As the world continues to recover from the Coronavirus, we're all finding ourselves in unfamiliar territory given the subsequent lockdown that is keeping us off of stages and confined to our homes. Luckily, there's comfort in the fact that we're all in this together, and that there are still many outlets for us musicians to keep us active and sane throughout this quarantine. We're checking in with bass players from all over the world to see what they're doing to stay entertained, healthy, productive, and safe during this trying time. Bass Player: Nathan Peck Bands & Artists: Alex Skolnick Trio, Maynard Ferguson, Gideon King & City Blog, Nathan Peck & the Funky Electrical Unit Home: Mineola, New York How have you been passing time during the lockdown? I’ve been branching out into guitar and electronic and acoustic drums in an effort to keep my music alive. In my home studio I’ve been making tracks in Logic X and creating various orchestrations for licensing and future releases. I’m mixing a jazz record I made in 2019 with a handful of New York City musicians. My wife and I have been playing and writing songs. On Dec. 19 we released a humorous and musically uplifting Christmas song for adults called “What If Santa?”—which can be interpreted as the thoughts of a drunk Santa on Christmas Eve. Listen to “What If Santa?” HERE. What have you been working on in terms of your bass practice routine? I’ve been playing my Sadowsky NYC 5-string, with a high C string. It’s been very inspiring writing melodies on it. I do a lot of multi-tracking with that bass and my Strat. To keep my chops up on my 103-year-old Pfretzschner upright bass, I’ve been playing along with Charlie Parker and Fats Waller records, especially the uptempo tunes. The iReal Book app comes in handy, too. Aside from bass, I’ve been working on my songwriting and lyrics, trying to write some pop tunes on guitar and keyboard. Playing a chordal instrument is very important. What music, songs, recordings, artists, bass players have you been listening to as a source of comfort and inspiration that you can recommend? I’ve been pursuing jazz most of my career but I’m also influenced by the music of my generation, which is the ’80s and ’90s. I didn’t always have time to dig deeply into those bands and artists, but one my wife and I recently revisited is the Dave Matthews Band. They have a huge catalog of albums and songs, many of which can be missed because they don’t get any AirPlay. Their last three records are terrific and their live shows are incredible. Besides their great longtime rhythm section of Stefan Lessard and drummer Carter Beauford, they have evolved, with the killer organist Buddy Strong and an ace horn section with Jeff Coffin and Rashawn Ross. They step into so many different grooves and pockets, which run the gamut from hard rock, African 12/8, and sensitive guitar ballads to bluegrass, funk, and mixed meter formats. And Dav