The sudden death of Crazy Town frontman Shifty Shellchuk three months ago has been linked to fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid that has also been implicated in the early deaths of fellow musicians Prince, Tom Petty, Mac Miller and Little Peep.
In a statement released Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office revealed that the official cause of death for singer-songwriter Seth Brooks Penzer was the combined effects of fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine. The department said the cause of death was an “accident.”
Benzer, 49, was found unconscious in a residence on June 24. His representative, Howie Huberman, said: Rolling Stone “Seth had been struggling with substance abuse for some time,” Huberman said in June. “Seth was not happy with the daily struggle called life. Different people deal with it in different ways. It’s unfortunate that we lose so many people to addiction and easy access to harmful drugs. Shifty was a real tragedy. Too fast, too hard, too soon.”
Benzer has been open about his battle with addiction. He appeared on two seasons of the VH1 show Celebrity Rehabilitation Center and two seasons of his follow-up show, “Sober House,” between 2008 and 2010. In one of his final Instagram posts in April, Binzer wrote that he was “more of a lover than a fighter… but the person I need to love more than fight with is myself.” He ended the post with the words, “#Sober alive and grateful.”
Penzer formed his Southern California rock and rap group with Brett Mazur in 1999 after the two musicians had worked together under different names for a few years. Crazy Town achieved success relatively quickly, with their 1999 debut album, Game giftThe album's number one single, “Butterfly,” features samples of songs by former band members on the tour, the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
“Pepper is a huge inspiration to us,” Benzer said. Rolling Stone In 2001, he said that Peppers frontman Anthony Kiedis stepped in to help him when he turned to drugs during a difficult breakup. “Anthony found me and took me out to lunch — where I tried to borrow money from him so I could get high,” he said. “I wasn't done for a few days, but he showed me that I had people who cared about me. Anthony was this angel who came into my life.”
Crazy Town briefly broke up in 2003 after releasing their second album, Dark HorseBenzer released his first solo album, happy sick loveIn 2004. The record included the song “Starry Eyed Surprise”, his collaboration with British producer and musician Paul Oakenfold.
Crazy Town reunited and released their third album, Brimstone Slugger Teamin 2015.
A full autopsy report on Benzer's body with more details about his tragic death is expected to be released by Oct. 11, county officials said Tuesday.
