The US singer Seth Binzer, whose rap-rock band Loopy City turned a No 1 hit with 2001’s Butterfly, died on account of an unintentional drug overdose, his group’s supervisor informed the Guardian on Friday.
Loopy City supervisor Howie Hubberman mentioned the demise on Monday of the musician generally known as Shifty Shellshock occurred after he ingested an unintentionally deadly mixture of pharmaceutical and road medicine, although the health worker within the vocalist’s residence city of Los Angeles had not but offered particulars on an official trigger or method of demise.
“We failed Shifty – the folks, like myself, who enabled him to do stuff,” Hubberman mentioned in a short interview Friday. “If we had been profitable, he would nonetheless be right here.”
Binzer, 49, was discovered lifeless at his residence in LA. He had opened up about his battle with substance abuse habit for a documentary filmed by the actor and display screen director Soleil Moon Frye, whom he was confirmed to be courting for a time starting in about 2021.
“It’s about his day by day life and day by day struggles with habit,” Hubberman mentioned concerning the movie, which had not been launched on the time of Binzer’s demise. “It exists, and now we wish its message out greater than ever.”
Within the US alone, almost 108,000 folks died from drug-involved overdoses in 2022, the newest yr for which there was full information as of Friday. The quantity consists of illicit and pharmaceuticals, in response to the federal authorities.
Butterfly was the third single from Loopy City’s debut album in 1999, The Present of Sport. Launched as a single in 2000, Butterfly had climbed to No 1 on the US charts the next yr, and it peaked at No 3 within the UK.
Binzer knew the tune could be a success as a result of it was “very radio-friendly [and] the feminine viewers loves it”. He and his bandmates feared that Butterfly would come to outline the band, which proved prescient when a second album, 2002’s Darkhorse, didn’t carry out in addition to their first effort, and the group quickly went on a four-year hiatus.
As a solo artist, Binzer offered the vocals to Paul Oakenfold’s single Starry Eyed Shock, which peaked at No 6 within the UK and managed to come back inside one spot of the US high 40 in 2002.
Loopy City would subsequently carry out collectively once more, although it might endure the deaths of former members Rust Epique in 2004 and DJ AM in 2009. Binzer additionally ultimately renamed the group Loopy City X.
Along with his music, Binzer turned identified for collaborating within the VH1 actuality present Superstar Rehab. He additionally took half within the spinoff present Sober Home, which noticed him relapse.
Amongst Binzer’s publicly documented authorized troubles was an arrest for allegedly driving below the affect in 2022.
Hubberman on Friday described Binzer as a buddy who had fought to beat his issues with habit. He mentioned Binzer leaves behind three youngsters.
“We didn’t get him assist, and he’s not right here anymore,” Hubberman mentioned.
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