Crazy Town
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Crazy Town | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Los Angeles, California, USA |
| Genres | Rapcore Nu metal Alternative metal Alternative rock Alternative hip hop |
| Years active | 1995—2003, 2007—present |
| Labels | Columbia Records |
| Website | http://www.myspace.com/cxt |
| Members | |
| Bret Mazur (a.k.a. "Epic") Seth Binzer (a.k.a. "Shifty") Kraig Tyler ("Squirrel" / "SQRL") Kyle Hollinger Doug Miller (a.k.a. "Faydoedeelay") Anthony Valli (a.k.a. "Trouble Valli") |
|
| Former members | |
| Adam Goldstein (a.k.a. DJ AM) (deceased) James Bradley Jr. (a.k.a. "JBJ") Rust Epique (deceased) |
|
Crazy Town is a hip-hop/rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1995 by Bret Mazur and Seth Binzer. The band is best known for their 2001 single, "Butterfly", which reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Members of the band mix elements of hip-hop and rock but are mainly alternative hip-hop. As a group, they have released two studio albums, The Gift of Game and Darkhorse, with a third album currently in production.
Contents |
[edit] History of the band
[edit] Formation (1995–1999)
Mazur and Binzer, who go by the names of "Epic" and "Shifty Shellshock" respectively, started collaborating together in 1995. However they did not become serious about releasing any material until much later.[1] By early 1999, Crazy Town consisted of Mazur, Binzer, Rust Epique, James Bradley Jr., Doug Miller, Adam Goldstein (aka DJ AM), and Antonio Lorenzo "Trouble" Valli. Their début album, The Gift of Game, was released in November 1999, having been recorded earlier that year.
[edit] The Gift of Game and "Butterfly" (1999–2001)
The release of The Gift of Game was followed by a tour support slot for the Red Hot Chili Peppers. 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.[2]
In 2000 Crazy Town was signed to tour with Ozzfest, however they were forced to withdraw after only two weeks when Binzer was arrested after he threw a chair through a window whilst he was drunk.[3][1] Turntablist DJ AM left at this point. 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. After this DJ AM returned. Soundscan reports 100,000 album sales of The Gift of Game prior to the release of Butterfly,[4] after Butterfly reached number 1 sales exceeded 1.5 million.[5]
Crazy Town toured with Ozzfest in 2001,[6] however without DJ AM. They were received with mixed reviews, many people in the Ozzfest crowd mockingly called them "The Butterfly Boys".[7] A fourth single, "Revolving Door", was released with limited success. Crazy Town also made a cameo appearance in Sean Combs music video "Bad Boy for Life" in 2001.
[edit] Darkhorse (2001–2003)
Their second album, Darkhorse, was produced by Howard Benson and released on November 12, 2002.[8] Benson's influence resulted in a more rock oriented sound. Prior to recording the album, drummer James Bradley Jr was replaced by Kyle Hollinger. The album achieved little commercial success, spawning only two singles: "Drowning", which became a minor hit in the US, UK 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.[2]
[edit] Hiatus and comeback (2003-present)
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 heart attack shortly before their debut album 22nd Century Lifestyle was released in 2004.[9]
Binzer contributed vocals to Paul Oakenfold's 2002 single Starry Eyed Surprise. He released his first solo album in 2004, Happy Love Sick, under his alias Shifty Shellshock.
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.[10] The album has since been delayed.
On August 26 2009, Crazy Town performed at Les Deux, in Hollywood, California, on stage together for the first time in five years.[11] The event was to promote their upcoming album and celebrate the late August birthdays of lead singers Mazur and Binzer.
On August 28 2009, former member Adam Goldstein was found dead in his apartment.[12] Cause of death was determined to be an accidental drug overdose.[13]
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
| Year | Album | Peak chart positions | Certifications | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Heat | US | CAN | UK | AUS | NZ | SWI | NOR | FIN | NLD | |||||
| 1999 | The Gift of Game
|
1 | 9 | 7 | 15 | 27 | 10 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 8 | |||
| 2002 | Darkhorse
|
n/a | 120 | — | 164 | — | — | — | 90 | — | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes the album didn't chart or achieve certification "n/a" - a band can only chart once on the US Heat chart |
||||||||||||||
[edit] Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [18] |
US Alt. [18] |
US Main. [18] |
AUS [19] |
NLD [20] |
NZL [21] |
FIN [22] |
GER [23] |
SWI [24] |
UK [25] |
SWE [26] |
NOR [27] |
|||
| 1999 | "Toxic" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | The Gift of Game |
| 2000 | "Darkside" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2001 | "Butterfly" | 1 | 1 | 21 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | |
| "Revolving Door" | — | — | — | — | 71 | — | 19 | 26 | 43 | 23 | 46 | — | ||
| 2002 | "Drowning" | — | 24 | 24 | — | — | — | — | 45 | — | 50 | — | — | Darkhorse |
| 2003 | "Hurt You So Bad" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "—" denotes a single that didn't chart | ||||||||||||||
[edit] References
- ^ a b 28/Feb/2001 Rollingstone.com - Shifty Shellshock Interview
- ^ a b 08/Feb/2007 MTV.com - Where Ya Been?: City High Drop Out, Crazy Town Stop The Insanity
- ^ 13/Jul/2000 MTV.com - Crazy Town leaves Ozzfest after arrest
- ^ 03/Apr/2001 ColombiaRecords.com - CRAZY TOWN IS COMING TO YOUR TOWN!
- ^ 10/Jan/2002 Allbusiness.com - Billboard Bits: Crazy Town, Nelly, Ny Metropolis Fest
- ^ 12/Feb/2001 MTV.com - Crazy Town Join Ozzfest
- ^ 22/Nov/2002 MTV.com Crazy Town Hope To Put An End To 'Butterfly Boys' Taunts
- ^ 23/Sep/2002 MTV.com - Crazy Town Take On All Comers With Darkhorse
- ^ 10/Mar/2004 Rollingstone.com - Ex-Crazy Town guitarist dead
- ^ 06/Dec/2007 MTV.com - Kris Kross, Crazy Town, EMF, Extreme And More Unmemorable Reunions, In Our Year-End Top 10s
- ^ 26/Aug/2009 Creative Mac - '...Crazytown Reunites As a Group for the First Time in Five Years...'
- ^ 28/Aug/2009 LAtimes.com - Adam Goldstein dies at 36; club owner gained fame as DJ AM
- ^ 29/Sep/2009 TMZ.com - 'DJ AM -- Cause of Death Accidental'
- ^ RIAA Search 'Crazy Town'
- ^ Canadian albums chart Search 'Crazy Town'
- ^ ARIA album chart - 2001
- ^ BPI album charts Search 'Crazy Town'
- ^ a b c "Artist Chart History – singles". Billboard charts. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.vnuArtistId=351693&model.vnuAlbumId=557299. Retrieved 2008-04-01.
- ^ Australian Singles Charting
- ^ Dutch Singles Charting
- ^ New Zealand Singles Charting
- ^ Finnish Singles Charting
- ^ German Singles Charting
- ^ Swiss Singles Charting
- ^ UK Charting Search 'Crazy Town'
- ^ Swedish Charts - Crazy Town
- ^ Norway Charts - Crazy Town
