Shifty Shellshock’s – the frontman of Crazy Town – cause of death has now been revealed.
The singer, whose real name is Seth Binzer, was found in his Los Angeles home earlier this week. He passed at the age of 49. The reports were shared by various outlets including Kerrang! and NewsWeek, with the Los Angeles coroner’s office confirming that Shellshock died at his home on Monday (June 24).
Now, it has been revealed that the cause of his death was an accidental drug overdose. In a statement (per Consequence Of Sound), Shellshock’s representative, Howie Hubberman said: “Seth has been struggling with substance abuse problems for quite sometime. Seth was not happy with the daily struggle that’s called life. Some people cope in many different ways. It’s unfortunate we lose so many people to addiction and accessibility to harmful drugs. Shifty was a real-life tragedy. Too fast, too hard, too soon.”
The frontman burst onto the scene in the late ’90s, and his rock-rap group rose to fame throughout the early ’00s. Their most famous hit to date remains as the 1999 classic ‘Butterfly’ from their debut LP ‘The Gift of Game’, which topped the singles charts globally upon its release – including the Billboard Hot 100.
The band’s second album ‘Darkhorse’ arrived in 2002, but the members soon disbanded following its poor commercial success. After several years out of the spotlight, Crazy Town reformed in 2007 and went on to drop their comeback third album, ‘The Brimstone Sluggers’, in 2015.
In his time aside from the line-up, Bizner joined forces with British producer Paul Oakenfold, which saw the two release a track in 2002 titled ‘Starry Eyed Surprise’.
The frontman had also been vocal about his personal struggles in the past – appearing on various reality series in the ’00s in a bid to raise awareness for and help combat his struggle with addiction.
Back in 2012, it was reported that the artist had been in a coma and was receiving treatment in a Los Angeles Intensive Care Unit. He had remained in the hospital’s care for a week and, according to various outlets, was induced into the coma due to drug-related issues.
That same year he was convicted of cocaine possession and domestic violence charges against his girlfriend. He was sentenced to three years probation.
Crazy Town during their perfomance at BREATHE, a benefit concert for breast cancer research and treatment, produced by Step Up Women’s Network and Third Eye Blind’s Stephan Jenkins (Photo by M. Caulfield/WireImage)
In more recent years he had encountered further battles in his personal life, and in 2023 was arrested for drunk-driving. He also made headlines after he got into an altercation with bandmate Bobby Reeves during one of his live shows.
He is survived by three sons, and further details about his death are expected to be shared shortly.
“RIP old friend… remember you best as a kid in a skateboard with the entire world in front of you… sending love to your family,” wrote photographer Mike Azria in a comment on the singer’s latest Instagram update.
Other comments have since poured in online from fans. “Rest in power, Shifty. Addiction is fucked up. I was really hoping sobriety was going to turn things around for you,” one wrote on Instagram, while another shared: “This absolutely broke my heart.. God damn it Seth why….. you’ve been in my life since we were kids.. damn, you just broke a lot of hearts.. rest in peace old friend love you”.
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