PRESENT & FUTURE
PRESENT & FUTURE
Better Than Ezra knows the importance of good music, especially of the football tailgate kind. The band is releasing a new EP (extended play), appropriately titled Death Valley EP. They are playing the songs that we’re fond of hearing during this glorious time of year. “It’s the same reason the Tiger Band plays some of these songs because they were hits back in the 50s, 60s, etc. They [Tiger Band] chose songs that were already popular and then have these versions that have stuck around and become classics...” Gone are the days of band practice in the drummer’s mom’s garage on Highland Road. Gone are those cassettes, too. Much like in the 90s, though, the band is still doing things on their own creative turf. They have five new songs, and four more are covers. “One is based on the Chinese Bandits, but it’s our own version, so you may not even recognize it. It’s got all the chants that the student section likes to sing
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throughout the games.” Having longevity in the music industry takes hard work, something that the band is well aware of. Their advice to someone trying to start a band: “Don’t rely on anyone else to do it. Do it yourself, or it will never get done. You can hire managers, and you can hire people who are supposed to take care of [business], but in the end it’s your career, your music. Just do it. It takes more effort, but in the end, it will all be worth it.” It has been great to see this Louisiana band from their start, and this is hardly their finish, either. LSU is even using the guys in their national ad campaign. They also have a show lined up for November 4th at The Varsity. I don’t doubt that the band will see a familiar face or two in the crowd. At the rate that these guys are going, even the folks in Auburn, Alabama might have a sound system playing Better Than Ezra music at their next tailgate. Let’s hope so.