Joel Rundell (September 26, 1965 – August 8, 1990) was an American musician best known as one of the four original members and lead guitarist of the

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

-based

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...

band

Better Than Ezra Better Than Ezra is an American alternative rock band based in New Orleans, Louisiana, and signed with The End Records. The band formed in 1988 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and consists of Kevin Griffin (vocals and guitar), Tom Drummond (bass ...

. He and the other original members formed the group while attending

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

. Rundell died by suicide on August 8, 1990, nearly a year after the release of the band's first album, '' Surprise''. After his death, the band went on

hiatus Hiatus may refer to: *Hiatus (anatomy), a natural fissure in a structure * Hiatus (stratigraphy), a discontinuity in the age of strata in stratigraphy *''Hiatus'', a genus of picture-winged flies with sole member species '' Hiatus fulvipes'' * Gl ...

before reuniting as a trio by the end of 1990. In 2016, Rundell's family and former drummer Cary Bonnecaze sued the band. Citing the 25th anniversary edition of ''Surprise,'' a remastered version, the contention was that Better Than Ezra did not have the right to re-release the album.

Discography

with Better Than Ezra

* Surprise (1990)

References

1965 births 1990 suicides 1990 deaths American rock guitarists American male guitarists Better Than Ezra members Louisiana State University alumni 20th-century American musicians 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians Suicides in the United States {{US-music-bio-stub