Crazytown - Are back in full effect!!!

London, Garage, UK

Crazytown have finally come back to the UK!!!

Dan Devour catches up with 90's Nu-Metal sensations Crazytown about their amazing comeback and their brilliant new material. In this interview you will find out what the band are all about, and their views on music.

Crazytown are:

Bret Mazur (Aka Epic)

Seth Binzer (Aka Shifty)

Ahmad Alkurabi (Aka Deadsie)

Nick Diiorio (Aka Dax)

Kevin Kapler

Music Trespass: Your about to release your new album 'Brimstone Sluggers' how do you think it differs from your previous material?

Bret: I think it's 'Gift of Game' all grown up and evolved for sure, their is going to be a lot of sick programming and obviously a lot of sick rhymes and a lot of our original Hip Hop influence. It's a modern record for sure, we have always made modern records.

Shifty: It's going to be some sick dirty bass, Their's going to be some sick breakdowns, it's going to be heavy... it's going to be Hip Hop... it's going to be Dub-Step... it's going to be dirty bass... it's going to be kind of what we do which is Crazytown and we think their is a lot of people out their and a lot of kids in the World that are like us and like the same kind of music as we do and this is for them.

Music Trespass: When you first started music like Dub-Step was not around do you think that has helped with the progression of your music?

Shifty: Well we were always influenced by bands like Nine inch Nails who did a lot of programming, The Prodigy as well as... for me when I was growing up I was into a lot of House and underground music. I went to a lot of raves when I was younger, so I think I have always been into Electronic music. Dub-Step to me really gave this really edgy Punk Grind to Electronic music.

Bret: It's Electronic Heavy Metal.

Shifty: It is definitely the electric guitar of dirty bass and it has this really Punk element to it. If you love it! you love it.

Music Trespass: You say you like the House and the Rave music, Do you think you were influenced by the English scene in these genres?

Shifty: Yes! I think different DJ's, but I was on to much ecstasy to really know what was going on, but I definitely loved the music and did a lot of dancing back in the days.

Bret: It definitely wasn't Todd Terry project, it wasn't the clean Chicago sound.

Shifty: I like DJ like Marcus Riot, Koolaid then their is Mike Message and Sean Perry and a lot of other great DJ's.

Prodigy (Pictured Above)

Music Trespass: You said you liked the Prodigy did you like stuff like Altern 8?

Shifty: No I liked Mindless self Indulgence.

Music Trespass: Do you have any guests on the new record?

Bret: A couple we can't really speak on yet!

Shifty: And a load of others we can't really speak on! and a couple we don't really know if their going to show up!

Deadsie: So we can't really say anything! Should be interesting it's going to be big.

Shifty: We are trying to put the last people you would possible think on this album.

Bret: I will tell you one thing we were touring with them. So let your mind work it out!

Shifty: Especially when we haven't done any tours in ten years, So that kind of narrows it down.

Bret: On this European leg!!!

Music Trespass: You took a break for a number of years... why did you think it was time to take a break?

Bret: It just happened that way, it wasn't that we decided to take a break just time went by.

Shifty: We did not decide to take a break, until we found we were on one.

Music Trespass: Bret you started a record recording called The Pharmacy are you still working on this now and do you have any new artists you can tell us about?

Bret: Yeah well the thing is, in order to do that really correctly is that the first artist we really need to break is Crazytown. So I have a number of artists but I wouldn't want to hold them back by locking them up and doing to them what has been done to so many other artists... which is putting them on the shelf. So for us as visionaries, creative people and producers and we all have that talent. I think the most important thing for us to do is up our profile so that we can help other artists.

Shifty: Yes we have to make Crazytown a well running machine before a band will want to be the off spring of it.

Music Trespass: You had your big hit 'Butterfly' so early on in your career, do you think that has effected you as a band or do you think it has helped you?

Shifty: It definitely helped us and at a point it made us disgusted, but we are grateful for it. Sometimes all you want is to have a song that does great until you have one that is almost doing too great and it brings you mixed feelings about it. At the end of the day it's great.

Bret: When you have a single that becomes as successful as 'Butterfly', your almost expected to repeat that sort of success again and if you don't it could be deemed a failure. So it's a lot of pressure to be put under when your really doing something you love and we were not the ones that pushed the button and put all the money behind 'Butterfly'. It was Columbia Records that did that. So at the end of the day it's like that.

Shifty: Yes! we would like our next great song not to be, are you guys going to make another 'Butterfly'.... no!!! No!!! we are going to make another song that is great and does amazing. It's not going to be another 'Butterfly'.

Music Trespass: I always liked 'Think Fast' and 'Toxic', Which are heavier and faster!!!

Ahmad: Definitely more of that coming for sure!!!

Shifty: The reason 'Butterfly' was great was that it was just something that we did, and we had fun making the song and it was not something that we normally do and we got lucky with it

Bret: And it had aspects to it that appealed to the masses, not just to segmented population.

Music Trespass: I think with a lot of big artists, like Gary Numan who had hits so early. I think when you have fun with a record it hits off.

Bret: Fun is what translates, not only through records but also on stage. When we are on stage having fun as a band, That transmits to the audience and it's a party all around.

Music Trespass: Did you have problems playing that song live?

Bret: No we didn't have a problem, playing it the only problem we had with 'Butterfly' live was where to put it in our set. Depending on where we where playing and who we where playing with. Sometimes we wanted to play it early in the set and sometimes we wanted to play it later. It made it interesting being on Ozzfest and where we where going to play it in the set. Being on the main stage at Ozzfest with so many heavy bands.

Music Trespass: Can you tell me about the new band members?

Shifty: Well we have Kevin Crush Kapler who is our new drummer, we tried a few drummers and Kevin just nailed everything and we are really happy with our choice. Then we found Deadsie, We have a studio next to where we are making our record and a good friend of ours recommended us. We met him and he came in and he nailed it and it was a perfect fit and then Deadsie recommended Dax, and Dax came down and just crushed it. You know it fell together perfectly. We put the word out and this is what we got and we feel like it's the best Crazytown we have ever been.

Music Trespass: I think when you get new band members you have to relate to them on a friendship basis
to!

Shifty: Yes! I prefer to, If I am not friends with my band we are going to have issues!!!

Crazytown: Thank You Friend!!!

Bret: And if we are not friends with our manager we are going to have issues!!!

Music Trespass: How do you think the music World in 2014 has changed from 1999 for a recording artist?

Bret: Well you used to have to be just great at what you do, and you had a label that is going to do the rest, and it's just not that way anymore. Now if you want to be a successful recording artist, you have to be great at marketing, you have to be great as social media.

Shifty: And you have to be willing to work for a lot less money.

Bret: And you have to be willing to actually work, you have to be willing to wake up earlier than you used to. You have to be willing to stay up late and be willing emails, you have to be a business man you have to do so much more. If you want to be successful business a lot more has to be, encumbered by the artist. The recording artist has a lot more responsibilities than they used to.

Music Trespass: Do you think this actually halts the recording process?

Bret: You have to take that hat off, for sure and you have to be able to switch hats, you have to be able to go from creative mode, to business mode, social media mode to. Yes it's very difficult, but if you can do it... it's a great opportunity. Because their is so many ways to not only be successful but to touch people and to gain the things out of doing this that are really the most rewarding things.

Beastie Boys (Pictured Above)

Music Trespass: What are the biggest influences on Crazytown?

Bret: Well their are certain artist which stand out. I'd say on the Hip Hop level everything from the Beastie Boys to Diamond D and the Psychotic Neurotics, Public Enemy to New York Hip Hop and you can even go West Coast a little bit some Ice Cube and Dr. Dre but you know a lot of East Coast Hip Hop and a lot of West Coast Punk Rock everything around the Suicidal Tendancies camp and the Red hot chili Peppers, Fishbone and the other side of things Nine inch Nails was always was a huge inspiration and a lot of the Chicago Industrial scene.

This was a huge influence and also our friends that were coming up and was starting to do this at the time. We were fortunate enough to be friends with the guys in Korn and watch their success happen in front of us, being friends with the guys in Snot and watch them have their success and all that. There are so many influences you know!!! Coal Chamber another band, Jay Gordon and Orgy, we were just open and influenced by a lot and I think it showed in our music.

Korn (Pictured Above)

Music Trespass: You just played the Download festival how do you think it went?

Bret: Great! It was packed I think our set was great, we had a little technical difficulties with a mixer that was broken and we have a lot of cool synth and programme aspects to our show and unfortunately we had to deal with the technical issue that I think is a blessing because it's one of the things that you have to go through as a band that brings you together. Shit is always going to happen and at the end of the day if you can turn that kind of shit into a positive. That really brings you together and to happen near the end of our run in Europe and that was only the one little thing to happen and we got through it and still gave a great show and the fans love it... It was awesome!

Shifty: I thought after all we all sound great, but the energy was just stellar.

Kevin: I think me being the one had problems head fell straight on, I left everything I had including a lot of New York anger on that drum riser. I think I moved it a couple of feet, even though the wheels were locked, so all in all it was a fantastic crowd to play and I just can't wait to do it again.

Ahmad: It was a great turn out, Amazing!

Music Trespass: What is your craziest tour story?

Kevin: I think it was at the very beginning of the tour. Our guitar player Deadsie and
Shifty where rooming together and Deadsie let's out a blood curdling scream because their is a very mannish Mexican looking woman standing at the foot of their bed completely unannounced.

Deadsie: I don't think she was Mexican, I think she was probably Indian. She just walked right into our room.

Kevin: I can't do it, but Shifty can do the blood curdling scream that Deadsie had perfectly which
is phenomenal. I think the best part of the story - Is that their was a first scream then their was a breathe
and then their was an even louder scream and then she went and b-lined out the door.

Deadsie: We kind of looked at ourselves and went what the F**K!

Kevin: I can just imagine you guys screaming at a girl and saying "What the F**k is that!"

Deadsie: How did she get into our room, What is she doing and is she looking at us while we are sleeping.

Kevin: Arrrhhh !!! I think that is kind of close to what it is.