Crazy Town is a rap-rock group that shot to popularity in the early 2000s, thanks to their single “Butterfly” which propelled the group’s debut album to go Platinum. The band’s story is full of tragedy and adversity.
Bret Mazur and Seth Binzer Form Crazy Town
Crazy Town was formed in 1995 by Bret ‘Epic’ Mazur and Seth ‘Shifty Shellshock’ Binzer. Both musicians had an introduction to the industry early on in their lives.
At the age of 13, Mazur got his first turntables and began breakdancing. He earned money DJing at black nightclubs around LA and started his own production company with a DJ who was double his age.
By 1993, Mazur began working with the hip hop group Blood of Abraham, who collaborated with members of Black Eyed Peas. Will I Am introduced Mazur to Binzer.
“I’ve always been dodgy.” – Seth Binzer
Binzer earned the name ‘Shifty Shellshock’ for his criminal behaviour including shoplifting at an early age. He revealed to Rolling Stone, “I’ve always been dodgy. When I was younger, I was a shoplifter and then a graffiti artist. When I got older, I was a little shady dealing with women. I’d always be juggling a couple of them.”
He went on to explain how he tried to rob a fellow drug dealer who was bad-mouthing him and it resulted in Binzer being chased by the police. He eventually got away, which resulted in him becoming one of LA’s most wanted. The police eventually got their man, arresting him at a 7-Eleven.
Binzer ended up serving 3 months in prison and was relegated to the part of the jail typically reserved for murderers. Binzer told the LA Times, “Until I got caught for everything, I kind of felt like I was this invincible Biggie Smalls bad-ass comic book character. All of a sudden it went from using drugs to being a drug addict, and it turned from robbing people and beating people up because that was the thing to do, to going to jail for it.”
“…We’d party our asses off by getting high as hell.” – Seth Binzer
Mazur and Binzer collaborated with each other sporadically but the fruits of their labour were intermittent, resulting in one song being created every 3-6 months. Binzer told Spin magazine, “We’d do one song every 3 to 6 months. To celebrate finishing one of them, we’d party our asses off by getting high as hell.”
It was this excessive partying and lifestyle that quickly hampered the group’s working relationship and productivity while at the same time, providing inspiration for their music. Binzer made a living becoming an extra in Hollywood productions and starring in Levis commercials while promoting clubs, selling drugs and stealing.
By 1997, both Mazur and Binzer completed separate stints in court-ordered rehabs. The following year they started cranking out demos for their new project Crazy Town. They hooked up with a childhood friend of Binzer named DJ AM. The group added guitarist Rust Epique to the lineup.
The Gift of Game is Released
By 1999, they had their demo to shop around to major labels and rap-rock was extremely popular. It couldn’t have been better timing. They eventually signed with Columbia Records who put out their debut album, The Gift of Game in November 1999.
During the tour to support the album, the band opened for Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee where they met a punk-inspired guitarist named Squirrel who was working as a soundman for Tommy Lee. Epique left the band and Squirrel took over guitar duties.
Crazy Town’s label held onto the song “Butterfly”, choosing not to release it as the album’s first single. By Columbia Records’ own admission, they tried to capitalize on the popularity of bands like Korn and Limp Bizkit with the first single “Toxic”, which represented a more aggressive side of the group. They followed it up with a similar-sounding song in “Darkside” but both singles fell flat.
Mazur told the LA Times, “If ‘Butterfly’ would have been our first single, rock radio wouldn’t have broken it. We had to build a foundation of fans that were going to be down for us regardless of that song.”
“I was doing drugs; I was relapsing, and we were driving each other mad.” – Seth Binzer
Binzer revealed to Rolling Stone the origins of “Butterfly”, “I wrote a bunch of the lyrics and told Epique, ‘It needs to be like ‘Under the Bridge’ — you know, really pretty, mellow.’ He looped part of the Chili Peppers’ ‘Pretty Little Ditty’. The lyrics are about my ex-girlfriend. We were together 3 years and the breakup almost killed me. I was doing drugs; I was relapsing, and we were driving each other mad.”
The women who inspired “Butterfly” appeared in the music video. Binzer told the LA Times, “It’s a song that a guy could feel cool enough to say to his girl, ‘This is our song’. I think the realness of it and the fact that I wrote it about a girl that I really cared about comes through.”
“Butterfly” blew up on hip hop radio and rock radio almost 1.5 years after the group’s debut album came out. The song topped the charts in 7 countries.
To support their debut album, Crazy Town toured with both Buckcherry and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. They also appeared on the second stage of Ozzfest in 2000. While the band should’ve been relishing in the opportunities, the group hit a rough patch during Ozzfest, spending only a week on the travelling tour.
Binzer’s relationship with his girlfriend ended, and he relapsed and destroyed his hotel room, tossing a chair through his window. As a result, Crazy Town’s management pulled them off the road and sent Binzer back to rehab.
“I went on a destructive rampage and disappeared.” – Seth Binzer
It was a volatile time for Binzer who admitted to Rolling Stone that once he got off the road, his destructive habits continued. “I went on a destructive rampage and disappeared. My mom called Anthony Kiedis and said, ‘Seth’s effing up’…
Anthony found me and took me to lunch — where I tried to borrow money from him so I could get high. I didn’t finish my rampage for a couple of days, but he showed me that I had people who were worried and cared about me. Anthony’s this angel who appeared in my life.”
“‘Revolving Door’ is about being young, being single…” – Seth Binzer
Following Binzer’s visit to rehab, Crazy Town got another shot at Ozzfest the following year. The band’s follow-up single “Revolving Door” was in sharp contrast to “Butterfly”, promoting promiscuity. Binzer told MTV, “‘Revolving Door’ is about being young, being single, having a great time, and then at the same time being like, ‘What’s the big picture? What am I looking for here?'”
By September 2000, Crazy Town got caught up in a report that the Federal Trade Commission released at the time called “Marketing Violent Entertainment to Children”. The FTC found that labels continued to advertise “explicit content music” on television programs and in magazines with teenage audiences.
The report took aim at TV ads for groups and artists including Blink-182, Crazy Town, Rage Against the Machine, DMX and Ja Rule. The report went on to point fingers at the labels for not putting a parental advisory sticker on ads marketing their artists.
Following the album cycle for The Gift of Game, Crazy Town turned their attention to their follow-up album which was quite different from their debut record, exploring more hip hop sounds.
Crazy Town wrote in excess of 30 songs ahead of their stint on Ozzfest 2001 and at the end of the tour, they hit the studio with POD and Motorhead producer, Howard Benson. Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo even contributed a guitar solo on the song “Hurt You So Bad”.
“We have a lot to prove because of ‘Butterfly’.” – Seth Binzer
Binzer acknowledged to Rolling Stone, the pressure the group felt on their follow-up record. “We have a lot to prove because of ‘Butterfly’. We have to prove we’re aggressive punk kids — a real band and not a pop act. If a band like Crazy Town can get into the top 10, that’s one for alternative rock. That’s one more spot that Britney Spears can’t have.”
Crazy Town released their follow-up album, Dark Horse in 2002, but it seemed like the record label dropped the ball on marketing the album. The first single, “Drowning” was sent to radio stations and it proved to be a modest hit, peaking at No. 24 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, but that was basically it for the album. The label didn’t know what path to take to promote the record and had no promo tour stateside.
Dark Hose sold a paltry 13,000 copies in its first week, landing at No. 120 on the Billboard Album charts.
Mazur looked back on the album’s lack of success. He told MTV, “We were more than ‘Butterfly’, and when the second record came out and it wasn’t hip-hop crossover like that song, the label didn’t know what to do with it.”
Apart from the lack of support from their label, the band also cited issues with their management. Mazur told MTV, “Everyone seemed to love the album, and then our management signed Shania Twain. We came back from Europe and it was almost like the record was dead before it started.”
Crazy Town Breaks Up
Following the disappointing performance of Dark Horse, Crazy Town broke up in 2003. Mazur spoke to MTV about the band’s breakup, “It’s a lot easier to manage working on your own than as part of a band with 6 people.”
Following the dissolution of the band, Mazur formed his own production company, The Pharmacy. Rust Epique formed a new group called pre)Thing but he sadly died of a heart attack after the group’s debut record, 22nd-Century Lifestyle in 2004. Binzer, meanwhile pursued a solo career, contributing to the track “Starry Eyed Surprise” which was a Top 40 hit in America.
Crazy Town Reforms
In 2007, Crazy Town reformed with a new backing band to support Binzer and Mazur.
Sadly, on August 28, 2009, former member DJ AM was found dead in his apartment, of an accidental drug overdose.
The group put out a new album in 2015, harkening back to their original name, Brimstone Sluggers.
In the years since they reformed, Binzer struggled with his sobriety, appearing on seasons 1 and 2 of Celebrity Rehab and one season of Sober House. In 2012, he ended up in a coma due to an overdose.
Bret Mazur Departs From the Band
In January 2017, Mazur announced he was no longer a touring member of the band but would still possibly write with them. Binzer eventually added an X to the band’s name. Whether this was a legal move or something else, isn’t entirely clear but he told a fan on Instagram, “The X is used by gangs to symbolize a territory that has just been won”.
In November 2019, Crazy Town’s van hit a moose during a tour stop in Canada. The band members largely escaped unharmed with bruises and cuts.
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