Gothic Theatre
Crazy Town
Stick a fork in Crazy Town—they’re done. That’s what everyone—including the band itself—thought when the first two singles off their debut album, 1999’s The Gift of Game, only generated minimal airplay. Then they released “Butterfly,” a breezy breakthrough hit that soared straight to No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, and sent albums flying from retail shelves. All of a sudden, Crazy Town was hot property. As “Butterfly” blanketed rock, Top 40 and even R&B radio, the band went into heavy rotation on MTV and garnered critical praise from the likes of Rolling Stone, the Los Angeles Times, Spin, Entertainment Weekly and The Village Voice, who called the single “one of the greatest summer hits of all time.” The band toured endlessly in support of the album, sharing stages with everyone from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sugar Ray and P.O.D. to Staind, Slipknot and Linkin Park. They tore up Ozzfest and tore down TRL, whipping the audience at the Times Square studio into a mosh pit frenzy. When all was said and done, Crazy Town had spent two years on the road and sold more than two and a half million albums worldwide. “Watching it all unfold was incredible,” recalls co-frontman Shifty. “I remember a buddy of mine calling from a bullfight in Spain to tell me our video was playing on a giant stadium screen. That kind of stuff is just amazing.”
When their grueling tour ended, Crazy Town returned home, road-tightened, revitalized and eager to redefine its focus. Not only was the group looking forward to working on new material, they were anxious to reveal a depth beyond the scope of their debut record. “‘Butterfly’ put us in an interesting position,” says Crazy Town co-founder/co-frontman Bret “Epic” Mazur. “After it hit, we were suddenly considered ‘too pop’ for the rock community and ‘too hard’ to be fully embraced by the mainstream—which was fine with us. Being outcasts freed us to write whatever we wanted. There were no boundaries.”
With mesmerizing sophomore album darkhorse, the Los Angeles-based band shatters any preconceived notions of what a Crazy Town record is supposed to sound like. Produced by Howard Benson (P.O.D., Mot^rhead) and mixed by Chris Lord-Alge (Sugar Ray, Hole), darkhorse sees the creatively reinvigorated group retaining the key elements of its signature sound—blast-furnace guitars and throbbing hip-hop jeep beats—while revealing a range that broadens with each listen. As Epic tells it, making the album was also a chance for the band to reaffirm its identity as a unit. “Seth and I formed Crazy Town, so we did 90% of the work on the first record,” he says. “But after spending three years on the road, we all came together and learned how to be a band. When it came time to record, everyone came to the table with great ideas, resulting in a more focused album with heavier songs and a stronger sense of melody. We really pushed ourselves and you can hear the growth immediately.”
True to its title, darkhorse is full of surprises, with Crazy Town channeling influences ranging from Cheap Trick and Fugazi to the Clash and Beastie Boys. Diversified and hook-laden, the sample-free record expands the parameters of hip-hop-flavored rock with a rich mix of combustible riffage, power-pop melodies and sparkling vocal harmonies. Sure, rhythmic juggernauts like “Decorated,” “Waste of My Time” and “Take It To The Bridge” will hook listeners on the first spin, but it’s the band’s careful attention to songcraft—and the stunning vocal interplay between Epic and Shifty—that will keep them coming back for more.
“There’s a lot more singing on this record,” says Shifty. “I’m doing the majority of the rapping and Epic has stepped up to be ‘the guy who sings the big vocal hooks.’ It’s made a huge difference in our sound.” Adds Epic, “I was really excited by the thought of singing more. The vocalists I’ve always admired and respected—guys like Bob Dylan, Anthony Kiedis and Prince—have personality and character and a really unique sound. That’s the kind of feel I’m going for. I’m not trying to be the best singer on the planet, I just want to convey emotion.”
Helping push Crazy Town down different paths of artistic expression are former Shuvel drummer Kyle Hollinger and guitarist Kraig “Squirrel” Tyler, whose presence has clearly inspired the band to aim higher and deeper. “We needed some young, fresh blood and these guys definitely fit the bill,” says Shifty. “Kyle is a piano prodigy and an amazing drummer. He filled in during a gig in Utah last year and blew us away. Squirrel was in a band called 16 Volt and he joined us halfway through our tour. At the time, he was doing sound for Methods of Mayhem. We heard him play and knew it was a perfect fit. When he joined, it was like, ‘no one can fuck with us now.’”
Crazy Town and darkhorse break from the gate with blistering lead single “Drowning,” in which the band examines the price and pleasure of fame and fortune. Says Epic, “We wrote that song in the bus during Ozzfest. It was an insane time for us—there were a lot of things going on both good and bad and we were trying to deal with it all. The song talks about straddling that fine line between enjoying success and maintaining sanity. We had to be really careful not to drown in all the hype.”
A perfectly paced album follows, with Crazy Town dropping everything from Molotov cocktail riffs (“Battle Cry”) to smooth, soulful rhymes (“Change”). Shifty shines on the languorous and fluid-grooved “Skulls and Stars,” about the band’s long, strange trip to the top (“I was a skull in the ground, now I’m a star in the sky, I went from crawling around to being able to fly”). Epic untangles conflicted a relationship in “Hurt You So Bad,” a chainsaw pop track featuring a guitar solo by guest star Rivers Cuomo of Weezer. Other highlights include the meaty, beaty, big and bouncy “Candy Coated,” and the slow-burning “Sorry.”
“This record is much more personal than the first one,” says Epic. “We went through many ups and downs over the course of the past few years and we were forced to grow up fast. There’s a lot of soul searching going on in these songs.”
As for the album title, Seth says, “We’ve always rooted for the underdog, and this time we’re the underdog. We’ve heard people throw around the ‘one-hit wonder tag’ when talking about us and that’s okay. We want to be the last thing the competition is worried about. The ‘dark horse’ is never viewed as a threat, but in the end it unexpectedly steps up and blows everyone away. That’s what this record is going to do. Just you wait and see.”
