After more than two decades, Better Than Ezra fans get a Surprise On Aug. 19, Liaison Records will release the 25th anniversary edition of Better Than Ezras first studio album, Surprise. Originally released only on cassette in 1989 by Swell Records, Surprise has been unavailable commercially and highly sought after by Ezralites for more than 20 years. The first single, Circle Of Friends, is available for download on iTunes & Amazon. Newly re-mastered, Surprise is the only Better Than Ezra album to feature all four original members: Kevin Griffin (vocals, guitar); Joel Rundell (guitar), Tom Drummond (bass); and Cary Bonnecaze (drums). Better Than Ezra formed in 1988 by Kevin Griffin and Cary Bonnecaze while attending Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. With the addition of Joel Rundell and Tom Drummond, they moved into a house together and began focusing on writing their own songs, which they would perform live and ultimately release on their debut studio album. We recorded Surprise in a garage studio, literally, during the evenings and after classes, in the course of five days. Once we had the cassettes made, we approached a local record store off the LSU campus to sell the album, and within days, it became their biggest-selling album. We played bars and frat shows throughout the Southeast and sold Surprise wherever we could. Things seemed to be going well. Little did we know that within that year our world would change forever, Cary recalled. On August 8, 1990, after playing a show at Murphys Bar in Baton Rouge, Joel (Rundell) died unexpectedly. There is nothing like losing someone who you genuinely love and care for. It wasnt like losing a brother, we did lose a brother. This 25th Anniversary release is dedicated to Joel. Continuing as a trio, Better Than Ezra released its second album, Deluxe, in 1993 via Swell Records. In 1995, Elektra Records re- released Deluxe, and the single, Good, which helped push the album to Platinum status by the end of 1995.
Posted on: Mon, 28 Jul 2014 23:23:59 +0000
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