In a new interview, Soundgarden bassist Ben Shepherd says he almost joined fellow Seattle band Nirvana.
“Well, I was supposed to play lead guitar for them. But they stayed a three piece,” Shepherd tells Denver Westword’s Backbeat. “I knew them before they were a band, too. Chad [Channing] never told Kurt [Cobain] that I played guitar, even though the first time Kurt and I met, we were at a party in Olympia, and we were the two loners on the end of the couch, and there was a guitar there. I would always find a guitar at a party because I didn't like parties much. So I would find the guitar and space off by myself, you know? Kurt was the same way, so we wound up sharing a guitar that night, an acoustic that was there.”
“Then our paths went different ways. Chad, my old friend, we were in a band together, and I was the singer for a band,” he said.
Shepherd continued to connect with future Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic, sharing the same stages and shows; along the way, he provided the link to the band securing drummer Channing, two years before they brought in Dave Grohl.
“When we played with this band a couple of years later or something, there was Krist who said, ‘Hey, Ben, dude, do you think your drummer would let us use his drum set?’” continued Shepherd. “‘I didn't know you were in a band, Krist, cool. Sure, man. That's Chad up there. He has those funny looking drums up there. He'll probably loan you those drums.’ So they did, and that's how they met Chad, and he ended up joining the band.”
This week, Shepherd and Soundgarden wrapped up their US dates in support of their latest album, “King Animal”; they’ll play Mexico City on Friday (May 31) before taking an extended summer break.
The band is scheduled to return to the road for a European tour starting September 4 in Helsinki, Finland.
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