A Soundgarden reunion was announced on January 1, 2010, with Shepherd rejoining the band. His family moved to Texas, then settled in Bainbridge Island, Washington, where Shepherd grew up, playing in numerous punk-rock bands with friends before he was a teenager. After graduating high school, he worked as a carpenter and a laborer. He became involved in the grunge scene when he worked as a roadie for Nirvana and played in Tic Dolly Row with Chad Channing. in addition to his role as bass player, Shepherd’s role as a singer and songwriter increased during his tenure with Soundgarden. in 1993, Shepherd and Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron formed a side-project band called Hater. Shepherd once said he penned the music for “Never Named” at the age of sixteen.
