Better Than Ezra, And Worse Than… Radio-Friendly Sound Has Group Fighting Alt-Rock Image

Don’t even ask who Ezra is, because they won’t tell you.

The members of the band Better Than Ezra won’t even say if their name-sake is a who. Or a what, for that matter.

And that’s the point.

Their refusal to spill their guts has now piqued the public’s interest in a way the real story never could.

“It’s just that the true meaning behind the band name is so lame you wouldn’t even want to print it,” Tom Drummond, bassist for the New Orleans-based trio, says, chuckling at the consternation of fans and music writers everywhere.

Ah well, this band, which plays The Met Wednesday, probably deserves a little mystery.

After all, Better Than Ezra has been kicked around a bit lately for being too accessible to the masses - as though their music was purposely cut like a cookie from the predictable alt-rock recipe.

“People who didn’t know our history thought we were just another pop hit band. Nothing could be further from the truth,” insists singer/ songwriter Kevin Griffin. “In one article we were called an ‘MTV confection’ and in another we were lumped in with a bunch of bands who’d ‘never spent one day on the road in an unheated van.’”

Even if some of their songs are a bit too radio-made - a bit too listenable for the picky ears of critics - who can blame them, really, for wanting a little success.

No matter what some people think, Better Than Ezra has paid its dues to the music gods.

“We’ve been playing 200 to 250 shows a year since 1988,” Drummond says, pointing out that they were developing their sound at the same time some of today’s biggies were. The others just got the major label contracts and national exposure first.

Better Than Ezra first came together in 1988 when Griffin and drummer Cary Bonnecaze met at Louisiana State University. Drummond was the first to answer their “Bass Player Wanted” ad. The band was rounded out by guitarist Joel Rundell.

For the next two years their Southern-rooted rock sound developed a strong following in the region. Then Rundell, a manic depressive, killed himself.

For about a year the band went on hiatus, playing only occasionally while the members considered ditching the music business entirely.

“We weren’t sure that people wanted to hear us. We didn’t know if we wanted to do it,” Drummond says. “It took us a little while to figure out, yeah, we want to give it a shot.”

Their decision paid off.

After self-releasing “Deluxe” in 1993, the album was picked up by Elektra Entertainment in 1995 and within six months shot from 50,000 sales to 500,000.

“It took us seven years to get signed and seven weeks to get a number one song on alternative radio,” Drummond says, referring to their hit “Good.”

Travis McNabb replaced Bonnecaze on drums and the readjusted trio released “Friction, Baby” in August. It has since spawned a number of popular radio songs: “King of New Orleans” and “Desperately Wanting” among them.

Sure, some of the songs fade into so much overplayed radio din. But gems can be found in tunes like “Long Lost,” with its penetrating chorus, and “Normal Town,” with its warbly-fluid bass line and transfixing melody that hovers between gloom and solace.

For now, Better Than Ezra are doing what they have done for years - touring. In the last year the trio has played more than 270 shows.

“There’s just something about being on stage and performing live,” Drummond says. “It’s great when you can hear the crowd singing your songs. It’s really impressive.”

Five-piece L.A. band Ednaswap opens. They kick-started the No Doubt show at The Gorge last month with a biting guitar romp full of great bits from their album “Wacko Magneto.”

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MEMO: Better Than Ezra will perform at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday at The Met. Tickets are $13 ($15 the day of the show), available at G&B Select-a Seat outlets or call (800) 325-SEAT.