Aaron Vukovich has been around the Evansville music scene for a long time playing bass in and out of ensembles.

For now, the 33-year-old Evansville native is taking it easy and jamming here and there, but misses the older local music scene.

“The scene back then was cool. There were all kinds of bands,” Vukovich said. “It wasn’t just people liking music but just seeing more.”

More all-ages venues are opening, such as PG, which is the same effort club owners were making back in the day, he said.

“There were a couple places similar that don’t exist now,” he said. “Maybe it’s just me getting older.”

Vukovich first picked up a bass at age 13 and began playing in bands.

“I picked bass because everyone played guitar,” he said. “My friends and my cousin and I all played together.”

Vukovich’s first band, “Player X,” formed into many projects like, “Subotai,” that spread well  into his 20s, which kept him focused on music.

“I hung out with other people, but my mindset was always doing band stuff,” he said.

Vukovich played with legendary local band, Mock Orange, and shared the same local label.

“We put out an EP around the same time Mock Orange did on Minus Seven Records,” Vukovich said. “Everyone was putting stuff out and through that we became friends.”

They were really good, he said.

Since his long stint playing in bands, Vukovich took time off to focus on solo material.

“I’ve played in bands here and there, but when they break up, it’s like having a girlfriend,” Vukovich said.

The problem is that collaboration isn’t the same when playing music alone, he said.

“For me, playing music by myself is like having sex with no one there,” Vukovich said. “I miss collaborating.”