Crazy Town Vocalist Shifty Shellshock Dead at 49
Founding Crazy Town vocalist Seth Binzer, more commonly known by his stage name Shifty Shellshock, was found dead in his Los Angeles home yesterday. He was 49 years old.
Details of the circumstances surrounding his death are sparse at the moment. That being said, the initial report by Newsweek directly cites an entry on the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s website that shows that an investigator is actively on the case.
Having been the driving force behind the creation of Crazy Town back in 1995, it wasn’t until 1999 that Binzer would become the face of tatted up gym bros with frosted tips in their hair with the somewhat cringe-inducing hit “Butterfly.” At the time, the music video was in constant rotation on MTV and it quickly became a favorite in clubs everywhere, propelling the song and the band’s debut album The Gift of Game to the top of the U.S. Billboard charts.
Following the release of their second album Darkhorse in 2003, the band went on a hiatus until they got back together in 2007. It wouldn’t be until 2015 when they would release their third album The Brimstone Sluggers. Yet by this point, the band was all be relegated to the history books as a one-hit wonder.
Throughout his life, Binzer struggled with addiction. Over the years, his battles with substance abuse became public, whether it was by design like his appearances on Celebrity Rehab and Sober House, or his public blowouts with bandmates.
Binzer was also arrested multiple times over the years as a result of his drug use. Just last year he was taken into custody for an alleged DUI. He was once sentenced to three years of probation in 2012 for battery and possession of crack cocaine. In a 2001 interview with Rolling Stone, he admitted that he’d been nabbed by police for shoplifting and that he’d sold drugs in the past.
At the time of this posting, Crazy Town has yet to publicly post a statement regarding Binzer’s passing.
Binzer is survived by his three sons. We at Metal Sucks offer our condolences to Binzer’s family, friends, and former bandmates during this difficult time.
