Interview – Sam Jones

NottinghamLIVE speak to young singer Sam Jones ahead of his appearance in this weekend’s Future Sound of Nottingham Final at Rock City – where he could win a chance to open the main stage at Splendour.

First off can you give us a bit of background on how you got started in music?

I started playing guitar at 11, and then played my first open mic night at 15 to a packed and silent room at a folk club. About a year ago I came to Uni and sort of gave it a go properly, playing my own material live and that. I’ve only really been doing that since mid-last year so i guess you can say I’m still a bit of a newbie on the scene.

Who are your biggest inspirations?

It varies really. I’d say Oasis have always been my favourite band, and then people like Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Otis Redding. There’s too many to mention.

Who did you enjoy listening to growing up?

In a kind of non-guilty pleasure way I grew up listening to a lot of Dire Straits. One of the first songs I ever learned to play was ‘Sultans of Swing’, so because of that Mark Knopfler’s probably my musical hero. There was a lot of Britpop flying around on my mum’s side, particularly my uncle, so I’ve got a massive soft spot for that kind of era of music in the 90’s.

Do you still remember your first gig and what it was like stepping on stage that first time?

All too vividly actually. It was a tiny room at a place in Mansfield, but there was still about 50 odd people in there. I was only 15 and there was no PA or anything, so it was almost too intimate to feel comfortable. For a while it put me off actually as it left me apprehensive to go on stage, it was a starting point though I guess. I think I played ‘Why Worry’ by Dire Straits and an attempt of an original, but it went down a storm.

What have been your most memorable gigs to date?

Erm…it’s a bit hard to say. I played in front of 600 people at Mansfield Palace Theatre, which is still the biggest I’ve ever played to. I did two nights there playing one of my tunes with a full band, so that was pretty special. Some of the best gigs I’ve done are at the venues where you wouldn’t expect it to be anything much, but they’ve turned out to be amazing. It usually happens in nice little musical pubs in the middle of nowhere.

Any you’d rather forget?

I’ve had a few. They’ve all consisted of empty rooms or just general cock ups. Every artist has them though, so it’s not too demoralising.

You have made it through to the Future Sound of Nottingham final this Sunday, how exciting was it to find out you’d made it through?

Yeah it was obviously amazing. I didn’t even expect to make it past the judge’s vote so it was crazy to find myself in the top dozen or so. The week between the opening of the voting poll and the end of it was tough, purely because you wanted it to end so bad. It was great to come through something like that and see the amount of support on the way.

You will have the chance to play the main stage at Rock City in the final, that must be something of a dream come true?

I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t. It was always on the gig bucket list, so to get the chance to play the main stage is unbelievable. I could retire a happy man after that.

Are you planning to bring down plenty of support on the night?

Yeah they’ll be all the familiar people, and some. They’ve seen me all before but not in that kind of capacity or significance, so it’ll be cracking to see so many friends, fans, family on the night supporting you.

How would it feel to win and have the chance to open the main stage at Splendour festival?

If I’m honest I haven’t even thought about it. I’m not usually one for heated competition so I’m kinda going into the final with no expectations. If I win then it’s the start of something amazing, if not I’ve played Rock City in front of a judging panel full of professionals, not to mention a great crowd. I’m very cautious about getting ahead of myself, so going in with a que sera attitude is probably the best thing for me. That isn’t to say that it’ll be unbelievable if I did get to Splendour.

It is a fantastic line up for the final, which is indicative of the Nottingham music scene at present; it must be great to be part of such a booming local scene?

Yeah massively. It kinda makes me a bit gutted that I wasn’t involved with it one or two years ago to see the acts that have gone on to become big. There’s so many talented people knocking around the city and beyond, almost all of them deserve to be signed ahead of some of the trash in the charts at the moment.

Who are your favourite fellow Nottingham artists out there?

There’s quite a few actually. If i get to play with them a lot I tend to become biased; Brad Dear and New Communication are the two Mansfield acts i’ve played with a lot, and I’m a fan of both their work. I suppose more in the city there’s Just James, Ryan Thomas, Band of Jackals, Josh Kemp. Oh and Proper English Gentleman are great. There’s too many to mention.

What else do you have lined up at the moment?

I’m actually involved in the Nottingham Leg of the Ashes Series a few days after the final. Musically I mean, I’m not a wicket keeper in my spare time or anything. It’s like a volunteering team of entertainment for the tourists around the ground and city, so that should be alright. A lot of gigs in the next month or two as well, I’ve got two on the Friday and Saturday before the final on Sunday. So yeah, almost too much lined up.

How do you like to relax off stage?

I’m a man of simple pleasures really. As long as I’ve got some tobacco on me before I go on stage i’m alright.

Finally is there anything else you’d like to say to the NottinghamLIVE readers?

Cheers for the support and see you at City! I’ll be the guy with the beard.

Interview by Darren Patterson

Sam Jones takes part in the Future Sound of Nottingham Final at Rock City this Sunday