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: Vincent “Jake” Jones

Band: Aether Realm

Home: Asheville, NC

How have you been passing time during the lockdown?

I work at a pharmacy, so I’m still working during the week. At home, I’ve been preparing for the just-released Aether Realm album, trying all kinds of shenanigans to build hype. We got my old, beat up piano miked up in the kitchen. I’m going to try to record an acoustic version of our recent single, “Guardian.”

What have you been working on in terms of your bass practice routine?

Not a dang thing! I’m notoriously bad about waiting until I have a show to play to start practicing for it, and well, we don’t have any shows right now.

What music, songs, recordings, artists, bass players have you been listening to as a source of comfort and inspiration that you can recommend?

Wilderun’s “Linger,” from their album Sleep At The Edge of the Earth, has been doing it for me. The lap steel guitar on the record was performed by Wayne Ingram, who was kind enough to play some lap steel on the new Aether Realm album.

What bass gear have you been playing and trying out?

My newest gadget that I love is my strap—it’s this DiMarzio cliplock. There’s a short section permanently attached to my strap buttons, and the main bit of the strap just clips on. Before that I was using whatever I could get for cheap that looked cool, but I had a regular problem with my bass falling off multiple times per show.

What non-music activities books, shows, movies, or workout recommendations do you have?

If you dig podcasts and fantasy stories like I do, one of my favorite modern fantasy stories is the Balance Arc of The Adventure Zone podcast. I also teared up watching Onward, I love the battle vest on Barley.

What projects do you have coming up when the world gets going again?

Hopefully Aether Realm will finally get around to our Redneck Vikings From Hell album release tour. I’m hyped to start playing new stuff live. I’m trying, like everyone, to pinpoint when exactly that’s going to be.

What advice can you offer fellow bassists for staying positive and keeping morale high?

The best way I’ve found so far is to get sucked deep into the Final Fantasy 7 remake. It’s like a time machine, you blink and you realize you’ve been shifting your material around for four hours!

Read all 180+ Bass Magazine Check-in Features: Here

All check-ins compiled and edited by Jon D’Auria & Chris Jisi