Crazy Town
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Crazy Town (aka. CXT) is a rapcore band formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles in the fall of 1995 by rappers/producers; Boston born "Shifty Shellshock" (aka. Seth Brooks Binzer) and Brooklyn born "Epic Mazur" (aka. Bret Mazur) who both moved to L.A. at very young ages.
Both Shifty and Epic became obsessed with Hip Hop from a young age. Shifty started rapping when he was 12, and Epic began cutting and sampling records at High School. Originally called the Brimstone Sluggers, they had worked with many underground hip hop artists around Los Angeles, most notably the Black Eyed Peas.
They incorporated other band members in 1999, adding an element of punk & metal to their sound.
Crazy Town emerged during a wave of alternative rock bands heavily influenced by Hip Hop, at the turn of the millennium, most notably Papa Roach, P.O.D. and (Hed) Planet Earth.
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The Gift of Game
They broke big with the releases of their third and fourth singles, the worldwide smash hit "Butterfly" & "Revolving Door" in 2000. The hedonist song "Butterfly" sampled an old Red Hot Chili Peppers track, "Pretty Little Ditty", and made number 1 on the Billboard top 100, propelling Crazy Town nearly to the heights of pop culture. It was an instant favourite amongst TRL audiences, and got massive airplay on MTV, helping their debut album "The Gift of Game" to achieve multi-platinum status, and sales of more than 2.5 million copies. In 2001 they performed on MTV's spring break, and headlined the main stage at the Ozzfest, alongside Linkin Park, Papa Roach, Marilyn Manson, Slipknot & Disturbed. "Squirrel" (aka. Kraig Tyler) replaced Rust Epique on guitar, and former Shuvel drummer Kyle Hollinger took the over the helm from JBJ. Soon Shifty was known globally for his abundance of tattoos and piercings, and his clever wit and good looks. This helped Crazy Town stay in the lime light for a while.
Darkhorse
Their sophomore effort "Darkhorse", had a more rockier feel and spawned the minor hit Drowning. It came out when many rapcore fusion bands were losing popularity and facing a backlash. It failed to achieve the same fortunes as its predecessor. The band broke up soon after.
Life after
Former frontman Shifty, (who dropped Shellshock from his alias) released a pop/rock solo album in 2004 called Happy Love Sick.
Former lead guitarist Rust Epique died in March, 2004, just weeks before the release of his hard rock side project, pre)Thing.
Personnel
- Shifty Shellshock (aka. Seth Brooks Binzer) - vocals
- Epic Mazur (aka. Bret Mazur) - vocals
- Kraig "Squirrel" Tyler - guitar
- Antonio Lorenzo Valli (aka. Trouble) - guitar
- Doug "Faydoe" Miller - bass
- JBJ (aka. James Bradley Jnr.) - drums (replaced by Kyle Hollinger)
- DJ AM (aka. Adam Goldstein) - Turntables
Discography
- The Gift of Game (1999)
- Darkhorse (2002)