Shortly after welcoming their new member into the fold, the revised Better Than Ezra entered the recording studio to work on their second major-label release, 1996's Friction, Baby. But despite enjoying a hit right off the bat, Bonnecaze opted to leave the group in early 1996 and was replaced by a fellow New Orleans native (who, at the time, was living in San Francisco), Travis McNabb. The album spawned their biggest international radio hit with "Good," which helped push the album to platinum status by the end of 1995. The trio signed with Elektra Records, and Better Than Ezra's new label reissued Deluxe two years after its original release. The album continued to raise the band's profile and eventually drew the attention of several major labels. Deciding that a change of scenery would be helpful, Better Than Ezra relocated to Los Angeles shortly thereafter, where they laid down tracks at a friend's home studio to create their 1993 independent release, Deluxe. The remaining bandmates initially opted to go their separate ways after Rundell's passing, but they reunited as a trio before the end of the year. Despite these accolades, Better Than Ezra's future was thrust into doubt when Rundell committed suicide on August 8, 1990. The band's early performances were expectedly held at college bars and fraternity houses, and their debut cassette-tape recording, 1990's Surprise, received positive press and comparisons to such alt-punk stalwarts as the Replacements and Dinosaur Jr. Originally formed in 1988 as a roots rock outfit with slight elements of country and punk, the group's first incarnation consisted of four college students from Louisiana State University: Kevin Griffin (vocals, guitar), Joel Rundell (guitar), Tom Drummond (bass), and Cary Bonnecaze (drums). Although subsequent releases didn't perform as well, they remained a Billboard 200 presence into the 2010s with half-a-dozen full-lengths including 2009's Paper Empire and 2014's All Together Now.
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In 1993, they scored their biggest hits with the radio staple "Good" from their platinum-certified major-label debut Deluxe. he still uses it.Along with such similarly styled outfits as Goo Goo Dolls and Semisonic, the New Orleans-based trio Better Than Ezra helped open the floodgates for countless alt-pop acts of the late '90s (including Matchbox Twenty and Third Eye Blind) by merging college rock influences with mainstream aspirations. they were all lined up in a beautiful red RCA box. i traded it to him for the 100 transistors i used to make all of the reverse fuzz factories. i never liked the sound of that pedal, but he loved it. i made a one-of-a-kind pedal called "fuzz boy" for john kuker on 8/21/96. some guy named nate from a band called enormous bought a super hard-on from me on 8/17/96.
#Semisonic closing time backstory serial numbers#
probably the third and fourth ever made, but i didn't use serial numbers after the first two units until i added the LED this year (2002), and started at s/n 001 again. on august 5th i sold s/n 009 and 010 of the octane to willy's, and s/n 014 of the fuzz factory, and 2 SHO's. steve albini got the second SHO ever made, july of '96. 14 fuzz factories in 6 months isn't exactly enough to live on. as you can see, back then, my pedal sales were spread out pretty thin. records indicate that i send fuzz factory s/n 013 to them on 6/13/96.
make'n music of chicago was my second dealer. eventually, number 007 went to dan wilson of semisonic, who used it on 'closing time'. david sylvian bought one of the other two from willy's.
![semisonic closing time backstory semisonic closing time backstory](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/Semisonic.jpg)
he is a chiropractor here in the minneapolis area, and a guitar fanatic. dan boling (i think that's the spelling) bought the fuzz factory s/n 000 from willy's.
![semisonic closing time backstory semisonic closing time backstory](https://www.grunge.com/img/gallery/the-hidden-meaning-of-semisonics-closing-time/it-was-inspired-by-new-beginnings-1595955052.jpg)
john kuker bought s/n 001 of the fuzz factory. i established a dealer, willy's american guitars, and on december 22 of that year, my records indicate that they bought s/n 000,002, and 003 of the fuzz factory. the first one i sold to john kuker of seedy underbelly studio in minneapolis. When did you make your first stomp box available to the public and which one was it? Thanks, J.M.įrom Zvex: "it was the octane. I found some information on the backstory of the pedal from an email exchange posted on a message board: Any Zvex/Fuzz Factory lovers this pedal is for you! It works perfectly, but the finish on the pedal shows some wear (gives it character). I believe 50 of these were created many years back. I have for sale a very early and rare Red Reverse Fuzz Factory.