UPDATE: Shifty Shellshock, Crazy Town Frontman, Dies At 49
Seth Binzer, better known as Shifty Shellshock, the frontman of Crazy Town, has died at 49. The Los Angeles coroner’s office confirmed Shellshock died in his home on Monday, June 24th.
UPDATE: Binzer’s representative, Howie Hubberman, revealed the cause of death was an accidental drug overdose. “Seth has been struggling with substance abuse problems for quite sometime,” Hubberman said in a statement. “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 teamed up with Brey Hadley “Epic” Mazur to form Crazy Town in 1995. The band found mainstream success with their breakout 2000 single “Butterfly,” which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The band’s debut album, The Gift of the Game, went on to be certified platinum. After the release of their 2002 sophomore album, Darkhorse, the band broke up the following year. Binzer would release his only solo album, Happy Sick Love, in 2004.
Binzer and Mazur reformed Crazy Town in 2007. After several setbacks, the band would release what would be their final album, The Brimstone Sluggers, in 2015. In 2017, Mazur, Rick Dixon, Nick Diiorio, and Kevin Kapler left the band.
Throughout his career, Binzer was open about his struggles with substance abuse. He appeared on two seasons of the VH1 series Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew in 2008 and also on the spinoff series Sober House from 2009 to 2010. On a 2020 podcast with Brittany Furlan, he talked about his two years of sobriety. Back in April, Binzer spoke about his sobriety on Instagram writing “The one I need to love more, instead of fight with is myself.”
Our thoughts go out to this family and friends during this time.
