Former LSU Tigers “Better Than Ezra” are no strangers to local and national fame. With hits like “Good,” “Extraordinary” and “Rosalia,” they have established themselves as a household name for LSU and its surrounding area.
Before rocking a sellout crowd at the Varsity Theatre on Saturday night, BTE bass player Tom Drummond sat down with Revelry and gave a little insight on these Louisiana golden boys.
When did you know that you wanted to be a musician?
I started playing when I was in 8th grade, and I had a pretty successful band in high school. When I came to LSU, I answered an ad in The Reveille that Kevin (Griffin) had put in looking for a new bass player. I called him, went over there and jammed, and the rest is history. As soon as we rehearsed for the first few times, I knew that there was something special there.
To what do you attribute your success in the beginning?
Well, first of all you have to have songs to have any kind of success in the industry. But when we went to LSU we used to play out of town a lot. We bought a van from a family here in Baton Rouge, and we started playing four or five nights a week around the Southeast.
How does playing in Baton Rouge compare to playing in New Orleans?
When we started, we didn’t play New Orleans much. We played at Ole Miss, Alabama, Louisiana Tech. We were kind of sticking to the college markets because it seemed like the kind of music we were playing was really translating with kids.
What do you like to do when you come to Baton Rouge?
Well we have to eat at The Chimes, of course. I actually just went to the Mall of Louisiana for the first time. It’s been a while since we’ve lived here, and it’s really changed a lot.
How do you prepare for a performance?
We play so much that we don’t really have to prepare. The only thing we might do is if we we’re working on a new song, we might work on a new song at sound check.
How has Better Than Ezra evolved as artists?
I think any band with any kind of career is able to adjust to the changing times. They are able to incorporate new things into their music. You’ll have the same vocalists and songwriting style, but there are things that you add to it to make it your own.
How do your experiences show through your writing?
I think there was a huge jump from “Friction Baby” to “How’s Your Garden Grow?” “How’s Your Garden Grow” was a dark and not very commercial record that took a lot of balls to do. It was definitely a departure from where we had been, which I think is a maturity level thing.
Does being a nationally known musician live up to your expectations?
Yeah, it does. But, it didn’t start out like that; we had to work at it. Even when “Good” was hitting at its biggest in ’95, we were still playing places a little smaller than the Varsity. In order to get to the level that we are at now, you have to do that. You can’t skip from Point A to Point B. You have to play the clubs and build a fan base.
What do you have coming up in the future?
We have a lot coming up. Hopefully in April, we’ll have a DVD with a live concert, and it’ll be packaged with a live cd. We also have a greatest hits record coming out if you can believe that. Also, depending on how the timing goes, we are working on a new record. We have about 30 new songs that just have to pair out. We’ll have a busy year for sure.