By Alex HudsonThis year has been a time of reunion for grunge old-timers Soundgarden, who have got together for live dates, a reissue and a retrospective compilation. Still, despite these endeavours, bassist Ben Shepherd (far right in the photo above) has admitted that he's fallen on some seriously hard times.
When asked where he lived, Shepherd told Spin, "Nowhere. Literally. I've been sleeping on studio couches and at friends' houses. I'm totally broke."
He first found himself homeless following a breakup with his girlfriend earlier this year. Since then, he's been putting all of his money towards a solo album - which he isn't even sure if he'll release.
This is the culmination of more than a decade's worth of struggles for Shepherd. He also admitted that, in 1997, "Soundgarden broke up; my other band, Hater, broke up; my fiancée broke up with me; and then I broke three ribs. I got addicted to pain pills, drank a ton and wound up OD-ing on morphine. I was laid out in my house for five days and no one knew it. It was a fucking horrible time - this total rock'n'roll cliché."
I met him in seattle in 1999-2000 numerous times. He was a mysogonicstic drunk that was angry at the world but felt he was to be treated like a god. Even if you were nice to him, he would spit in your face. he is nothing without Chris cornell.
When the song became a huge hit, Ben was the only member of Soundgarden who refused to play "Black Hole Sun" live. He's playing it now. Guess he's become a team player after going broke!
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