Ben Shepherd

Ben Shepherd (born Hunter Benedict Shepherd) (September 20, 1968) is an American musician best known for playing bass in the band Soundgarden from 1990 until the band's 1997 break-up.

Ben Shepherd (born Hunter Benedict Shepherd) (September 20, 1968) is an American musician best known for playing bass in the band Soundgarden from 1990 until the band's 1997 break-up.

He was born on an American military base in Okinawa, Japan. His family moved to Texas, then settled in Bainbridge Island, Washington where Shepherd grew up. Shepherd played 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 first auditioned for the role of bassist in Soundgarden in 1989, immediately after Hiro Yamamoto left, but was turned down because he could not play the songs well enough. Jason Everman was hired as the band's new bassist, but for unknown reasons, was fired immediately after Soundgarden completed their promotional tour in mid-1990. Shepherd was then hired.