Shifty Shellshock, the singer of the band Crazy Town – assigned to a fusion of rock and rap and known worldwide for the success Butterfly– died at 49 years old. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s website, Shellshock, born Seth Binzer, died at his residence on Monday leaving behind three children: Halo, Gage and Phoenix. The cause of his death has not yet been revealed and the process is under investigation.
The history of Crazy Town reflects the rapid rise of many groups that emerged under that creative brotherhood – rap and angry guitars, typical of the late 90s and early 2000s – and enjoyed success. Shellshock met Bret Mazur, co-founder of the group, in 1992. The two began producing music under the name Brimstone Sluggers, but by 1999, they changed their name to Crazy Town and the band added Rust Epique, James Bradley Jr., Doug Miller , Adam Goldstein and Antonio Lorenzo “Trouble” Valli.
His debut album, The Gift of Game, was released in November 1999 and the band joined the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ tour, which was a major blow to their popularity. In October 2000, Crazy Town released Butterfly as the third single from that album.
After what darkhorse, the group’s second album, did not achieve the same reception, the band dissolved. This is how Shellshock began a solo career, collaborating with Paul Oakenfold on the 2002 hit Starry Eyed Surprisewhich peaked at number 41 on several charts. Later in 2004, Shifty released his first solo album, Happy Love Sickwhich was moderately successful in Europe.
Of course, it never equaled the devastating impact of Crazy Town. The singer fell into a spiral of alcohol and excesses that ended up affecting his life.
Shellshock had been open about his addiction issues and appeared on several reality shows about the topic, including two seasons of Celebrity Rehab from VH1 and two seasons of its spin-off show Sober House. In 2012, he was hospitalized after losing consciousness and fell into a coma before recovering. Most recently, he was arrested for driving under the influence in 2022.
