Interview: Better than Ezra

Travis McNabb was one of the nicest people in rock I've had the pleasure of speaking with. Very patient and a good speaker. Below is the story I wrote for the Daily Times:

Better than Ezra's list of greatest hits could probably fill an entire episode of the VH1 show “I Love the '90s.” “Good” hit No. 1 on the Billboard rock charts; “In the Blood” reached No. 4; “King of New Orleans,” No. 5; “Desperately Wanting,” No. 10; “At the Stars,” No. 17; and “Rosealia” peaked at 24. A decade's worth of hits? Nope. That list is culled from the three albums the band released from 1995 to 1999.

When the time came for its fourth major-label release, 2001's “Closer,” the band appeared poised for continued success. However, released a few weeks after the events of 9-11, the musical landscape was a far different place than what the band had become accustomed. For one, its label went bankrupt almost immediately following the release, leaving Better than Ezra dead in the water.

“Honestly, such a big part of the music industry has to do with the promotion team you have behind you,” drummer Travis McNabb said. “Every time we make a record, it's our job to make the best album we can, and tour and support it. To get other people to hear us, other than our die-hard fans, we need a record label and promotional people letting people know that we have something out.”

With “Closer,” that didn't happen. Still, not having a record label or virtually any promotion didn't stop “Extra Ordinary,” from becoming a multiformat hit, reaching No. 13 on the Billboard Adult Top 40 chart and No. 35 on the rock chart.

Now touring behind the 2005 album “Before the Robots,” Better than Ezra is back on the career path it had become accustomed to - being played on the radio, appearing on TV and having the full support of a record label. And as the lyrics from “Extra Ordinary” so eloquently state, the band still has “more hooks than Madonna got looks.”

But true fans of Better than Ezra, who call themselves “Ezralites,” have known this all along, even when the band wasn't being played on the radio.

“I think the fan following we had really started to become clear after our album ‘How Does Your Garden Grow' came out,” McNabb said. “At that point it was our least commercially successful album. But our shows were bigger than ever. We had this great following that would pay attention to what we were doing no matter if we were on the radio or not. Due to the Internet as well, fans were able to stay in touch and organize themselves better.”


With such a dedicated following behind it, where Ezralites meet on Internet message boards and organize cross-country trips to see the band, Better than Ezra has job security that most groups can only hope to attain.

“It's very exciting for us because we realize it's a very trend-orientated business,” McNabb said. “To have a career beyond that you can't be concerned with whether you're considered to be hip or cool, you need a good fan base and put on good live shows. That's what we've been doing. Continuing to do our thing and to stay in the game.”

When Better than Ezra happened to play a show with Aerosmith awhile back, that band's famous front man gave Ezra's members a bit of advice.

“Steven Tyler said you can't win if you don't stay in the game and continue to do what you love,” McNabb said. “Every once in awhile you get that shot again. All of a sudden you're on VH1 and you're on Jay Leno again.”

For Better than Ezra, that shot came with the release of “Before the Robots,” which features the inescapable single “A Lifetime,” which was played day and night by radio in 2005 and the latest hit “Juicy,” which people might recognize from its prominent spot on “Desperate Housewives.”

The current tour and the Riverfest stop will feature the new hits, as well as the songs that made the band famous in the first place. Being pretentious is not part of the plan.

“We're not the type of band that says ‘oh, we don't play that song anymore,'” McNabb said. “We understand people come out and want to hear the songs they know. Even if we play ‘Desperately Wanting' for the second thousandth time, once we play it for the crowd and they're enjoying it, it's fun again.”

For the non-Ezralites in the crowd, McNabb promises a show that won't be forgotten, along with a multitude of recognizable songs.

“Even if you don't know who the band is, you'll get to the show and recognize seven songs, I guarantee it,” McNabb said. “And it's not a recital, we interact with the crowd and there's a lot of spontaneity, that's what makes it fun. Kevin, our lead singer, must have got a class clown award in school because we never know where he's going to lead the band. It's a good show.”

With “Extra Ordinary,” “A Lifetime” and “Juicy” already hits this decade, and with more material planned for the near future, Better than Ezra is certainly back on track filling up that “I Love the '00s” episode as well.

Better than Ezra will take the stage at Riverfest on Friday, Aug. 4, starting at 8:30 p.m.