Crazy Town

Crazy Town
Crazy Town

Crazy Town performing live in Germany
Background information
Origin Los Angeles, California, USA
Genres Rap rock,[1] nu metal,[1] rap metal,[1] rapcore, alternative rock, alternative metal[1]
Years active 1995–2003, 2007–present
Labels Columbia
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")
Past members
Adam Goldstein (a.k.a. DJ AM) (deceased)
James Bradley Jr. (a.k.a. "JBJ")
Rust Epique (deceased)

Crazy Town is a rap 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 US Billboard Hot 100 chart. As a group, they have released two studio albums, The Gift of Game and Darkhorse.

Contents

History of the band

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.[2] 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 debut 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.[3]

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.[2][4] 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,[5] after Butterfly reached number 1 sales exceeded 1.5 million.[6]

Crazy Town toured with Ozzfest in 2001,[7] however without DJ AM. They were received with mixed reviews, many people in the Ozzfest crowd mockingly called them "The Butterfly Boys".[8] 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.

Darkhorse (2001–2003)

Their second album, Darkhorse, was produced by Howard Benson and released on November 12, 2002.[9] 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, 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.[3]

Side Projects, CXT back, and More (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.[10]

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.

After Crazytown; Kraig Tyler joined up with Eric Powell a form the side project of "16volt". "Ringer" and their 2005 release which wasn't a big enough hit to become a mass marketed album. They titled their CD "Pink Bunnies and Spider Bites" with songs such as "Ok Ok", "Angel Wings", and "You Are". Only Die Hard fans of Eric Powell's unique style followed him through bands like "Ringer", "Graphic" (one song release), and "H3llb3nt" (aka Hellbent).

In late 2007, Crazytown 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.[11] The album has not been released.

On August 26, 2009, Crazy Town performed at Les Deux, in Hollywood, California, on stage together for the first time in five years.[12] 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, of an accidental drug overdose.[13]

On August 7, 2010, Crazy Town played together at the festival SRH FEST 2010 in California.[14] They played a new track titled "Come inside".

On February 15, 2011, 30 seconds of the track "Come Inside" was leaked to the internet.

Discography

Albums

Year Album Peak chart positions Certifications
US
[15]
CAN
[15]
AUS
[16]
AUT
[17]
CHE
[18]
FRA
[19]
GER
[20]
NLD
[21]
NZ
[22]
UK
[23]
1999 The Gift of Game
  • Released: November 9, 1999
  • Label: Columbia
9 7 27 4 11 133 6 40 10 15
2002 Darkhorse
  • Released: November 12, 2002
  • Label: Columbia
120 90 139 52 164
"—" denotes a release that did not chart.

Singles

Year Single Peak chart positions Album
US
[15]
US
Alt.

[15]
US
Main.

[15]
AUS
[28][29]
AUT
[30]
CAN
[15]
CHE
[31]
GER
[32]
NLD
[33]
SWE
[34]
UK
[23]
1999 "Toxic" The Gift of Game
2000 "Darkside"
2001 "Butterfly" 1 1 21 4 1 3 1 1 8 2 3
"Revolving Door" 75 29 43 26 71 46 23
2002 "Drowning" 24 24 45 45 50 Darkhorse
2003 "Hurt You So Bad"
"—" denotes a release that did not chart.

References

  1. ^ a b c d Nimmervoll, Ed. "((( Crazy Town > Biography )))". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/crazy-town-p383978/biography. Retrieved March 14, 2011. 
  2. ^ a b Edwards, Gavin (March 15, 2001). "Q&A: Shifty Shellshock of Crazy Town". Rolling Stone (864): page 35. 
  3. ^ a b 08/Feb/2007 MTV.com - Where Ya Been?: City High Drop Out, Crazy Town Stop The Insanity
  4. ^ 13/Jul/2000 MTV.com - Crazy Town leaves Ozzfest after arrest
  5. ^ 03/Apr/2001 ColombiaRecords.com - CRAZY TOWN IS COMING TO YOUR TOWN!
  6. ^ 10/Jan/2002 Allbusiness.com - Billboard Bits: Crazy Town, Nelly, Ny Metropolis Fest
  7. ^ 12/Feb/2001 MTV.com - Crazy Town Join Ozzfest
  8. ^ 22/Nov/2002 MTV.com Crazy Town Hope To Put An End To 'Butterfly Boys' Taunts
  9. ^ 23/Sep/2002 MTV.com - Crazy Town Take On All Comers With Darkhorse
  10. ^ 10/Mar/2004 Rollingstone.com - Ex-Crazy Town guitarist dead
  11. ^ 06/Dec/2007 MTV.com - Kris Kross, Crazy Town, EMF, Extreme And More Unmemorable Reunions, In Our Year-End Top 10s
  12. ^ 26/Aug/2009 Creative Mac - '...Crazytown Reunites As a Group for the First Time in Five Years...'
  13. ^ 29/Sep/2009 TMZ.com - 'DJ AM -- Cause of Death Accidental'
  14. ^ Sciarretto, Amy (August 3, 2010). "Crazy Town Reunites for SRH Fest August 7th in San Bernardino, CA". artistdirect.com. http://www.artistdirect.com/entertainment-news/article/crazy-town-reunites-for-srh-fest-august-7th-in-san-bernardino-ca/7350904. Retrieved August 17, 2010. 
  15. ^ a b c d e f Billboard charts
  16. ^ Australian albums chart
  17. ^ Austrian albums chart
  18. ^ Swiss albums chart
  19. ^ French albums chart
  20. ^ German albums chart
  21. ^ Dutch albums chart
  22. ^ New Zealand albums chart
  23. ^ a b UK charts
  24. ^ RIAA Search 'Crazy Town'
  25. ^ ARIA album chart - 2001
  26. ^ "Gold & Platinum Certification – July 2001". Canadian Recording Industry Association. http://www.cria.ca/gold/0701_g.php. Retrieved August 17, 2010. 
  27. ^ BPI album charts Search 'Crazy Town'
  28. ^ Australian singles chart
  29. ^ ARIA Report Issue 597 - Week commencing 6th August 2001
  30. ^ Austrian singles chart
  31. ^ Swiss singles chart
  32. ^ German singles chart
  33. ^ Dutch singles chart
  34. ^ Swedish singles chart

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Crazy Town — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Crazy Town Información personal Origen Hollywood, Los Ángeles, Estados Unidos Estado activos …   Wikipedia Español

  • Crazy Town — Жанр Ню метал, рэп рок, поп рок, альтернативный метал, альтернативный рок Годы 1995 2003 с …   Википедия

  • Crazy Town — Allgemeine Informationen Genre(s) Nu Metal, Crossover Gründung 1999 Gründungsmitglieder …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Crazy Town — es una banda del llamado nu metal con raíces en el heavy metal y el rap formada en Hollywood, Los Ángeles, en el año 1995 por Shifty Shellshock y Epic Mazur, también conocidos como Seth Brooks Binzer y Bret Mazur respectivamente. Ambos… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Crazy Town — Pour les articles homonymes, voir CXT. Crazy Town (également connu sous le nom de CXT) est un groupe de Nu metal américain crée à la fin des années 1990 à Los Angeles par deux amis d enfance : Seth Shifty Shellshock Binzer et Bret Epic Mazur …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Crazy Town (song) — Crazy Town Single by Jason Aldean from the album Wide Open …   Wikipedia

  • Crazy Town (disambiguation) — Crazy Town may refer to: Crazy Town, an American band Crazy Town (song), a song by Jason Aldean Crazy Town , a song by Velocity Girl from their album Copacetic Crazy Town (1932 cartoon), a short animated film (1932) This disambiguation page lists …   Wikipedia

  • Crazy Town (1932 cartoon) — Crazy Town Directed by Dave Fleischer Produced by Max Fleischer Starring Mae Questel Distributed by Paramount …   Wikipedia

  • Drowning (Crazy Town song) — Drowning Single by Crazy Town from the album Darkhorse Released …   Wikipedia

  • Butterfly (canción de Crazy Town) — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Para otros usos de este término, véase Butterfly. «Butterfly» Sencillo de Crazy Town del álbum The Gift of Game Publicación 20 de febrero de 2001 …   Wikipedia Español

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”