Better Than Ezra's Kevin Griffin Says Songwriting For Others Led To Solo LP
By Andrew Magnotta @AndrewMagnotta
October 10, 2019
Better Than Ezra front man Kevin Griffin is no stranger to having hits.
His massive 1993 song "Good" took Better Than Ezra around the world and launched Griffin's career as a songwriter, both with BTE and with numerous collaborators with whom he would end up working, including Taylor Swift and The Struts.
Griffin tells Q104.3 New York's Out of the Box with Jonathan Clarke that it's always mutually beneficial when artists support each others' music, whether it's by doing justice with a cover version or collaborating on new music.
He especially enjoys working with younger artists because it gives him a window into influences he wouldn't get otherwise. His debut solo album, Anywhere You Go (available now), was the result of years of bringing others' artistic vision to fruition.
"This was just the right moment..." he explains of the decision to do a solo album almost 30 years into his career. "[I had written] a group of songs that I knew weren't Better Than Ezra songs, and I knew I didn't want to give [them] away to any other bands. I was like, 'This is a solo record.'"
From that realization, Griffin says it took some time to muster the time and motivation to complete the album, but he's happy that he followed through.
Anywhere You Go is a solo album in the truest sense, Griffin explains. He wrote and recorded the songs for his own artistic fulfillment and not with any illusions about getting more hits or breaking through under his own name.
"What's really cool with this record —and it's rare that you get to do this when you're a musician — is just make a record for something that just turns you on musically," he says. "I'm [wasn't] going to think about getting this on the right [radio] format that I'm normally on. I'm just going to do something that just really excites me and harkens back to the music that inspired me."
Watch the full interview in the video player above or here.
Griffin elaborates on the influences behind Anywhere You Go, talks about his Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival in Nashville, Tennessee, and looks back on some memorable moments from Better Than Ezra.
Get all Kevin Griffin's tour dates here.
Here's the official music video for Griffin's new song "Hacienda":