Like many bands in the then-burgeoning alt-rock movement of the mid-'90s, Better Than Ezra enjoyed their period of greatest chart success immediately following their debut major-label release (Deluxe), which spawned their highest-charting hits. At least commercially (and in terms of mainstream radio play), the band has experienced slightly diminishing returns with each successive release; however, unlike the majority of their contemporaries, Better Than Ezra's extremely loyal fan base has kept the group from dropping off of the musical map. Ezra's followers, who refer to themselves as Ezralites, have never cared whether radio stations play the band or not--in fact, many fans follow the band religiously, attending scores of their performances. It is Ezra's loyal fans and a relentless touring schedule which has allowed them to continue to produce new music, remain extremely viable in the music world, and out-live their projected shelf life. Additionally, Better Than Ezra's independence and survival in a business that has chewed up and spat out many bands who they used to jockey for chart position seems to indicate that the band will be around to satisfy their fans' rapacious appetite for their music for many years to come.
In addition to vocalist and guitarist Kevin Griffin from Monroe, Louisiana, the current members of Better Than Ezra are bass guitar player Tom Drummond and drummer Travis McNabb. Original drummer, Cary Bonnecaze, left the band after the release of Deluxe. Original lead guitarist, Joel Rundell, committed suicide in 1990. Multi-Instrumentalist James Arthur Payne also from Monroe, Louisiana tours with the band, fills in vocal, keyboard, guitar, and harmonica parts, and is a fan favorite.
Who or what Ezra might be is a mystery that the band members have no interest in clearing up. Drummond once told a reporter that the meaning of the band's name is "so lame you wouldn't even want to print it." However, it has also been said that the name came into being when the then nameless band entered a battle of the bands in competition with a group named Ezra. Needing a name to register they simply said that they were better.
In 2005, Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry used the band's song "Juicy" as the background music for the second season of the show's promotional advertisement.
The band is slated to headline A Taste of Fort Collins in Fort Collins, Colorado.
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In 2009 there were line-up changes and a new album released. Drummer Travis McNabb left to tour with the Country music group Sugarland. The split was friendly and McNabb still serves on the Ezra charitable organizations. McNabb was replaced by Michael Jerome as touring and ?future? drummer, with Blair Sinta filling in on parts of the album Paper Empire and 2 dates of the bands summer 2009 concert tour.
Travis McNabb played his last show with Ezra on Feb. 15, 2009 in Metairie, Louisiana.
Paper Empire was released on May 12, 2009.
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One More Murder
Better Than Ezra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Don't mean a thing just lock your doors
And drive around.
One more murder in this town,
Don't worry the rain will
Wash the chalk marks from the ground.
Add one to the body count.
You come alive to see another's end.
Plead it to a lesser count,
D.A. says without a doubt,
In 3-5 you're on the streets again.
One more murder in this town
Don't mean a thing
You get accustomed to the sound
One more murder in this town
Block off the street and
Wrap the crime scene tape around.
Hosanna! Hosanna!
I can't feel a thing at all!
Hosanna! Hosanna!
I can't feel a thing!
I can't feel a thing at all!
Saturday night you're going out
Parking lot, a figure come about
Feel a piece click against your head.
Pleading to his sympathy,
"Take the car, I got a family"
You hear a laugh,
"It don't mean shit to me."
One more murder in this town
The lyrics of Better Than Ezra's song One More Murder paint a sobering picture of a town that has become accustomed to violence and crime. The first verse sets the tone for the rest of the song, with the repeated line "One more murder in this town, don't mean a thing..." establishing a sense of desensitization to violence. The singer suggests that the response to another murder is simply to lock your doors and drive around, as though violence is an inevitable part of life in this town.
The second verse is more specific, describing a Saturday night where shots ring out and someone is added to the body count. The singer comments on the twisted sense of excitement that can sometimes arise from witnessing violence ("You come alive to see another's end"). Then, in the third verse, we see how this cycle of violence perpetuates itself: the criminal justice system is portrayed as inadequate, and the offender is let back out on the streets after only a few years.
The chorus repeats the idea that "one more murder in this town" is something that people have grown used to, with the added detail of blockading the streets and wrapping crime scene tape around. And finally, the song ends with a chilling image of a person being held up at gunpoint, pleading for mercy and offering their car, but being met only with laughter and more violence.
Overall, the lyrics of One More Murder paint a bleak picture of a town where violence is a fact of life, the justice system is flawed, and empathy and compassion are in short supply.
Line by Line Meaning
One more murder in this town,
The occurrence of another murder in this town doesn't make a difference in how people react to it. They simply lock their doors and avoid the area.
Don't mean a thing just lock your doors
And drive around.
People are desensitized to the presence of murder, and they take precautions to avoid danger.
Don't worry the rain will
Wash the chalk marks from the ground.
There is no lasting memory of the victim because even the evidence of the crime scene will be washed away by the rain.
Saturday night, shots ring out,
Add one to the body count.
A typical occurrence of violent crime on a weekend night adds another tally to the count of murder victims.
You come alive to see another's end.
The thrill of the violence of a murder brings excitement to some people.
Plead it to a lesser count,
D.A. says without a doubt,
In 3-5 you're on the streets again.
Even criminals found guilty of murder can get a reduced sentence which allows them to return to society in just a few years.
You get accustomed to the sound
Because murder is a common occurrence in this town, people are unfazed by the violence they hear.
Block off the street and
Wrap the crime scene tape around.
The police follow typical procedures and block off the area around the crime scene to prevent contamination and further danger.
Saturday night you're going out
Parking lot, a figure come about
Feel a piece click against your head.
On a typical Saturday night out, someone is threatened with a gun in a parking lot.
Pleading to his sympathy,
"Take the car, I got a family"
You hear a laugh,
"It don't mean shit to me."
The victim tries to appeal to the criminal's sense of empathy, but the criminal just laughs and disregards the victim's life and struggles.
Hosanna! Hosanna!
I can't feel a thing at all!
Hosanna! Hosanna!
I can't feel a thing!
I can't feel a thing at all!
The repetition of "hosanna" becomes a cry for salvation or intervention, and a refusal to feel the pain and trauma of the violence around them.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: KEVIN GRIFFIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind