The Massachusetts Connection to Late Rocker Shifty Shellshock

An early 2000s rock star who passed away this week from cancer had a connection to Massachusetts.

Seth Binzer, known by his stage name Shifty Shellshock, was the lead singer of the band Crazy Town. The nu-metal group had a hit in 2001 with “Butterfly,” which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Binzer passed away on June 24 in his Los Angeles home at the age of 49. A cause of death has not yet been released by the medical examiner’s office.

Get our free mobile app

While Crazy Town is considered an “L.A. band,” and Binzer was born and died in the city, he also lived for a period of time in Marblehead, Massachusetts. On a Facebook page claiming to be his, Binzer listed himself as being “from Marblehead” and that he graduated from Marblehead High School.

The North Shore town sits on a peninsula and is known for its fishing industry and yachting, with six different yacht clubs operating in town.

Binzer is not the only rock music star to call Marblehead home; Black Francis of the Pixies lived in Marblehead before his family moved to Westport, Massachusetts.

“Butterfly” is the only nu metal track to top the Billboard Hot 100, fueled by its popularity on MTV’s TRL in 2001.

Getty Images

According to Billboard, the track was written by Binzer after a new girlfriend questioned why the band’s lyrics were always so misogynistic; he then set out to write a softer song dedicated to her.

Binzer also battled substance abuse and addiction issues over the years, appearing on the reality television shows Celebrity Rehab and Sober House.