Former Verve bassist Simon Jones has been talking to Canadian music website Jam Showbiz about his new band The Shining, who released their debut album ‘True Skies’ earlier this year.
"After the Verve I took a couple of holidays, but then I just went out and set up a little studio at home and started making music on my own. So I guess the music thing was still there really. It wasn't like I was so fed up that I had to do something completely different. But there was definitely a time when the Verve split up - I guess the first time I had time to myself in about 10 years – that I started to ask a lot of those life questions. I think it was spending time with Duncan Baxter [the 22 year old front man of his new band] that made me wake up to wanting to do it again, instead of packing it all in when I'm still in my 20s. I just had to get over the bitterness inside.”
"Once I played with these guys, it was too good to turn down, the chance to do it again. Music, for me, relies heavily on the chemistry of the people you're playing with and I don't think the chemistry was right until I met the guys who are (now) in The Shining actually, and then it all made sense. It was a gut feeling really. I go with my instincts."
Talking about the frontman to his new band he continued: "Duncan is very charismatic. He's born to be a lead singer. Though its taken time for him to settle into it because he never had the chance of playing in bands in his hometown in front of five people on a Saturday night in a pub. A lot of people were coming down to The Shining gigs because of the Verve thing, so it was daunting”