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. Bassist: Ginger Pooley Bands and Artists: Smashing Pumpkins, Gwen Stefani Home: Manhattan Beach, California How have you been passing time during the lockdown? As an introvert, I was happy to have my family home and safely nearby during lockdown. I felt really creative, recording, writing, and dabbling in photography. However, since the murder of George Floyd, I’ve paused to take in what’s going on in our society. This is a significant time in our history where the masses are looking at our country’s systematic racism and working for change. I want to be a part of that change so I’m taking time to process what that means for me and my family, and how music can be a part of that change as well. What have you been working on in terms of your bass practice routine? I don’t have a rigid bass practice routine. I have a real respect for my bass player friends who are such amazing players and practice a lot—I see you Josh Moreau! I could blame it on being busy and a mom, but the truth is I find a lot more joy in listening than practicing. I hope when I grow up I’ll adopt a more scheduled lifestyle that includes more bass and piano practicing. What music, songs, recordings, artists, bass players have you been listening to as a source of comfort and inspiration that you can recommend? By far the most listened to bass player in our home is James Jamerson. My family and I listen to a lot of Motown and as everyone knows, Jamerson played on the majority of those recordings. The way he plays gives me chills, brings tears to my eyes, and transcends music itself. Is that too over the top to say? We also listen to a lot of Stevie Wonder and Donny Hathaway. I just love that those are some of my daughter’s favorite artists, as well. What bass gear have you been playing and trying out? I recently got a Dirge Electronics Slowly Melting pedal for my birthday. It’s mostly a guitar pedal but it’s fun to play with if you like crazy, noisy, dirty sounds. My bass signal path when recording lately has been my rack Sans Amp, API 512c Mic Pre, and Inward Connections The Brute compressor. In Protools I’ll sometimes run through UA’s version of an SVT plug in. Of course I still love playing through my analog Ampeg and Ashdown rigs. What non-music activities books, shows, movies or workout recommendations do you have? Quarantine made me sedentary. I’m finally getting out of that phase and doing lots of yoga. I l