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The band released the B-Sides and rarities collection Artifakt on its own "Ezra Dry Goods/Fudge" label in 2000. Artifakt was only sold online[12] and at concerts. Tom Drummond, the band's bassist, noted in 2002, "It's basically an album full of rarities."[12] Better Than Ezra, now no longer with Elektra Records, signed with the Beyond Music label and began work on new material.[12] Drummond explained the reasoning for choosing a smaller label, "We decided we wanted to be big fish in a small pond instead of a little fish in a big pond. We just wanted to be with a label who wanted success as much as we did."[12] Griffin, Drummond and McNabb spent 18 months working on Closer, their follow-up album to 1998's How Does Your Garden Grow? and their first new material since being dropped by Elektra Records.[12][13] The album was recorded in New Orleans in the band's own studio, which allowed the members to focus on creating music rather than rental costs per day.[13] Closer was mixed in Los Angeles by Better Than Ezra and the album's producer, Brad Wood.[13] However, the band felt that some tracks needed scratching. Producer Brad Wood's management company recommended DJ Swamp, who had previously worked with Beck, to mix several tracks.[13] The use of a DJ for two of the album's tracks, the first single "Extra Ordinary" and "Recognize", marked a departure for the band, who hadn't previously employed a DJ before.[13] Closer was released on August 7, 2001.[13] Better Than Ezra launched a tour in support of the album on July 26, 2001.[13] The first single off the album, "Extra Ordinary", which had been mixed by DJ Swamp, was inspired by an AC/DC song.[13] The album's promotion hit a snag after its record label, Beyond Music, was closed down following a business dispute towards the end of 2002, shortly after Closer's release.[14][15] Beyond Music's closure left Closer out of print for several years.[14] In June 2009, Better Than Ezra announced that it had acquired the rights to Closer and would re-release it in the Fall of 2009 with two new previously unreleased tracks, "Simple Song" and "Screwed Up and Beautiful."[14] In June 2001, Better Than Ezra filmed a series of commercials for ESPN's College GameDay.[13] The promo features the band while sports analyst Lee Corso crowd surfs to the stage, where he continues his sports reporting.[13] On September 28, 2004, the band simultaneously released their first live concert DVD, as well as an official live album, both entitled Live at the House of Blues, New Orleans through Sanctuary Records.[16] The DVD and album were filmed and recorded at two separate shows at the House of Blues in New Orleans during the summer of 2004.[16] A Greatest Hits collection was released on March 15, 2005, through Rhino Entertainment, a division of the Warner Music Group. The band's sixth studio album Before the Robots (Artemis Records) was released on May 31, 2005. 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 advertisements, which Griffin credited with bringing attention to the album.[17] The song "Juicy" has also been heard in the background in commercials for Applebee's restaurants. Since 2009[edit] Longtime drummer Travis McNabb left Better Than Ezra in February 2009 and their last performance together was Family Gras in Metairie, Louisiana.[18] The primary reason given for his departure was the demand on his time by country and bluegrass group, Sugarland, with whom McNabb had previously been touring for some time. The split was amicable, with bassist Tom Drummond saying, "It's bittersweet. He's fantastic. We're still good friends, and there are no hard feelings. We'll miss him. But this is an opportunity he needed to take." Announced at the same time was McNabb's replacement, New Orleans–based drummer Michael Jerome, formerly of the band Pleasure Club. In addition, Better Than Ezra announced the May 12, 2009, release date for their seventh studio album, entitled Paper Empire, which is produced by Warren Huart and singer Kevin Griffin. The first single, "Absolutely Still", was released for iTunes purchase on March 17. On May 22, 2013, Griffin confirmed that the band plans to release their first new album since 2009 later in the year.[19] On February 10, 2014, it was announced that the band had signed with The End Records for the release of their eighth studio album. The album, All Together Now, was released on September 9, 2014.[20] On August 29, 2014, the twenty-fifth anniversary edition of Surprise was released. According to original drummer Cary Bonnecaze, "The family of Joel Rundell (our original guitarist who passed away in 1990) and I own the original recording, and we thought that with 2014 being the 25th anniversary of its original release, it would be a good time to release it." On June 1, 2018, BTE released a new track called "GRATEFUL" via The End Records. On August 13–14, 2021, Better Than Ezra played a pair of sold-out shows at the House of Blues New Orleans in order to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their second album Friction, Baby. During these shows, the band played the album in its entirety, as well as some other fan-favorite songs.[21] A few months later, the band returned to the same venue to play their album Closer in its entirety to another sold-out crowd.[22] In October 2022, during their "Legends of the Fall" tour, Griffin revealed that the band would be releasing a new album in 2023. "Mystified", a single from the forthcoming album, was released on July 18, 2023.[23] The band's latest single, "Contact High," was released on November 3, 2023. On March 8, 2024, the band's ninth studio album Super Magick was announced, and the single "Live a Little" was released.[24] After some brief delays, Super Magick was released on May 3, 2024, on Round Hill Records.[25] Band members[edit] .mw-parser-output .col-begin{border-collapse:collapse;padding:0;color:inherit;width:100%;border:0;margin:0}.mw-parser-output .col-begin-small{font-size:90%}.mw-parser-output .col-break{vertical-align:top;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .col-break-2{width:50%}.mw-parser-output .col-break-3{width:33.3%}.mw-parser-output .col-break-4{width:25%}.mw-parser-output .col-break-5{width:20%}@media(max-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .col-begin,.mw-parser-output .col-begin>tbody,.mw-parser-output .col-begin>tbody>tr,.mw-parser-output .col-begin>tbody>tr>td{display:block!important;width:100%!important}.mw-parser-output .col-break{padding-left:0!important}} Current members Tom Drummond – bass guitar, backing vocals (Since 1988) Kevin Griffin – lead vocals, guitar, piano (Since 1988) James Arthur Payne Jr. – guitar, keyboards, backing vocals (Since 1996) Michael Jerome – drums, backing vocals (Since 2009) Former members Cary Bonnecaze – drums, backing vocals (1988–1996) Joel Rundell – lead guitar, backing vocals (1988–1990; his death) Travis McNabb – drums (1996–2009) Touring members Alex Allemang – keyboards, backing vocals (1993–1996) Neal Josten – keyboards, key grip, backing vocals (1993–1997) Timeline[edit] Discography[edit] .mw-parser-output .hatnote{font-style:italic}.mw-parser-output div.hatnote{padding-left:1.6em;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .hatnote i{font-style:normal}.mw-parser-output .hatnote+link+.hatnote{margin-top:-0.5em}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .hatnote{display:none!important}}Main article: Better Than Ezra discography Studio albums Surprise (1990) Deluxe (1993) Friction, Baby (1996) How Does Your Garden Grow? (1998) Closer (2001) Before the Robots (2005) Paper Empire (2009) All Together Now (2014) Super Magick (2024) References[edit] .mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman} ^ .mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}Prato, Greg. "Better Than Ezra". Allmusic. Retrieved July 30, 2015. ^ Unterberger, Andrew (August 6, 2004). "Top Ten Mediocre Post-Grunge / Alternative Bands". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on February 16, 2022. Retrieved April 30, 2022. ^ "Better Than Ezra". Retrieved May 12, 2024.