Crazy Town (sometimes abbreviated as CXT) was an American

rap rock Rap rock is a music genre that developed from the early to mid-1980s, when hip hop DJs incorporated rock records into their routines and rappers began incorporating original and sampled rock instrumentation into hip hop music. Rap rock is co ...

band formed in Los Angeles in 1995 by Bret "Epic" Mazur and Shifty Shellshock (Seth Brooks Binzer). Their 2000 single "

Butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

", reached number one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and helped their debut album, '' The Gift of Game'' (1999), sell over 1.6 million units. Their follow-up album, '' Darkhorse'' (2002), failed to achieve the same level of success, contributing to the band's breakup in 2003. Mazur and Binzer reformed the band in 2007 and released their third album, '' The Brimstone Sluggers'', in 2015. In 2017, Mazur left the band and Binzer changed its name to Crazy Town X. In March 2024, the band released the EP ''Flirting with Disaster''. Binzer died in June 2024, leaving the future of the band unclear.

History

Formation (1995–1999)

Bret Mazur and Seth Binzer, who go by the names of Epic and Shifty Shellshock, respectively, started collaborating under the name of "The Brimstone Sluggers" in 1995 in Los Angeles, along with Adam Bravin (a.k.a. DJ Adam 12) who preceded DJ AM. However, they did not become serious about releasing any material until much later. By early 1999, Rust Epique, James Bradley Jr. (a.k.a. JBJ), Doug Miller, Adam Goldstein (a.k.a. DJ AM), and Antonio Lorenzo "Trouble" Valli joined the band. Prior to joining the band, Bradley was the drummer for jazz trumpeter

Chuck Mangione Charles Frank Mangione ( ; born November 29, 1940) is an American flugelhorn player, trumpeter and composer. He came to prominence as a member of Art Blakey's band in the 1960s, and later co-led the Jazz Brothers with his brother, Gap Mangione, ...

from 1977 to 1981, and had been a member of the alternative rock band Mary's Danish in the early 1990s. Crazy Town's debut album, '' The Gift of Game'', was released in November 1999, having been recorded earlier that year. Crazytown logo

''The Gift of Game'' and "Butterfly" (1999–2001)

The release of ''The Gift of Game'' was followed by a tour support slot for the

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. Guitarist Rust Epique left the band while the album was being mixed, and Crazy Town was joined by Kraig Tyler shortly after. The first two singles from ''The Gift of Game'', "Toxic" and "Darkside", were released but failed to chart. In 2000, Crazy Town was signed to tour with

Ozzfest Ozzfest was an annual music festival tour of the United States and sometimes Europe and later Japan, featuring performances by many heavy metal music, heavy metal and hard rock musical groups. It was founded by Sharon Osbourne and her husband O ...

; however, they were forced to withdraw after only two weeks when Binzer was arrested after he threw a chair through a window while he was drunk. Crazy Town then released their third single in 2001, "Butterfly" (which uses samples from Red Hot Chili Peppers' " Pretty Little Ditty"). It reached number 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. Soundscan reports 100,000 album sales of ''The Gift of Game'' prior to the release of "Butterfly"; after "Butterfly" reached number 1, sales exceeded 1.5 million. Crazy Town toured with Ozzfest in 2001. They were received with mixed reviews; many people in the Ozzfest crowd mockingly called them "The Butterfly Boys". A fourth single, "

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", was released with limited success. In 2001 Crazy Town also made a cameo appearance in the music video for " Bad Boy for Life" by P. Diddy,

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and Mark Curry.

''Darkhorse'' (2001–2003)

Their second album, '' Darkhorse'', was produced by Howard Benson and released on November 12, 2002. Benson's influence resulted in a more

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-oriented sound. Prior to recording the album, drummer James Bradley Jr. eventually left the band and was replaced by Kyle Hollinger. The album achieved little commercial success, spawning only two singles: "

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", which became a minor hit in the U.S., UK, Austria, and Germany, and "Hurt You So Bad", which failed to chart at all. Shortly after the release of ''Darkhorse'' the band broke up in 2003, citing amongst other things, pressure from their record company for a "Butterfly" follow-up.

Hiatus (2003–2007)

During Crazy Town's hiatus, Bret Mazur went on to form ''The Pharmacy'', a record-producing company. Shortly after leaving Crazy Town, Rust Epique formed a band which would eventually go by the name pre)Thing. He died of a

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shortly before their debut album '' 22nd Century Lifestyle'' was released in 2004. Binzer contributed vocals to

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's 2002 single ''Starry Eyed Surprise''. He released his first solo album in 2004, '' Happy Love Sick'', under his alias Shifty Shellshock. Kraig Tyler joined Eric Powell's industrial band '' 16Volt''.

Reformation (2007–2011)

In late 2007, Crazy Town announced that the remaining members had reformed and were working on a new studio album, tentatively titled ''Crazy Town is Back'', which would be released sometime in 2008, though no such release was ever made. On August 26, 2009, Crazy Town performed at Les Deux, in

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, on stage together for the first time in five years. On August 28, 2009, former member DJ AM was found dead in his apartment, of an accidental drug overdose. On August 7, 2010, Crazy Town played together at the festival ''SRH FEST 2010'' in California. Throughout 2011, Crazy Town released a new song, "My Place", on YouTube, as well as two new songs, "Hard to Get" and "Hit That Switch", on their Myspace page.

''The Brimstone Sluggers'' (2013–2017)

In 2013, Shifty and Epic said that Crazy Town were in the studio recording a new album, entitled '' The Brimstone Sluggers''. On December 18, 2014, Crazy Town released their first official single from the album, "Megatron". The song was used as the theme song for ''

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'' during its run on

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in 2015. ''The Brimstone Sluggers'' was released on August 28, 2015. DJ AM appears as a featured artist on the track "Born to Raise Hell", which was released as a single in August 2015. In 2016, lead guitarist Elias Tannous was added to the lineup and from August till October 2016, the band toured with the Make America Rock Again concert, alongside other artists who had success throughout the 2000s. Throughout the tour, Epic would perform and was temporarily replaced by Bobby Reeves, an ex-vocalist of

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Mazur's departure, lineup change, ''Crazy Town X'' and Binzer's death (2017–2024)

In January 2017, after a year of hiatus from the band, Epic announced through his

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post that he will no longer tour with the band. Epic intended to still be involved with Crazy Town, though not as a band member. Shifty decided to add an " X" next to the band's name. When asked about the letter's significance on their

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account, the band stated "the X is used by gangs to symbolize a territory that has just been won". On November 3, 2019, Crazy Town's van, carrying Binzer and band members Elias Tannous and Roland Banks, crashed into a moose during a tour stop in Ontario, Canada. All three were treated for bruises and cuts at the hospital. Crazy Town were kicked off a 2023 tour with Hed PE after a bloody fight between Binzer and Reeves outside a venue in

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. Crazy Town released an EP titled ''Flirting With Disaster'' in March 2024. At the time, Crazy Town's members were Binzer, Mark White, Rick Dixon and Sean Heenan. On June 24, 2024, Binzer was found dead in his home from an accidental drug overdose.

Musical style and legacy

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'' categorized Crazy Town as a

and

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

band. The band described themselves as "hip-hop kids who needed a bit of rock in their sound", instead of a rock band that added hip hop to their sound, reflecting the band members' background working in Los Angeles hip hop. The band fused "hip-hop's lyrical attitude and rhythmic sass with the muscle of live rock instrumentation." They developed their

sound in the Los Angeles underground music scene, anticipating

nu metal Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, with a metal umlaut) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop music, hip hop, funk, industrial music, industrial, and grunge. Nu ...

. According to ''

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

'', "Crazy Town's music and image reflected one of the most dynamic and volatile sociocultural environments on the planet—Los Angeles—where the urban squalor of the South Central district exists just minutes away from the glitz of Beverly Hills." The band's influences include

N.W.A N.W.A (an abbreviation for Niggaz Wit Attitudes) was an American hip-hop group formed in Compton, California in 1987. Among the earliest and most significant figures of the gangsta rap subgenre, the group is widely considered one of the great ...

Cypress Hill Cypress Hill is an American Hip hop music, hip hop group formed in South Gate, California in 1988. One of the first Latin groups to gain mainstream recognition in hip hop, they have sold over 20 million albums worldwide, and have obtained multi ...

Ice-T Tracy Lauren Marrow (born February 16, 1958), known professionally as Ice-T (or Ice T), is an American rapper and actor. He is active in both hip hop music, hip hop and heavy metal music, heavy metal. Ice-T began his career as an underground r ...

and

the Cure The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Crawley in 1976 by Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith (vocals, guitar) and Lol Tolhurst (drums). The band's current line-up comprises Smith, Perry Bamonte (guitar and keyboards), Reev ...

. Crazy Town's music is defined by "pronged rapping ..urban angst/street-fighting, bitch-bonking yrics which are "punctuated

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bone-crushing ..guitar riffs." Due to looking more like a hip hop crew than a metal band, Crazy Town inspired more ire from metal purists than any other rap rock group. It was commonly perceived that the band's target audience was 13-year-old boys "vicariously living out their fantasies of being a bad-ass tattooed pimp" through the band's rap lyrics. About the band's lyrics, Shifty Shellshock said: "We're just having a good time. We're not like political or anything. I can be very sarcastic just like a little punk, we talk a lot of trash. We have some points, like 'learn from your mistakes', 'check yourself', you know, 'don't get taken advantage of'. Real simple things, nothing too overwhelming". Although they were best known for having a

rap metal Rap metal is a fusion genre that combines hip hop music, hip hop with heavy metal music, heavy metal. It usually consists of heavy metal guitar riffs, funk metal elements, Rapping, rapped vocals and sometimes turntablism, turntables. History O ...

sound, their biggest hit, "Butterfly", had a hip hop sound.Every #1 rap song in Hot 100 history: "Butterfly" (2001)
''

Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...

'' (April 1, 2013). "Crazy Town were more known as an alt-rap-metal group, but their biggest song was decidedly hip-hop." Reporting on the song's success in 2001, ''The Oklahoman'' wrote, "The song, which hit No. 1 on the Billboard singles chart last month, was one of those welcome surprises: a deft blend of hip-hop and rock that didn't sound like

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-fueled 'roid rage. Built around a sample of the

' ' Pretty Little Ditty,' 'Butterfly' was hard enough to please the Bizkit eaters but smooth enough to seduce pop fans." Their third album, ''The Brimstone Sluggers'', saw the band displaying an

alternative hip hop Alternative hip-hop (also known as alternative rap and experimental hip-hop) is a subgenre of hip-hop music that encompasses a wide range of styles that are not typically identified as mainstream. AllMusic defines it as comprising "hip-hop group ...

sound reflective of their musical roots. About the band's legacy in nu metal, ''I'm Music Magazine'' said: "Crazy Town is often only thought of as a 'one hit wonder' by way too many people. The band has never truly received the credit that they deserve for their influence on the nu metal scene". Radio.com included the band on a list titled "Top 10

Alt-Rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

One-Hit Wonders".

Members

;Final lineup * Seth "Shifty" Binzer – vocals (1995 - 2024; his death) *Steven "Epic" Hendricks – guitars (2023–2024) *DJ Rick One (Rick Dixon) – turntables (2010–2013, 2015–2017, 2018–2024) *Mark White – guitars (2023–2024) *Brian "Ruby" Selleck – bass (2023–2024) *Sean Heenan – drums (2023–2024) ;Former members * Bret "Epic" Mazur – vocals, bass, keyboards, piano, turntables, beatboxing (1995 - 2017) * Adam "DJ Adam 12" Bravin – turntables, samples, programming, keyboards (1995–1996) * Charles "Rust Epique" Lopez – guitars (1999–2000; died 2004) * Adam "DJ AM" Goldstein – turntables, samples, programming, keyboards (1999–2000, 2001; died 2009) *Doug "Faydoe Deelay" Miller – bass (1999–2003) *James "JBJ" Bradley Jr. – drums (1999–2001) *Antonio Lorenzo "Trouble" Valli – lead guitar (1999–2003) *Kraig "Squirrel" Tyler – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2000–2003) *Kyle Hollinger – drums (2001–2003) *Ahmad "Deadsie" Alkurabi – guitars (2014–2015) *Omar Gusmao – guitars (2015–2016) *Nick "Dax" Diiorio – bass, backing vocals (2014–2017) *Elias "ET" Tannous – guitars, backing vocals (2016–2023) *Hasma Angeleno – bass, backing vocals (2017–2022) *Kevin Kapler – drums (2014–2017) *Roland Banks – drums, percussion (2017–2022) *Jarred "Party Time" Jackson – guitars, bass (2022–2023) ;Touring/session members *Boondock – vocals (2016–2017) *Bobby Reeves – vocals (2016–2023) *Pigsy - bass, vocals (2020 Aus/NZ Tour)

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums and extended plays

Singles

Notes

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1995 establishments in California American rap metal musical groups American rap rock groups Columbia Records artists Hip-hop groups from California Musical groups established in 1995 Musical groups disestablished in 2003 Musical groups reestablished in 2007 Musical groups from Los Angeles Musical quintets Nu metal musical groups from California