Crazy Town
Crazy Town |
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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. Their debut album was certified Platinum by the RIAA.
History of the bank
Formation (1992–1999)
Mazur and Binzer, who go by the names of "Epic" and "Shifty Shellshock" respectively, started collaborating together in 1992. 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.
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] Turntablist DJ AM left at this point. 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 while he was drunk.[3][4] Crazy Town then released their third single, "Butterfly" (which uses samples from Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Pretty Little Ditty"). It reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on March 24 and April 7 in 2001. After this DJ AM returned. 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.[5] Crazy Town toured with Ozzfest in 2001,[6] where 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 minimal success.
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, DJ AM had left once again, and drummer James Bradley Jr was replaced by Kyle Hollinger. The album achieved little commercial success, spawning only two singles: "Hurt You So Bad" and "Drowning". Shortly after the release of Darkhorse, the band broke up in 2003.
Hiatus and comeback (2003-present)
During Crazy Town's hiatus, Bret Mazur went on to form The Pharmacy, a record-producing company with upcoming albums from Taryn Manning, Lil Jon/Lil Scrappy, Xzibit, and Crazy Town bandmate Shifty.
Rust Epique joined pre)Thing in 2003. He died of a heart attack shortly after their album 22nd Century Lifestyle was released in 2004.[9]
Binzer released his first solo album in 2004, Happy Love Sick, under his alias Shifty Shellshock. He also contributed vocals to Paul Oakenfold's single "Starry Eyed Surprise".
In 2007 Crazy Fun Town announced they had reformed and were working on a new album, Crazy Town Is Back, which would be released sometime in 2008.[10] The album's release date has since been pushed back to spring 2009.
Discography
Albums
| Year | Album | Peak chart positions | RIAA | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US Heat | CAN | UK | |||
| 1999 | The Gift of Game
|
9 | 1 | 7 | 15 | Platinum |
| 2002 | Darkhorse
|
120 | — | — | 164 | — |
| 2009 | Crazy Town Is Back
|
— | — | — | — | — |
| "—" denotes the album failed to chart, not released, or not certified | ||||||
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [11] |
US Mod Rock [11] |
US Main Rock [11] |
UK [12] |
NLD [13] |
AUS [14] |
NZL [15] |
FRA [16] | ||||
| 1999 | "Toxic" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | The Gift of Game | |
| 2000 | "Darkside" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001 | "Butterfly" | 1 | 1 | 21 | 3 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 26 | ||
| "Revolving Door" | — | — | — | 23 | 71 | — | — | — | |||
| 2003 | "Drowning" | — | 24 | 24 | 50 | — | — | — | — | Darkhorse | |
| "Hurt You So Bad" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "—" denotes a single that didn't chart | |||||||||||
References
- ^ 28/Feb/2001 Rollingstone.com - Shifty Shellshock Interview
- ^ 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
- ^ 28/Feb/2001 Rollingstone.com Shifty Shellshock interview
- ^ 03/Apr/2001 ColombiaRecords.com - CRAZY TOWN IS COMING TO YOUR TOWN!
- ^ 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
- ^ a b c "Artist Chart History – singles". Billboard charts. Retrieved 2008-04-01.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ UK Charting Search for: "Crazy Town"
- ^ Dutch Singles Charting
- ^ Australian Singles Charting
- ^ New Zealand Singles Charting
- ^ French Singles Charting