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. He became involved in the grunge scene when he worked as a roadie for Nirvana and played in Tic Dolly Row with Chad Channing. Shepherd was then hired. in addition to his role as bass player, Shepherd’s role as a singer and songwriter increased during his tenure with Soundgarden. The tracks were: “Zero Chance” (music), “Dusty” (music), “Ty Cobb” (music), “Never Named” (music) “Switch Opens” (music) and “An Unkind” (music and lyrics). “Ty Cobb” was the first song Shepherd wrote that was made a single. in late 1997, Shepherd was part of the first, now rare, Desert Sessions collaboration (Volumes 1 & 2), on which he played bass.
