Shifty Shellshock, Frontman of Crazy Town, Dead at 49
Crazy Town frontman Shifty Shellshock has died at the age of 49. The musician, born Seth Binzer, was discovered at his home on Monday, according to ABC7, which cites the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner.
The cause of death was an accidental drug overdose, according to Binzer’s rep, Howie Hubberman. “Seth has been struggling with substance abuse problems for quite sometime,” Hubberman tells Rolling Stone. “Seth was not happy with the daily struggle that’s called life. Some people cope in many different ways. It’s unfortunate we lose so many people to addiction and accessibility to harmful drugs. Shifty was a real-life tragedy. Too fast, too hard, too soon.”
Binzer co-founded Crazy Town with Bret Mazur in 1999 after making music together under different monikers for a few years. The rap-rock group received success relatively quickly, releasing their debut album, The Gift of the Game, in November 1999 and scoring their first Number One single in March 2001 with “Butterfly,” which features a sample of the band’s one-time tour mates, the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
“The Peppers are a huge inspiration to us,” Binzer told Rolling Stone in 2001, detailing the support Anthony Kiedis offered when he turned to substance abuse during a particularly rough breakup. “Anthony found me and took me to lunch — where I tried to borrow money from him so I could get high. I didn’t finish my rampage for a couple of days, but he showed me that I had people who were worried and cared about me. Anthony’s this angel who appeared in my life.”
Crazy Town briefly disbanded in 2003 following their second album, Darkhorse, and Binzer released his debut solo album, Happy Love Sick, in 2004. The record featured “Starry Eyed Surprise,” his collaboration with British producer and musician Paul Oakenfold. He also acted for a brief period in the Nineties after being street-cast in a Levi’s commercial.
Shellshock had been open about his struggles with addiction and appeared on two seasons of VH1’s Celebrity Rehab and two seasons of its follow-up show Sober House, during which he discussed his journey with sobriety.
Binzer is survived by three children: Halo, Gage, and Phoenix.