Better Than Ezra Battle Gun Violence

10/16/1998 3:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Craig Rosen

(10/16/98, 12 p.m. PDT) - Late last week, Better Than Ezra met with members of PAX, a national non-profit organization that works to end gun violence, about donating a portion of ticket proceeds from the band's current tour to the cause. "Doing something is the only way to instigate change, and change is needed in a world where there are more regulations on teddy bears than guns," says lead singer/ guitarist Kevin Griffin. "This is a place to start and the least we can do."

Griffin says the idea came from the success of the band's single, "One More Murder," which was inspired by his up-close-and-personal experience in New Orleans, the band's hometown and the current murder capital of the country.

"One night, I was walking with some friends to a restaurant when a young kid put a 9mm in my face," he says. "You can say anything you want about what you'd do in that situation, like kick the guy in the balls and then grab the gun, but when you see a gun, your legs turn to jelly and you are at the mercy of the gun-holder. I spent the next couple of days envisioning what could have happened."

Griffin goes on to say that the song, which appears on the band's new album How Does Your Garden Grow? and The X-Files movie soundtrack, is as close to social commentary as he gets. "I'm not one to stand on a soapbox, but I realize that I have the power to say something," he says. "And because we are a band, people listen and we have the radio and stages as a forum."

Better Than Ezra has been on the road since Sept. 28 and will continue touring through the end of the year. More than likely, the band will hit the road again throughout next year.

PAX also receives a portion of sales proceeds from Connected, a collection of hip-hop tracks from artists like Blackalicious, Doug E. Fresh, and Badawi on 3-2-1 Records.

-- Midnight Jones, Los Angeles