Few songs so definitively encapsulate an entire generation the way 'Butterfly' by Crazy Town does the late '90s and early 2000s.
'Butterfly' was the third single to be taken from Crazy Town's 1999 debut album 'The Gift Of Game' and became not only a long running, number-one hit for the band but also helped ingratiate the nascent crossover of rap and rock into the mainstream.“When you write a song that just works out in every way like that it's a hard one to follow up,” Crazy Town co-founder and frontman Seth Binzer says. “It's also just something amazing because it's not something you can ever plan.
“When I sat down and wrote that song I would have never guessed that 20 years later it would still be in every show and showing up in movies left and right. It's become one of those songs that will be around forever and I'm very proud of that fact. It just won't go away,” Seth laughs.
From the notes of its instantly recognisable, opening guitar riff (sampled from 'Pretty Little Ditty' by Red Hot Chili Peppers) to its unforgettable chorus line [“Come my lady, come come my lady. . .” - y'all know the words!], 'Butterfly' is peak noughties goodness that's earned a little slice of pop music immortality. “It's just one of those old songs that will stand the test of time,” Seth says.
“When I was little I just wanted a band; I remember wishing I had a platinum plaque on my wall and I ended up getting them from almost every country and it's just been a beautiful ride. It hasn't been perfect and there were a lot of bad repercussions from having a song so big for a band – it was a blessing and a curse.
“It got so big it was almost scary. . . but at the same time I wouldn't change it for the world. Twenty years later, we can go play in any city in any country in the world and pack a room with people and they all have an amazing time, and I think that's a blessing.”
'The Gift Of Game' became a #1 album on the strength of 'Butterfly' alone, clocking up over 1.5 million physical sales after the release of the single. Yet, with the rocket ride up came the soul-crushing death dive all the way back down. Their 2002 sophomore album 'Darkhorse' was a comparative failure and the band broke up soon after its release.
Meanwhile, Seth has made no secret of his struggles with addiction during the halcyon days of Crazy Town and has appeared on two seasons each of reality shows 'Celebrity Rehab' and 'Sober House'.
Now clean, sober and living a healthy lifestyle, Seth is focussed on what he sees as a second chance for Crazy Town – now called Crazy Town X. “We'd been gone so long, so we're kickstarting the whole thing over again,” he says.
“Yes, we have an upper hand because we had such a massive success years ago but I'm really looking at it like I have to rebuild it from the ground up.
“Three members have passed away, so now I've replaced members with really young and amazing, talented additions and put together the band and now we call it Crazy Town X – it's still Crazy Town but it's just the newest version of Crazy Town.”
With a new band and a refreshed vision, Seth is currently working on a brand new Crazy Town X album that is due for release in the second half of 2020. In the meantime, Crazy Town X embark on an Australian tour that hits our shores in early December. “I think the timing is right and we're super excited to come down,” Seth says of the tour.
“We're about to drop the record next year and we're making our rounds around the world showing people that we're still alive and well, and that we're still doing our thing.
“We plan on coming back a lot and doing the festivals in the next year or two, so we're just getting back out there, getting our feet wet and this is more like a small-scale tour for the true fans and people who want to come out.
“Then we plan to tour really rigorously and hardcore over the next couple of years to promote the new album. I love Australia; Australia is beautiful and I wish I could come there more often.”
Crazy Town X 2019 Tour Dates
Thu 5 Dec - Burdekin Hotel (Sydney)Fri 6 Dec - The Backroom (Brisbane)
Sat 7 Dec - Zhivago (Adelaide)
Thu 12 Dec - Laundry Bar (Melbourne)
Fri 13 Dec - Bar 1 (Perth)
