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Better Than Ezra

American rock band

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJun 4, 2026
Entity authorityQ832446 ↗
Source-derived summary

Better Than Ezra is an American alternative rock band based in New Orleans, Louisiana, and signed with Round Hill Music. The band formed in 1988 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and consists of Kevin Griffin (vocals and guitar), Tom Drummond (bass guitar), Michael Jerome (drums), and James Arthur Payne Jr. (guitar, keyboards). The band has released nine studio albums, most recently 2024's Super Magick. They are best known for their 1993 multi-platinum album Deluxe and the 1995 single "Good", which reached number 1 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.

History

Formation and early success

Better Than Ezra was formed in 1988 by vocalist and guitarist Kevin Griffin, lead guitarist Joel Rundell, bassist Tom Drummond, and drummer Cary Bonnecaze. All four members were attending Louisiana State University at the time of the band's formation. Better Than Ezra's first public performance was at Murphy's in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, also in 1988. Though many theories abound, the band refuses to disclose the origin of its name. Fans of the group often refer to themselves as Ezralites.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Better Than Ezra” is american rock band. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Better, Than and Ezra, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA dependable orientation record for establishing vocabulary, names and a first evidence trail. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1988, 2024, 1993, 1995—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1988. For this dossier, Better, Than and Ezra is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “american rock band” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 4, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q832446. VIAF identifies the subject as 139745349. The Library of Congress control number is no97017720. 4 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1988, 2024, 1993 and 1995.

Critical limits

Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Better Than Ezra”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Better Than Ezra primary sources, Better Than Ezra archive and Better research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Better Than Ezra”?
  2. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
  3. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Better Than Ezra” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.