Bass Family, Way back on the 4th of July 2020 — which seems like a lifetime ago now — we were at the height of the pandemic lockdown. The pandemonium of the situation and stress of the unknown led to people reaching out to one another more and more to check in and to feel that sense of connection. In the bass community, unity was everything. Text threads were born and social media groups were formed to feel the comforting bond with our bass sisters and brothers. It was that typically celebratory evening that I was texting with Derrick Hodge, who in or out of the music industry is one of the kindest, most earnest people you’ll ever encounter. We checked in on each other’s families and what we’d been doing to keep busy during the lockdown, and then he hit me with an idea. He told me about the amazing brotherhood he’d had for most all of his life with three of his best friends: Adam Blackstone, Thaddaeus Tribbett, and Dwayne Moore. He talked about their upbringing in Willingb