I'm gonna be honest with you... I'm not the luckiest person in the world. I rarely have that kind of luck that others just seem to radiate. I have to work hard for everything I've got, I've never had stuff handed to me. Sometimes I wonder if it's just because I was never one of those cute girls who garner attention or if I just have some bad karma attached to me for something I did in another life. I feel like I'm a good person so I wonder how that could be?
Anyways, I try to just roll with the punches, what else can I do? When all the household cars break down at once or my dog requires stitches because my other dog played too hard and nearly tore his jugular or the typical "when it rains, it pours" feeling really hits from all the crap that seems to fall at once, I just put on some music from my favorite band and let it all wash away. My favorite band? Oh, I'm glad you asked! That would be Better Than Ezra, maybe you've heard of them... or maybe you haven't. But you've heard them, I guarantee it, even if you don't remember it. Hailing from New Orleans, they came out in 1993 with a hit called "Good" from their album "Deluxe," and on their next album, "Friction, Baby," it was "Desperately Wanting." In 2001, we were treated to the album "Closer" and the single "Extra Ordinary," though "Closer" goes down as one of my favorite albums of all time.
In 2005, we got another radio single in "Juicy" which sounds like something entirely not BTE LOL But it's a fun song and it made me sit up and take notice at a band that I honestly hadn't paid attention to for awhile. We also got a new incarnation of "A Lifetime" getting airtime, even though it was formerly released on "Closer." I went back at that point and made up for lost time by buying up every album I'd missed and in that, I somehow joined that group of hardcore BTE fans called Ezralites.
I was finally caught up for the brand new release of the album "Paper Empire" which featured the single "Absolutely Still" which is an amazing song. I also happen to love "Just One Day," in which I find I resonate with the message on that one so very much, but I bet most of us would. Oh heck, I like most every song on that album quite a bit, "I Just Knew" is an amazing romantic song which I know many fans have used at their weddings. I would have had I had a normal wedding ;)
I've chatted on the forum a bit, I've driven hours to shows, I watch all of their crazy blog videos and have all their music videos favorited on YouTube. I seem to be wearing either BTE t-shirts or the BTE sweatshirt my fella bought for me at a show in Nashville in almost every photo taken of me in the last nine years. I have stickered my car and truck, I have a framed art poster, I haunt eBay for old CD singles, I pre-purchase all their new releases, even the vinyl this last time around even though I don't have a turntable, I know darn near every lyric to every song they've ever done, and I think I have a problem...
What do I love about Better Than Ezra? Well, for starters, they are an honestly good band, talented across the board. While they have not garnered the fame of some artists, it's not for lack of trying. These guys have been out there busting their asses touring and making music that anyone can love and sing to for over 20 years. They've had some change ups- a suicide by the first lead guitarist, the first drummer headed out. The second drummer ended up doing double duty as drummer for both BTE and a little band called Sugarland and made the choice to drum for Sugarland full time when it came down to crunch time. But through it all, Better Than Ezra keeps bringing us the music that makes my heart sing.
Live BTE shows are nothing short of extraordinary. Kevin, Tom, Michael, and Jim really know how to throw down a party on the stage. You get more than just the same songs being sung as in a studio, you get impressions and segues and covers and cowbell. You get people asked to come up on stage, I've even seen hula hooping bar waitresses! It's to the point that I buy the NOLA Jazz Fest recordings so I can get the live show experience at home LOL
BTE is so much more than their own band, lead Kevin Griffin has co-written a ton of songs which you've probably also heard and had no idea he was behind them. He's written with Howie Day, Blondie, Sugarland (ever heard a little ditty called "Stuck Like Glue?"), etc, etc, etc. and currently resides near Nashville to be close to that action. The band is also responsible for several charity events and organizations to help underprivileged kids in New Orleans.
Well, anyways, to get the whole point of this little blog, it's to win a contest that Better Than Ezra is putting on to celebrate their new studio album, "All Together Now." The first single is entitled "Crazy Lucky" hence my blog name. I'll let Kevin tell you a little about the contest:
Now tell me that ain't worth trying to win??? Holy cow, I think I was one of the first to send in my photo, of course it was my favorite wedding photo with husband, Eli. We went down to New Orleans in 2011 during Mardi Gras and were married in NOLA's City Park and then went out for parades Orpheus and Proteus (with me in that BTE hoodie again!). It was an amazing time, but of course just getting there had Murphy's Law in overdrive LOL But we got there, it happened, and even before BTE wrote their latest single, "Crazy Lucky," I've always thought that Eli and I finding each other was against the odds... I really don't know how we did it, but we did and in that, found ourselves in each other. As for the rest, my whole unlucky self? Well, I wanna change that, I want to be lucky and work hard to win this contest and I hope I've garnered a bit more attention for it here.
If you like my blog and my little bit of BTE history, you can head over to Facebook and LIKE my photo at this link: #BTECrazyLucky
I'm standing in the top ten, but the top two currently have over 300 and over 400 votes so I really need all the help I can get! If you vote for me and need some help on a contest of yours, please put your contest link in the comments and I'll head over there and return the favor!
Thanks to everyone and go enjoy some good music now that you know what you're missing!
I'll also mention, should I actually get this meet and greet and
everything that goes along with it, I PROMISE you all that I will blog
about it. There will be photos and videos and anything that they let me
get away with!
No comments:
Post a Comment