In our latest interview we chat to Epic Mazur of Crazytown about re-uniting, performing at Download and the release of new material.
S] It’s amazing you guys are back. We were at download and the crowds were awesome, you’ve really come back to a warm reception. When was the moment you all decided to make a new record and go on tour?
B] “Well not everyone was so quick to jump on board; as far as we were concerned it didn’t happen like a bolt of lightning. It started out with me and Seth sitting down and putting out some unreleased music to our fans. That turned into, let’s put a couple of new songs on the record, which turned into a whole new record. We got in contact with our agent Steve Strange and he went ahead and starting booking things. It takes a lot of hard work and in no way is it glamorous but the reaction we’ve been getting is amazing. It was more than we could have ever dreamed, it’s been great.”
S] You’ve got ‘LemonFace’, that’s just come out, is that a good indication to how new stuff’s going to sound?
B] “Yeah, in one aspect. In another aspect there’s some other things that we’re planning on doing, that aren’t so 128 beats per minute. There’s definitely a club appeal to ‘LemonFace’ but there’s some things we are doing that are a little groovier, a little darker. This track is basically the genesis of it, it’s me and Seth in the studio working on beats and then opening it up to the band. I think if you like LemonFace, there’s going to be things you like even more on the record.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8D9COJBAnQ&list=UUJbSXj0JZV1WOtpJjdf0Fwg&feature=share
S] Is there a song on the record that you think best represents where Crazytown are at now? Maybe it is LemonFace?
B] “Well, what we loved about ‘LemonFace’ was, we thought it was a really great song for the festivals. There were a lot of people who had already gotten a taste of it and for those who hadn’t; I think it was a breath of fresh air.”
S] How do you think you’ve changed and developed as a person and an artist since CrazyTown have been away?
B] “I’ve definitely never stopped learning. And we’ve all matured; the time away has given us the opportunity to know we can’t concern ourselves with what we think people want to hear from us. We have to go to the studio and have fun and as long as we do that, we don’t get side-tracked about what we think the market space is going to want to hear. As soon as you start doing that, you start to lose your way. If we don’t have fun, then we shouldn’t even bother doing it.”
[like_to_read][/like_to_read]S] How do you feel about your past success? With songs like ‘Butterfly’, how do you look back at that time now you’ve moved forward?
B] “We were definitely riding the wave of the success, on the road constantly. We didn’t really get a sense of what was happening with the single. We did a good solid year and a half to two years of touring before ‘Butterfly’ took off. We would get calls from people, saying the song is just everywhere. Then we’re looking at the charts and it’s just going up and up, all of a sudden its number one around the world. And if we could change anything going back it would probably be the record label we worked with. Columbia Records is more of a pop label and when they got their hands on what they thought was a pop hit; they put all their weight behind that. It took that weight from us and there was a massive amount of people who looked at us as the ‘Butterfly’ boys. It was a little difficult, and by the time we were able to deal with it the industry just started disintegrating. But at the same time, it was a blessing and it made our path unique.”
S] What inspires you outside of music? Is it the same that motivated you back in the day?
B] “It’s the same on a musical level. There’s a lot of other bands and music that inspires us, nothing comes from nowhere. On a lyrical and emotional level, we are motivated by internal things. Struggles, happiness, success, failure, all those sorts of things. If you listen back to our songs ‘Black Cloud’ and ‘Change’ there’s a lot of struggle in there.”
S] What are the highlights and standout moments in your recent comeback tour?
B] “The first festival at Rock am Ring in Germany, not knowing what to expect from a festival crowd. To be able to go and play to a stage that should have about 8,000 people, seemed to have around 15,000 people. It was mind-blowing. I got off stage and had tears in my eyes, we were seriously grateful. The whole trip has just been awesome.”
S] Are there any other projects you yourself are working on? Or is that stuff on hold, whilst you put all your energy into Crazytown?
B] “Yes, a couple of months ago I had to stop everything else I was working on. I’m self-managing theband. One thing that’s definitely changed in this day and age if you want to become a successful recording artist, I highly suggest doing as much of the dirty work yourself if you can. You have to be great at social media, marketing and able to wake up early to make phone calls and get things done.”
S] What is the plan for the rest of the year?
B] “We need to finish this record as soon as possible. We are a little bit more than half done; a lot is in production at the moment. When we go back home, we have some gigs in the States and other than that we’ll be in the studio. Once we turn in the record, we will get a release date and we aim to finish it by the end of July. Then we will come back to Europe in autumn to support the new album.”
