The lead singer of the smash song “Butterfly” by the rap rock group Crazy Town, Shifty Shellshock, passed away.
Shifty Shellshock was 49 years old.
With his birth name of Seth Binzer, Shellshock passed away at home on Monday, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s website. There is still no word on the cause.
In 1992, Shifty Shellshock got to know Bret Mazur, the other co-founder of Crazy Town.
The band originally recorded under the name Brimstone Sluggers, but by 1999, they had adopted the new name Crazy Town and included Rust Epique, Doug Miller, Adam Goldstein (also known as DJ AM), and Antonio Lorenzo “Trouble” Valli. Following the release of their debut album, “The Gift of Game,” in November 1999, Crazy Town went on tour with Red Hot Chili Peppers as support.
After Crazy Town’s second album, “Darkhorse” (2002), failed to evoke the same fervor, the band broke up. Shellshock then pursued a solo career, collaborating with Paul Oakenfold on his 2002 hit “Starry Eyed Surprise,” which peaked at No. 41 on the charts. In 2004, Shellshock released his first solo album, “Happy Love Sick,” which found moderate success in Europe.
In addition to being transparent about his battles with addiction, Shellshock has made appearances on a number of reality shows that tackled the subject, including two seasons of VH1’s “Celebrity Rehab” and two seasons of its spinoff program “Sober House.” He lost consciousness in 2012, went into a coma, and then made a full recovery after being taken to the hospital. The most recent arrest he had was in 2022 for DUI.
Phoenix, Gage, and Halo are Shellshock’s three surviving offspring.