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 he hadn't 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.