Crazy Town Founder Epic Mazur Says Shifty Shellshock Was Optimistic Before Death

Bret “Epic” Mazur — who formed Crazy Town with Shifty Shellshock — talked to his late ex-bandmate a few months before he died … and says SS seemed upbeat about the future.

We caught up with Epic Tuesday in the studio — and he tells TMZ … Shifty was actually stoked about making new music when they last spoke over the phone, and there was no indication Shifty was in a bad space, or going through something out of the ordinary.

TMZ broke the story … cops are looking into Shifty’s sudden death Monday as a possible fatal overdose. But based on what his former bandmate’s saying here … Seth was far from that reality.

Epic tells us nothing in their conversations led him to believe something ugly was up in Shifty’s personal life … and he’s absolutely shocked by Shifty’s passing — not to mention devastated.

They founded Crazy Town together way back in 1995 — and Epic tells us they were first introduced through will.i.am — and while they hadn’t both been in the group for the past decade, Epic says they still kept in touch … usually bouncing ideas about music around.

Epic is remembering Shifty’s legacy here too … telling us some of Shifty’s crazier ideas for band promotions. Take a listen — it’s pretty cool storytelling, and a great Shifty memory.

Get this … Epic says Shifty wanted the band to get into a police pursuit in Los Angeles as a way to promote their debut album … just an example of how he says Shifty put the “crazy” in Crazy Town, and why he truly embodied the spirit of the group.

It’s an interesting and insightful convo …  and Epic remembers all the good times they had in the studio. You can tell he’s sad over the untimely passing of his old friend.