Shifty Shellshock, the lead singer of the rock-rap group Crazy Town, has died at the age of 49. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s website, Shellshock – real name Seth Brooks Binzer – passed away at his home on Monday. The cause of death was unknown and is under investigation.
Shellshock was the lead singer of 1990s group Crazy Town, which rose to fame with their 1999 hit song “Butterfly” from the album, The Gift of the Game. The song reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2001 and was featured in the 2002 film, “Orange County,” starring Jack Black and Colin Hanks, as well as 2003’s ‘Something’s Gotta Give’ starring Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton.
The band, which included Bret Mazur, Rust Epique, James Bradley Jr., Doug Miller, Adam Goldstein (DJ AM) and Antonio Lorenzo “Trouble” Valli, broke up in 2002 after their sophomore album, “Darkhourse,” failed to follow-up the success achieved with “The Gift of Game.”
Shellshock went onto launch a solo career in 2004, releasing his album, Happy Love Sick. According to Deadline, Crazy Town eventually got back together under the name Brimstone Sluggers in 2015, and later became known as Crazy Town X after Mazur left in 2017.
The singer, who was open about his battles with addiction, appeared in two seasons of VH1’s reality TV shows “Celebrity Rehab” and “Sober House.” In 2012, he was admitted to the hospital after losing consciousness and fell into a coma before recovering. He was most recently arrested for a DUI in 2022.
Per Variety, the musician is survived by his three children, Halo, Gage and Phoenix.
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