What would you do if Bryan Adams called and gave you six days to learn his arena set? Richard Jones nearly said no. In this episode, The Feeling bassist explains how he tackled the challenge—and what years of gigs, setbacks and unexpected opportunities taught him about earning a living in music.
Richard joins Pete Roythorne to explore why having your own sound can make you the right person for a gig, how a working rhythm section helped him land Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s audition, and why he temporarily stepped away from her band when their relationship began.
There are practical lessons in learning songs quickly, building musical chemistry and recognising the value of gigs that appear to go nowhere. Richard also tells the story of the “Sewn” demo that survived an expensive studio remake, and makes the case for keeping live bass players onstage.
In this conversation: • What ten shows a week taught The Feeling about playing together. • The value of learning by ear—and why Richard still wishes he could sight-read. • How Spike Stent helped preserve the performance behind “Sewn”. • Why an individual sound matters when people decide who to hire. • Preparing for Bryan Adams: manageable practice blocks, the hardest songs first and getting off the page. • Saying yes to a frightening opportunity without letting the next gig consume your time off.
Follow Now That’s Bass for more honest conversations about working lives in music. If you enjoyed this episode, leave a rating on Spotify or a rating and review on Apple Podcasts—and share it with a musician who would find it useful.
CHAPTERS 00:00 Richard Jones: a working life in bass 01:00 The Millennium Falcon bass story 05:22 Finding bass—and your place in a band 13:54 How bass shapes the whole arrangement 19:10 What you lose when bass goes on track 21:31 Music school, ear skills and real work 27:36 How a covers gig built The Feeling 32:28 The edge that won Sophie’s audition 38:48 Hearing the hit inside the demo 44:29 Why Richard stepped out of Sophie’s band 49:52 Why the “Sewn” demo beat the remake 53:10 Finding the sound that gets you hired 1:02:42 The call from Bryan Adams 1:08:25 Learning an arena set in six days 1:18:00 Stop letting the next gig consume you
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