Better Than Ezra Album Art

Along with such similarly styled outfits as the Goo Goo Dolls, the New Orleans trio Better Than Ezra helped open the floodgates for countless mainstream alt-pop acts of the late '90s (Sugar Ray, Semisonic, Matchbox Twenty, Third Eye Blind, etc.) by merging rock with melody and creating a more easily digestible form of alternative music for the masses. Originally formed in 1988 as a roots rock outfit with slight elements of country and punk, the group consisted of four college students from Louisiana State University: Kevin Griffin (vocals, guitar), Joel Rundell (guitar), Tom Drummond (bass), and Cary Bonnecaze (drums). The band's first performances were expectedly held at college bars and fraternity houses, and their debut cassette-tape recording, 1990's Surprise, received positive press and comparisons to such alt-punk stalwarts as the Replacements and Dinosaur Jr. Despite these accolades, Better Than Ezra's future was suddenly thrust into doubt when Rundell committed suicide on August 8, 1990.

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Jon Stansford