posts/quiet-loud-effect-pixies-better-ezra) The band has remained active for more than 35 years, releasing its tenth studio album, *Super Magick*, in 2024.[2](https://www.betterthanezra.com/about)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Origin | Formed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 1987, quickly disbanded, then reformed in 1988[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/better-ezra) |
| Core members | Kevin Griffin (vocals, lead guitar, born 1966) and Tom Drummond (bass, born 1970); original drummer Cary Bonnecaze left in 1996 and was replaced by Travis McNabb[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/better-ezra) |
| Breakthrough | *Deluxe*, self-released in 1993 on the band's Swell Records, reissued by Elektra in 1995; certified platinum by the RIAA[4](https://www.ticketmaster.com/better-than-ezra-tickets/artist/773259?tt_scene=anchor_view) |
| Signature hit | "Good", No. 1 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart in 1995[1](https://www.the-dowsers.com/the-dowser-posts/quiet-loud-effect-pixies-better-ezra) |
| Later albums | *Friction, Baby* (1996), *Paper Empire* (2009), *All Together Now* (2014), *Super Magick* (2024)[2](https://www.betterthanezra.com/about) |
| Pop-culture reach | Taylor Swift covered the band's song "Breathless"; the band has been name-checked in a Saturday Night Live skit[2](https://www.betterthanezra.com/about) |
## Formation and early years
The band grew out of college-era connections at [Louisiana State University](https://www.edgepedia.org/louisiana-state-university) in Baton Rouge. Kevin Griffin, who had found modest teenage success with his band Aces Up, including a local talent competition win that let him press his own record, met drummer Cary Bonnecaze at LSU. After differences with a recruited bassist halted the project for a year, Griffin and Bonnecaze advertised for a bass player in the local paper in 1988, and the first applicant, 17-year-old Tom Drummond, was adopted immediately.[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/better-ezra) The name came from an apparently random passage in a work by [Ernest Hemingway](https://www.edgepedia.org/ernest-hemingway).[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/better-ezra)
The band built a following playing parties around LSU and nearby New Orleans before recording its independent debut, *Surprise*, in 1989 and releasing it on cassette only in 1990.[5](https://www.allmusic.com/album/surprise-mw0002695388) Barely a year after the album's release, lead guitarist Joel Rundell died by suicide, leaving the group's future in doubt; after taking time to process his death, the remaining members continued as a trio.[5](https://www.allmusic.com/album/surprise-mw0002695388)
## Deluxe and the mid-1990s breakthrough
After extensive touring, the band released *Deluxe* in 1993 on its own Swell Records label, complete with cover artwork by the members.[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/better-ezra) [Elektra Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/elektra-records) signed the band and reissued the album in 1995, and it became an overnight sensation, spawning the hits "Good" and "Rosealia" and achieving platinum certification from the RIAA.[4](https://www.ticketmaster.com/better-than-ezra-tickets/artist/773259?tt_scene=anchor_view) "Good", a No. 1 hit on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, made the band an MTV staple.[2](https://www.betterthanezra.com/about) *Deluxe* also reached the [Billboard](https://www.edgepedia.org/billboard-magazine) 200 album chart, climbing to No. 22.[6](https://device.report/m/8a14cd3e23eb96dc1be462676ba981a93b017fe03725a659689bc25868a30709.pdf)
Critics placed the song in the quiet/loud lineage of the Pixies: a strolling bassline under an earworm chorus caked in fuzz, following the playbook of the Pixies' 1988 album *Surfer Rosa*. The Dowsers' essay argues that "Good" effectively marks the end point of the 1990s alt-rock revolution, the moment the underground-spawned sound was polished into pop.[1](https://www.the-dowsers.com/the-dowser-posts/quiet-loud-effect-pixies-better-ezra) Reviewers were not uniformly kind; a 1997 New Yorker listing described the band's "plodding power chords and generic sing-along choruses", and early critics accused the band of echoing R.E.M. and [Green Day](https://www.edgepedia.org/green-day).[7](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/friends-band)
## Later albums and label changes
The band deepened its catalog with "Desperately Wanting" from 1996's *Friction, Baby*, its major-label debut.[2](https://www.betterthanezra.com/about) • [3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/better-ezra) After parting ways with Elektra, the band issued the rarities compilation *Artifakt* through its official website; the single "Extra Ordinary" fared well on several charts, but the label Beyond Music declared bankruptcy before a second single could be released.[8](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p141719) Later releases include *Paper Empire* (2009) and *All Together Now* (2014), which featured the hit single "Crazy Lucky".[2](https://www.betterthanezra.com/about)
The band's later catalog has drawn notable fans: [Taylor Swift](https://www.edgepedia.org/taylor-swift) covered the band's classic song "Breathless".[2](https://www.betterthanezra.com/about)
## Super Magick and recent activity
*Super Magick*, released in 2024, is the band's tenth studio album and its first in a decade.[2](https://www.betterthanezra.com/about) Recorded at Griffin's Pink Deer Studio in Tennessee and mainly produced by Griffin and Emery Dobyns, a producer, songwriter, and engineer known for work with [Patti Smith](https://www.edgepedia.org/patti-smith), Lou Reed, and Antony and the Johnsons, the album draws on influences from country, Britpop, dub, and new-wave-leaning arena rock.[2](https://www.betterthanezra.com/about) Its lead single "Mystified" is a character-driven portrait Griffin describes as "the American dream gone wrong", and the closing track "Killing It" recounts the band's history in three and a half minutes.[2](https://www.betterthanezra.com/about) The current lineup includes Griffin, Drummond, guitarist/keyboardist James Arthur Payne Jr., and drummer Michael Jerome Moore.[2](https://www.betterthanezra.com/about)
The band continues to tour regularly; its 2026 "Legends of the Fall: Closer to the Edge" routing includes the Varsity Theater in [Minneapolis](https://www.edgepedia.org/minneapolis), the Barrymore Theatre in Madison, and [House of Blues](https://www.edgepedia.org/house-of-blues) venues in Chicago, Houston, and Dallas, along with festival slots at Oceans Calling and Bourbon & Beyond.[4](https://www.ticketmaster.com/better-than-ezra-tickets/artist/773259?tt_scene=anchor_view) • [9](https://www.livenation.com/artist/K8vZ91713-7/better-than-ezra-events) Recent setlists mix 1990s staples like "Good", "Rosealia", "Desperately Wanting", and "In the Blood" with newer material and covers of songs by [David Bowie](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-bowie), James, and Violent Femmes.[9](https://www.livenation.com/artist/K8vZ91713-7/better-than-ezra-events)
## Side projects and philanthropy
Griffin has built a parallel career as an in-demand songwriter, penning No. 1 hits for Howie Day and [Sugarland](https://www.edgepedia.org/sugarland) and writing with bands including [The Struts](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-struts) and Moon Taxi; he also co-founded the annual Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival in [Franklin, Tennessee](https://www.edgepedia.org/franklin-tennessee), whose past lineups have included Beck, Brandi Carlile, Foo Fighters, Dave Matthews Band, and Kacey Musgraves.[2](https://www.betterthanezra.com/about) The band runs the Better Than Ezra Foundation, which supports its hometown through coastal restoration projects and after-school programs for underprivileged children.[2](https://www.betterthanezra.com/about)
## Legacy
Although none of the band's releases after *Deluxe* achieved the same level of zeitgeist-defining ubiquity, its loyal fan base, who call themselves Ezralites, has kept the group active long after many mid-1990s peers faded.[1](https://www.the-dowsers.com/the-dowser-posts/quiet-loud-effect-pixies-better-ezra) • [2](https://www.betterthanezra.com/about) The band has appeared on Billboard's "100 Greatest Alternative Artists of All Time" and "100 Greatest Alternative Songs of All Time" lists and was name-checked in a classic [Saturday Night Live](https://www.edgepedia.org/saturday-night-live) skit.[2](https://www.betterthanezra.com/about) One retrospective assessment casts the band as more than a fleeting 1990s sensation, calling it "the missing link between Black Francis and Taylor Swift".[1](https://www.the-dowsers.com/the-dowser-posts/quiet-loud-effect-pixies-better-ezra)
## References
1. [The quiet/LOUD Effect: From the Pixies to Better Than Ezra, The Dowsers](https://www.the-dowsers.com/the-dowser-posts/quiet-loud-effect-pixies-better-ezra)
2. [About, Better Than Ezra official site](https://www.betterthanezra.com/about)
3. [Better Than Ezra, Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/better-ezra)
4. [Better Than Ezra Tickets, 2026-2027 Concert Tour Dates, Ticketmaster](https://www.ticketmaster.com/better-than-ezra-tickets/artist/773259?tt_scene=anchor_view)
5. [Better Than Ezra: Surprise Tracks & Reviews, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/surprise-mw0002695388)
6. [The Billboard 200, Billboard (archive)](https://device.report/m/8a14cd3e23eb96dc1be462676ba981a93b017fe03725a659689bc25868a30709.pdf)
7. [Friends with the Band, The New Yorker](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/friends-band)
8. [Better Than Ezra Biography, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p141719)
9. [Better Than Ezra - 2026 Tour Dates & Concert Schedule, Live Nation](https://www.livenation.com/artist/K8vZ91713-7/better-than-ezra-events)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Ensembles and groups › Rock, pop, and metal bands › Rock, indie, and pop groups › Indie and alternative bands › Indie pop bands*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license