Shifty Shellshock, the lead singer of Crazy Town, has tragically passed away at the age of 49 due to an overdose, confirmed by the band’s manager, Howie Hubberman. “He was the last touring member of Crazy Town, and Shifty lived up to that name,” Hubberman shared. “He was a performer and a friend. Shifty died of an overdose and a broken heart as he wanted to get upright and make peace with his world. Unfortunately, we failed him and our system failed him, or [Shifty] would still be here.”
According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s website, Shellshock, whose legal name was Seth Binzer, died on Monday. Hubberman added that Soleil Moon Frye, Seth’s childhood friend and girlfriend from about two years ago, has shot a documentary about Shifty, which is supposed to be amazing.
In Shellshock’s last Instagram post, created on April 28, he shared an image of a man wearing black surrounded by people in white with text that said, “Real is rare, fake is everywhere.” For his caption, he wrote, “To the ones who stay even when I try my hardest to scare them away.” Shortly before that, the musician posted another cryptic message on Instagram that said, “The black sheep, the odd ducks, the rejects, the eccentrics, the loners, the lost and forgotten. More often than not, these people have the most beautiful souls.”
Shellshock, who appeared on VH1’s “Celebrity Rehab” and “Sober House” in 2008, had been public about his struggles with addiction throughout his life. In a 2001 interview with Rolling Stone, Shellshock, who was sober at the time, detailed the difficulties of staying clean while on tour. “I was going to show them what happens when I get high: Everything falls apart and the band ends,” Shellshock said after recalling trying to read his AA book while others were snorting lines of cocaine. “I remember saying, ‘If you guys don’t get sober with me, I’m going to go start a sober band.’ And I was smoking crack while I’m saying that. I was just a big fireball of chaos.”
“I was running from my emotions, just submerging myself in psychoticness,” he added. “And loving it. I have to scrape my ass along that bottom before I can save myself. I don’t think I’d be such a professional drug user if I wasn’t such a professional a–hole selling them. Someone might look at me and go, ‘He’s got it going on.’ And I do. At the same time, I have a really hard time keeping it on. I have a problem with drugs.”
Crazy Town frontman Seth “Shifty Shellshock” Binzer wanted to get help for his drug addiction before he died this week, according to his manager, who on Thursday revealed the musician’s cause of death. Howie Hubberman, who represented the Los Angeles native, confirmed that the Crazy Town co-founder and former reality star died of an accidental drug overdose, People reported. Binzer died Monday, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner. He was 49.
Binzer “never was able to reach out on a more successful level to deal with his addictions,” Hubberman told People in a statement published Thursday. He added: “We all tried, but ultimately, we all failed, or Shifty would still be here.” Binzer formed Crazy Town, the rap-rock band behind the 2000 hit “Butterfly,” with Bret “Epic” Mazur in Los Angeles in 1995. The group split in 2003 but reunited in 2007. Binzer was also a reality star who was open about his struggle with addiction on television shows from 2008 to 2010, including “Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew” and “Sober House.”
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner said Binzer died at his home but did not disclose a cause of death amid the ongoing investigation. Hubberman, however, revealed that Binzer’s cause of death “was a combination of prescription drugs and street-purchased drugs.” “Shifty was a friend and really wanted to get himself fixed,” Hubberman told People. “Unfortunately no one had the exact tools to do this, myself included.”
Mazur, in a statement posted Tuesday to Facebook, also reflected on his late collaborator’s addiction battle, one Binzer “continuously fought privately and publicly.” “Despite the hardships, he brought immense joy and energy into the lives of those around him,” Mazur said. “I wish with all my heart that his story could have ended differently, but we find solace in the hope that Seth has finally found the peace he was searching for so desperately all these years.” The Crazy Town co-founder added: “His spirit will live on in the music we made and in the hearts of those who loved him.”
Mazur departed Crazy Town in 2017, and Binzer continued recording under the name Crazy Town X. In February, Crazy Town X released the four-track EP “Flirting With Disaster.”
Shifty Shellshock, the frontman of rap-rock group Crazy Town, died from an accidental drug overdose, the band’s manager Howie Hubberman said Friday. “Seth Binzer, after struggling with addiction and Crazy Town’s rapid success with ‘Butterfly,’ never was able to reach out on a more successful level to deal with his addictions,” Hubberman told People in a statement. “We all tried, but ultimately we all failed, or Shifty would still be here.”
Binzer, 49, was found dead Monday at his Los Angeles home. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner has yet to list an official cause of death, but Hubberman said Binzer died from “a combination of prescription drugs and street purchased drugs.” “Shifty was a friend and really wanted to get himself fixed — unfortunately no one had the exact tools to do this, myself included,” he said.
Crazy Town found fame when “Butterfly” hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts in 2001. Binzer, who was 26 at the time, went on to star in reality television shows like “Celebrity Rehab” and “Sober House.” Binzer and band co-founder Bret “Epic” Mazur, who initially performed together as The Brimstone Sluggers, formed Crazy Town in 1995 after filling out with musicians Rust Epique, James Bradley Jr., Doug Miller, Adam “DJ AM” Goldstein and Antonio Lorenzo “Trouble” Valli. Their debut album, “The Gift of Game,” was a hit in 1999, but the band broke up in 2003 after their 2002 follow-up album failed to pop.
Binzer’s bandmate Goldstein died from an accidental drug overdose in 2009. Mazur said Binzer struggled with “maintaining sobriety throughout his life.” Binzer was arrested on charges of drug possession and battery in 2012 and fell into a brief coma later that year. He was also charged with driving under the influence in 2022.
“Seth struggled with the challenges of maintaining sobriety throughout his life, a battle that he continuously fought privately and publicly,” Mazur shared Wednesday. “Despite the hardships, he brought immense joy and energy into the lives of those around him.” “I wish with all my heart that his story could have ended differently,” he continued, “but we find solace in the hope that Seth has finally found the peace he was searching for so desperately all these years.”
Binzer is survived by his three children, Halo, Gage, and Phoenix.
Source: Fox News, People, Los Angeles Times
