James Stephen & The Good Ones mark the release of “Growing Up” and connect with us for a revealing interview
- STAFF
- Jun 23
- 9 min read
By: Staff
Unforgettable and emotionally electric, “Growing Up” is a masterstroke of vulnerability and timeless melody.
A Hauntingly Honest Debut – “Growing Up” by James Stephen & The Good Ones
There’s a kind of song that doesn’t just speak to you, it reminds you of late nights, quiet fields, old voices, and unanswered questions.“Growing Up”, the soul-stirring debut from James Stephen & The Good Ones, lands like a soft echo from another time. It is familiar, aching, and deeply human.
But who are the people behind this sound? And how did a song so deceptively simple manage to dig so deep?
We connected with the band’s frontman, whose voice holds both the weight of experience and the depth of memory. In this interview, he unpacks everything from childhood nostalgia and artistic identity to the quiet genius behind a surprise collaboration.
Read on to learn where this all came from and where it is going next.
Begin Interview:
Hello James Stephen & The Good Ones, we’re thrilled to have you here for this interview!
We've had an amazing time exploring your music and diving into your creative journey. Now, we’re even more intrigued to get a deeper look into both your brand and your personal and professional inspirations.
Q. Can you please tell us the names and performance roles of each member of the band, including any guest contributors involved in the recording of “Growing Up”?
A. Of course. So, my name is James Stephen. I'm the lead singer, as is usually the case with these sorts of artist names! I also play rhythm guitar and, so far, am the "main" songwriter (but that's more down to this still being an early iteration of the band and me having just brought songs to rehearsal rooms!).
On lead guitar is my good friend Elliot Robertson. He's frighteningly good and was in a successful metal band called Lost Atlanta once upon a time. All of the sultry guitar work people will hear in the songs over the next year is coming from his fingertips.
On bass is Sam Lord, another good friend of mine and a phenomenal bass player. He's got a wealth of experience to his name having toured the world with Aquilo and CW Wrestling amongst others. You'll hear him doing plenty of seriously tasteful bass licks throughout. Just enough to show off, not enough to be ridiculous!
Drums on the record is Sam O'Brien whilst Rob Hirst plays live at the moment. Likewise, Juraj Janosko plays keys on the record whilst Reuben Greeph plays live. All four musicians are amazing and I'm seriously lucky to be surrounded by the talent that I am.
Q. How did the name The Good Ones come about? Is it a reference to a personal philosophy, a tribute, or perhaps something more ironic?
A. When we were on tour supporting Canaan Cox in 2023, one of my best mates Jonny Morgan - a fantastic musician in his own right - came to the London show. When we were having a chat afterwards, we said we should write some stuff together and possibly put an EP out (which I DEFINITELY need to make sure we do). When discussing names for the project, we somewhat jokingly said "Two of the Good Ones"...and I decided then that I really liked "The Good Ones", so I knicked it.
Q. You blend Americana with deeply emotional British storytelling. How would you describe your sound in your own words, and where do you feel you push or bend the genre lines the most?
A. Great question. These days, I lean toward "liberal British-Americana", but only so long as people take liberal to mean "of broad influence". I listen to lots and lots of different music and it all shapes what I do in some form or another. This contributes to our sound not conforming to traditional country, blues, folk genre lines, as you put it. There'll be gospel, soul, funk, disco, R&B, and pretty much any other traditionally American genre wrapped up in the tracks somewhere.
Q. There’s a raw vulnerability in “Growing Up” that hit us deeply. What usually lights the first creative spark for your writing? Is it a lyric, a moment, or a particular feeling that starts it all?
A. It varies from song to song. Some pour out in minutes, fully complete music and lyrics. Others take time, chords might predate melody by weeks or months. Lyrics might predate everything for a very long time.
With Growing Up, I'm writing from a very self-aware place whereby I sometimes think that a younger version of me - one with a greater understanding of the trials and tribulations of adulthood - would have appreciated the time spent BEING young more with that knowledge. It's a catch 22, we can't ever go backwards and I wouldn't trade my life for anything, I just felt it was time to capture this feeling in a way I can express it.
Q. We were really moved by the nostalgia in your lyrics—plastic cups as wine, bedtime by nine. Would you say this song is, in a way, a gentle eulogy for your childhood? And do you feel adulthood has been more of a rebirth or a reckoning?
A. Yeah, 100%. Growing up in the north of England in a very working class town (Stockport), I'd imagine some of these lyrics and feelings are shared across the board by people I've never met. Family parties where we're drinking juice and pretending it's wine, having no real need for money so it seeming to last forever, it's relatively universal stuff but also very personal.
Adulthood is a rebirth, definitely. Knowing you can do what you want when you want (within reason) is what I think most kids eventually dream about, especially as teenagers. Adulthood is even more of a rebirth when you have kids because you're no longer the most important person in your life. I absolutely love where I'm at - I have a beautiful fiancée and amazing kids and stepkids - and the added responsibility I now have is guiding my kids so they feel fulfilled.
Q. The visual for this release, standing in an open field, feels poetic and quietly introspective. What was the symbolism or message you wanted listeners to take away from the artwork and setting?
A. There wasn't a particular conscious effort made to align artwork and song title/subject matter initially. The cover art is from a promo day I had with my pal Mike Gardner (who is very talented at pretty much everything he does). When choosing art though, I narrowed it down to a couple and this won out when put to Instagram followers.
I think, in hindsight, it does subtly capture some of this emotion in the song. I personally associate fields/country parks with my childhood as I spent a lot of my teenage years hanging out in such settings with my high school friends for hours and hours in the school holidays. There are certain areas like that in my hometown that transport me back.
Q. Which instrument typically anchors your songwriting process? Does it shape the emotion of a song, or does the emotion lead and the instrumentation follow?
A. Guitar. For as long as I’ve been writing music, it’s me and my guitar. As far as shaping the emotion, I feel that every song I’ve ever written that has been considered “emotional” has all come from a place of heavy relatability. I’ve sat down in my younger years and written songs about complex emotional situations I’d not really experienced and I never really felt connected to it enough to deliver it. If I connect to what I’m writing on a personal level, the emotion almost writes itself into the song unconsciously.
Q. Where does your creative process physically happen? Are your songs born in bedrooms, studios, or jammed out live? And how do you decide when a song is truly finished?
A. Historically, my bedroom and/or other room in the house. That’s where it all starts at least. It develops a lot further when you get it in a room though and Elliot and Sam are great for suggesting changes that could maximise the song. As for when a song is truly finished…I’m not sure it ever is. The version you get from the studio, it isn’t always played exactly like that live and you’re always figuring out fun new things to do with it. It’s getting it to a point where the studio version does the job that is the trick!
Q. You mentioned that BANNERS improvised a counter melody for the outro. Can you walk us through that day? What did that spontaneous addition do to the emotional impact of the track for you personally?
A. Yeah, definitely. Growing Up - along with three other JS&TGO tracks - was recorded in Whitewood Studios in Liverpool by production maestro Danny Woodward. In the same building, BANNERS has a studio and Danny messaged him randomly to say we were doing vocal takes and did he want to drop by because I needed a gang vocal (as it sounds, basically a vocal take with multiple people). Next thing, he drops in and we get acquainted. Super nice guy, really lovely, great voice. Came in and did these gang vocals and it was class.
I’m then re-recording some vocals at the end and after my take, I hear the studio feed go live and Elliot says “I’m sure he’ll give it a go”. That’s when BANNERS says “I’ve got this idea for a counter melody at the end of you wanna hear it?”.
The rest is history. It really opens the song up as we hit the outro and I love everything about it. We recorded the vocal and it’s been firmly there since.
Q. What was the hardest part of turning “Growing Up” from an idea into a fully produced track? Was there a moment you almost scrapped it or questioned its direction?
A. I don’t think there was really a hard part where Growing Up is concerned. The beauty of Growing Up is in its simplicity and simple translates quite easily to a studio setting. So, as much as I’d love to give a more revelatory answer…no to scrapping it or questioning it too!
Q. Out of writing, recording, releasing, and performing, what part of the process fills you with the most pressure, and how do you personally handle that tension?
A. It’s between recording and releasing. Releasing is when you lay your track bare to the world and you go from having a handful of people hearing it to it being on demand to everybody with Internet. So that’s pretty daunting, release day can get quite obsessive when you’re just sat refreshing your stream count!
Recording can be high-pressure because you spend hours, days, weeks trying to get each individual component right of a four minute track…I think that’s lost on non-musicians sometimes, but it’s when you’re on your fourth of fifth vocal take that you begin to put pressure on yourself to get it a little bit more right than before!
Q. Having toured with Canaan Cox and landed a main stage slot at Goatfest, what are you most excited to show new fans live that they might not catch just from streaming your music?
A. Honestly, I’ve always felt that everything sounds miles better live…so no matter how great you think the studio version of Growing Up and other songs sound, it feels and sounds better in the flesh!
(In other words, come and see a show if we’re performing near you!)
Q. “Growing Up” feels like it speaks to everyday, functioning humans with occasionally clouded minds. Who do you picture listening to this song at 2AM, and what do you hope it gives them?
A. 2am is probably the best and worst time to listen to this song! To answer it though, I picture the listener at 2am being somebody who is feeling very reflective…possibly slightly regretful? But I hope it makes them feel like what they’re feeling is very normal, that it’s absolutely fine that time only flows forward and that we’ll all be alright.
Q. Do you have a favorite song from your early years of listening to music that you would like to cover in the studio—one that makes you feel connected to who you are as an artist today?
A. I’ve got a fair few songs I’d love to cover but not sure how well they would translate! I’m a big Phil Collins fan and my mum always had his albums on when I was growing up. My favourite album of his is called But Seriously, so I’ll say All of My Life from that album. It’s gorgeous, and not too far removed, emotionally, from Growing Up.
Q. We really appreciate you letting us in on these personal details! So, what’s on the horizon for you? Any exciting projects in the works that fans should be looking forward to? We’d love to help spread the word!
A. Thanks for having me! Growing Up is the first track of what will be a full EP in just under a year’s time, so everybody has a few more singles to look forward to in that time! The next one is probably my favourite song off of the upcoming EP, so keep an eye out!
For those who are into socials, you can catch us on Instagram at @JamesStephenMusic to keep up to date, and obviously any and all Spotify follows would be welcome, such is the industry these days! I’ll also be starting a bit of a mailing list soon and going a bit old school so, yeah, lots going on!
James Stephen & The Good Ones, thank you so much, we appreciate you taking the time to talk to us!
End Interview
We’re happy to have shared James Stephen & The Good Ones’s exciting journey with you and uncovered such inspiring insights about their creative process.
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