In 1988, Shadow returned to Seattle and split up soon afterwards. McCready lost interest in playing guitar for some time, stating that he was "so depressed about life". He cut his hair, enrolled in a local community college, and spent his nights working at a video store. He credits a friend named Russ Riedner for getting him "out of my college mode and back into playing guitar". McCready was inspired to pick up his guitar again after attending a Stevie Ray Vaughan concert at The Gorge Amphitheatre in George, Washington. McCready said: