and artistic differences. Post-Soundgarden (1997–2010) Shepherd said that he was the one most affected by Soundgarden's breakup: "my fianceé 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." Hater also disbanded, but he, Cameron, and McBain would go on to form Wellwater Conspiracy with several other artists. Shepherd was the lead vocalist on the first Wellwater Conspiracy album, Declaration of Conformity. In 1998, he quit Wellwater Conspiracy for unknown reasons. Matt Cameron took over lead vocals. In the years after the split, Shepherd participated in some of Josh Homme's Desert Sessions collaboration (Volumes 1 & 2), on which he played bass and guitar, and played bass with Mark Lanegan (in the 1999 album I'll Take Care of You and 2002's Field Songs, where he even wrote co-wrote the song "Blues For D"), and Tony Iommi (2000's Iommi). In 2005, Shepherd formed the shortly lived band Unkmongoni and released the second Hater album, The 2nd. In 2008, following the sale of the warehouse Soundgarden's equipment was being stored in, Shepherd was robbed of all his equipment including guitars, basses, and amplifiers collected and used through Soundgarden's career, and two records he had completed. Following the incident, a downtrodden Shepherd decided to quit music altogether and became a carpenter's assistant until he was eventually coerced into making his solo record In Deep Owl and reuniting with Soundgarden shortly thereafter. In an August 2010 feature about the Soundgarden reunion with Spin, Shepherd stated that before reuniting he was "totally broke" and was sleeping on friends' couches. Shepherd has since downplayed the statement, stating that he was only "sleeping on couches in studios when I was recording my solo album", preferring to stay in Seattle rather than go back home to Bainbridge Island. Soundgarden reunion (2010–2017, 2020-present) On January 1, 2010, Chris Cornell confirmed that Soundgarden would reunite, with Shepherd playing as their bassist again. The band played its first show in 13 years on April 16, 2010, at Seattle's Showbox theater under the anagram Nudedragons. The group released the compilation album Telephantasm in September 2010, followed by King Animal in November 2012, their first studio album since 1996. Shepherd's contributions included