The singer, songwriter and guitarist who called himself Rust Epique died of a heart attack in Las Vegas not much more than five years after making his recording debut with the band Crazy Town in 1999. This affiliation was mentioned at the outset of all the obituaries--and there were plenty of those, since the friend fellow revelers were happy to call just plain "Rust" certainly seemed to be a mover and shaker in the hip Los Angeles music scene of the new millenium. Both musically and socially, the main thing he seemed to have in common with his ex-bandmates in Crazy Town was the utilization of obviously goofy stage-names. This band's line-up also features a bassist who calls himself Fayedodeelay, the oblivious D.J.A.M on turntables and the subdued Shifty Shellsock vocalizing.

In terms of the after-party scene, Pique's antics would indeed pique interest in anyone who appreciates over-indulgence. He was considered too crazy for Crazy Town, the details of which might go a long way toward explaining his death at such a young age. His fans would argue that the most important difference between "Rust" and the band that made him famous was musical. His solo project was called Pre)thing and was said to have represented something other than Crazytown's notorious blend of rap and heavy metal, utilizing aspects of psychedelia and blues, to mention two things. Pique's initial pick for a band name was Rust and the Super Heroes, also promoted in the space-free version as Rustandthesuperheroes. In 2002, this group was signed to the V2 label. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, Rovi