Show Notes
What does it actually take to build — and sustain — a career as a professional bass player? John Garrison has spent 18 years playing bass with James Blunt and has recorded with artists including Lewis Capaldi, Ed Sheeran, Christina Aguilera, Josh Groban, Passenger and Benson Boone. But his route into that world wasn't built around sight-reading, virtuosity or chasing the spotlight. In fact, John can't read music.
Chapters for easy navigation 00:17 John Garrison: 18 Years at the Top03:46 How John Accidentally Became a Bass Player06:52 The Roadie Who Helped Launch His Career11:14 From Aspiring Artist to Professional Bass Player15:38 How John Landed the James Blunt Gig19:34 What Keeps You Hired for 18 Years?22:09 Learning to Serve the Artist — Not Your Ego26:28 Why Major Producers Keep Calling John31:58 Inside Lewis Capaldi's “Forget Me”36:53 Why the Notes Are Only 30% of the Job42:25 The Extra Skills That Get Bass Players Hired45:23 What Great Players Get Wrong About Building a Career51:43 Glastonbury, Jay-Z and Life at the Top55:06 Peter Gabriel, Kylie Minogue and a Very Surreal Dinner57:06 The Bass That Ended Up on Arctic Monkeys' Debut
In this episode of Now That's Bass, John explains why being able to play is simply the starting point — and why speed, musical judgement, preparation, backing vocals, versatility and being someone other musicians actually want to spend time with can matter just as much. We get inside the session for Lewis Capaldi's “Forget Me”, including why John had to re-record the bass part on a different 1970s Precision before discovering it was about to become the first single. John also reveals how he can turn around major-label bass sessions in less than an hour, why being a songwriter changed the way he approaches bass, and why his younger self had to learn that playing 23 notes a second wasn't necessarily going to get him hired. We also talk about the unexpected “beer test” that helped him land the James Blunt gig, the challenge of moving from frontman to sideman, surviving 18 years on the road with the same artist, social-media comparison, ego, work ethic — and the question every aspiring professional musician should ask: Would the rest of the band actually want to have a coffee with you on the day off? Plus: playing Glastonbury with James Blunt, getting applauded by Jay-Z, asking Kylie Minogue to pass the HP Sauce, accidentally lending his bass to the Arctic Monkeys — and the two bass lines John believes players should spend some time with. If you're trying to turn being a good bass player into actually getting hired, there's a lot in this one. Now That's Bass — honest conversations about bass playing, careers and what it really takes to make a living in music.
More from Now That’s Bass
What gets you hired as a professional bass player — and what does it take to stay relevant across decades of musical change? Charlie Jones has worked with Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, spent around 18 years with Goldfrapp, produced and co-written music with Siouxsie Sioux, and toured with The Cult.
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
Nick Owen spent ten years at London’s Bass Centre during an era when it brought together bass players from around the world. He remembers the famous names who passed through, the clinics, the unlikely encounters and, above all, the community that formed around a shop where people could try an instrument and talk to someone who knew it inside out. What did working there teach him about basses and the people who play them? And could a place like that exist again?
Guy Pratt has played bass with Pink Floyd, David Gilmour, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Bryan Ferry, Robert Palmer and some of the biggest names in music. But behind that extraordinary CV is a much more interesting story about confidence, instinct, relationships — and what it actually takes to survive for decades as a professional musician. In this episode of Now That's Bass, Guy talks candidly about the imposter syndrome he felt working alongside the world's elite session musicians, why Bernard Edwards asking for him still seems extraordinary, and why being good in the room may have been as important to his career as being good on the bass.
What happens when the career you spent years building starts taking away the thing you loved about music in the first place?