My Favorite Weekend: Seth 'Shifty' Binzer / copyright Leslee Komaiko Los Angeles Times

Thursday, August 5, 2004
My Favorite Weekend: Seth 'Shifty' Binzer
copyright Leslee Komaiko Los Angeles Times

     Happy is as "Happy" does
     Los Angeles Native Seth Binzer, a.k.a. Shifty Shellshock and now simply "Shifty," and his crazy town bandmate Bret "Epic" Mazur topped the singles charts in 2001 with their sexy rock-rap ditty "Butterfly." Now Binzer is doing the solo thing. His new album, "Happy Love Sick," hit the stores last week. "I tried to remove the heavy rock element" he says. "This is more surfer hip-hop: hip-hop with reggae overtones, some dance music and R&B influences." Binzer lives in Sherman Oaks with his wife, Melissa, and 19-month-old son, Halo.
     Work before play
     Friday I would try to go to the gym. I go to Train West Hollywood on La Cienega. My friend Brody Kramer is my trainer. We practice boxing, then I do a lot of cardio and ab workouts.
     From there I'd go to Ita-Cho, on Beverly Boulevard across from El Coyote. It's some of the best Japanese food in L.A. They have a braised beef with Japanese mustard that's incredible, and they have these spicy little peppers in soy sauce I adore.
     Usually after that, I go to City Spa and Health Center. I meet up with all my buddies there. It reminds me of where the Sopranos would go. It's this old-school bathhouse with a Russian rock room, basically a dry sauna with two huge ovens that look like pizza ovens filled with rocks. The whole spa is based around a cold lap pool. It's super-freezing. And there are Jacuzzis and a steam room where where they take eucalyptus leaves and smack you with them.
     I'd go home for a while and play with my son, then fall asleep on the couch for an hour or two. Then after that I'd go out with my wife and some other friends, probably to Spider Club in Hollywood. It's in Avalon upstairs-it's more like the VIP club-and on Friday nights it's really fun.
     The son shines
     On Saturday I'll probably sleep in 'cause I can, wake up, hang out with my kid, maybe go swimming with him. I might take him the beach or go down to Gladstone's Malibu. We sit outside. And on a good day, there are dolphins going by, and he goes "Fish,fish." He likes throwing bread at the seagulls.
     Normally we like to do a big dinner. We'll go to Mastro's Steakhouse in Beverly Hills. It's my favorite steakhouse. They have the most incredible fillets on the bone and a really cool live band that plays old-school music like Sinatra. It's like old school Vegas.
     Freshness Counts
     On Sunday I wake up real early. I meet my friend Robert Vaughn. He was a pro surfer. Now he has a clothing company called FTW. He's teaching me to surf, 'cause I'm not that good but I love it. We'll go to Malibu State Beach, find some waves and hang out and get some coffee.
     I try to come back home not too late. On Sunday, they close off Ventura Place in Studio City for a farmers market. It's my favorite place to go with my son. We get all these fresh vegetables and fresh flowers for the house. Then they have pony rides. Watching him ride the horses is the coolest thing.
     I like to go to Katsu-Ya in Studio City once a week. It's my favorite restaurant in the world. They have this crispy rice with little jalapenos, and I love jalapenos. They have these tuna tartare towers that are really great, and amazing blue crab rolls.