Kevin Griffin

Kevin Griffin
Background information
Birth name	Kevin Michael Griffin[1]
Born	(1968-10-01) October 1, 1968 New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Genres	Rock Alternative rock
Occupation(s)	Musician, songwriter, and producer
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, piano
Years active	1988–present
Associated acts	Better Than Ezra

Kevin Michael^[1] Griffin (born October 1, 1968) is an American guitarist, vocalist, producer, and songwriter.^[2]

Griffin formed the alternative rock band Better Than Ezra in 1988. The band had great success in the 1990s with hits such as "Good", "In the Blood", and "Desperately Wanting", and has continued in the 2000s with hits such as "Extra Ordinary", "A Lifetime", and "Juicy". They continue to tour and produce new recordings, the most recent of which is All Together Now, released in September 2014. As a singer and performer, Griffin is known for singing in falsetto, inviting audience members onstage to play guitar, and interrupting his own songs with verses of well-known rock songs. He is a skilled mimic, imitating singers from Aaron Neville to Bruce Springsteen.

Personal life

Kevin Griffin grew up and attended River Oaks High School in Monroe, Louisiana. Later, Griffin received a bachelor's degree in English and a minor in political science from Louisiana State University in 1990.^[2] There he became a member of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity. He took the LSAT with the intention of pursuing a law degree and working in entertainment law.^[2] Griffin took a job with Creative Artists Agency in Los Angeles during the early 1990s,^[2] before Better Than Ezra achieved commercial success.

Griffin and his family largely resided in the Uptown neighborhood of New Orleans until Hurricane Katrina devastated the city in 2005.^[3] Griffin purchased a home in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles in July 2006,^[3] but after a few years in L.A. he discovered that many of the artists he wanted to collaborate with, e.g., Jason Mraz and James Blunt, were working out of Nashville.^[4] In 2011, he sold his house and moved to Franklin, Tennessee, a suburb of Nashville, to be closer to a more prosperous songwriting market.^[5]

Songwriter

Griffin has also produced, written, and co-written songs for other artists, such as Sugarland, James Blunt, Christina Perri, Taylor Swift, Train, Howie Day, Missy Higgins, Daniel Powter, Augustana, Debbie Harry, and Josh Radin. Griffin is credited with having co-written "Stuck Like Glue", the Mediabase #1 single from the 2010 Sugarland album, "Incredible Machine", as well as their subsequent single "Tonight". Most recently, Kevin co-wrote Tristan Prettyman's top ten single, "My Oh My". He also co-wrote and co-produced James Blunt's "I'll Be Your Man" from his recent Some Kind of Trouble album. Griffin co-wrote the Top 40 hit "Collide" with Howie Day. He also co-wrote four tracks on Missy Higgins' debut album, The Sound of White, which included the hit "Scar" The album went ten times platinum in Australia. Griffin also co-wrote Tristan Prettyman's single "Madly," and "Avalanche" on the self-titled, major-label debut of American Idol winner David Cook. Better Than Ezra released their 7th studio album, Paper Empire in May 2009. Kevin co-produced the Album with Producer Warren Huart. Other recent artists Kevin has worked with include Secret Sisters, A Rocket to the Moon, Boys Like Girls, Megan and Liz, Skillet, Shinedown, and Hot Chelle Rae. Kevin co-wrote three songs with Barenaked Ladies frontman, Ed Robertson, on their 2013 album Grinning Streak, two songs on their 2015 album Silverball, and four on their 2017 album Fake Nudes.

References

External links

• Official web site