What could be better than ‘90s alternative rock outfits like the Goo Goo Dolls and Third Eye Blind? Better Than Ezra, of course. The easy-going pop/rock band blew through the ‘90s and ‘00s with hit songs, and despite bumps in the road Better Than Ezra continues to be the music powerhouse it began as in 1988.Better Than Ezra started out in a Louisiana State University dorm room as the project of vocalist/guitarist Kevin Griffin, guitarist Joel Rundell, bassist Tom Drummond and drummer Cary Bonnecaze. The four Tigers played the type of easygoing alternative rock music often heard in college dorms and frat houses, and (not surprisingly) these places were where Better Than Ezra got their start. The quartet roused local attention performing at college bars and at fraternities, and the band took off when their 1990s cassette-tape recording Surprise was a surprise hit among the press. Just when it seemed that Better Than Ezra was destined for the stars, Rundell committed suicide in 1990 and sent the band into distress. Immediately dismembering, the band was kaput for a year before finally coming around to continue playing as a trio. Relocating to Los Angeles, Better Than Ezra hoped a change of scenery would put the past behind them and prepare them for a stellar future.And it did. Recording their 1993 independent album Deluxe in a friend's home studio, Better Than Ezra awoke major record labels, signing with Elektra. Re-releasing Deluxe under the label, band members braced themselves for the hit song "Good," which led Deluxe into platinum status in 1995. Better Than Ezra released 1996's Friction, Baby, followed by 1998's How Does Your Garden Grow? Failing to win over audiences like "Good" did, the band eventually filed for bankruptcy in 2001, but bounced back with a live album in 2004 and packed the 1-2 punch with 2005's hit album Before the Robots.
