Crazy Town Shifty Shellshock has died at the age of 49 after opening up about his heartbreaking battle with self-harm.
The Butterfly hitmaker, real name Seth Binzer, died on June 24th, according to the Los Angeles coroner.
The cause of death is currently unknown. In 2012, Binzer, who had struggled with substance abuse for many years, lost consciousness and was hospitalized, where he remained in a coma until his release.
The musician recently spoke about leaving the band and his battle with himself. Eight weeks ago, he wrote on Instagram: “I’m more of a lover than a warrior… but I have to love myself more than I fight… Mr. Shifty, true love #soberliving and I’m grateful” (sic)
Binzer has struggled with drug addiction for many years, appearing on the reality TV series Celebrity Rehab 1 & 2 and Sober House 1 & 2. He met co-frontman Brett Mazur in 1992, and initially performed under the name Brimstone Sluggers.
They formed Crazy Town in 1999, and were set to tour as part of Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne’s Ozzfest a year later, when Binzer got drunk and threw a chair out of a window, leading to his arrest.
Their 2000 classic “Butterfly” topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 2004 and 2005. It stayed there for a week and also reached number one in several other countries, including Austria, Denmark and Norway.
The group is listed as songwriters because it is a sample of Pretty Little Ditty from the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ 1989 album Mother’s Milk. Their debut album The Gift of the Game sold over 1.5 million copies.
However, they parted ways after their 2002 follow-up Darkhorse was a huge flop. They reunited in 2007 and took to the stage again in 2009. Their third album, The Brimstone Sluggers, was released in 2015.
In January 2017, Mazur, nicknamed Epic, announced his departure from the band. In April of the same year, Rick Dixon, Nick Diorio and Kevin Kapler also left the band. Binzer added an “X” next to the band’s name because it is “used by gangs to symbolize newly conquered territory”.
In November 2019, Crazy Town’s tour bus collided with a moose in Ontario, Canada. Members, including Binzer, were treated in hospital for bruises and cuts.
Crazy Town – Binzer, DJ Rick One and Mark White – last toured with Hed PEm in 2023. Despite a bloody brawl between Binzer and the group’s singer Bobby Reeves outside the venue in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, the show went on.
Binzer has also pursued a solo career, teaming up with British producer and musician Paul Oakenfold to provide vocals for the 2002 hit “Starry Eyed Surprise”.
He released his debut solo album, Happy Love Sick, in 2004. He also founded Shifty and The Big Shots in 2010. Binzer has had frequent trouble with the law, including attempted robbery and selling and using recreational drugs.
He has two children, a son named Halo from his marriage to Melissa Clark, and a son with a woman named Tracy named Gage.
Binzer dated Jasmine Leonard in 2010, but the following year the police were called in over a domestic dispute between the pair.
In 2022, he began a romance with childhood sweetheart Punky Brewster actress Soleil Moon Frye, 47, when he was arrested for drunk driving in Los Angeles.