Let me preface this by saying that I don't suck.
I was listening to Jack Cassidy's interview on No Treble today and he made the comment that there is always someone who has more technical skills and musical knowledge than you do and that the important thing was to find your own tone and voice and not worry about what others are playing. I totally agree with this. As a 50-year-old influenced by Lee and Entwistle I don't think I need to spend all day on YouTube trying to master every riff and skill available. I do just fine and play enough notes and fills as it is and people like it. I have no need to slap as much as Mark King or do any two-hand tapping or any of that; I am a bass player and not an acrobat.
This does not stop drummers from constantly having to remark about other bass players in the area in a way that says "they're really skilled and schooled in a way that you are not." Even if this were true and somehow relevant (because I am schooled and experienced in a way that THEY are not), I think this is just plain rude. I have a favorite drummer to play with who has his own voice and is not as technically prowessed and schooled as others but I do not say this to him; instead I say he's my favorite drummer to jam with here. I got him into the scene and gigging regularly...I'm not sure sometimes if this is appreciated.
Another is very skilled...he woodsheds and practices all the time. Big into jazz fusion. Always talks about professional musicianship...and he is the least professional of anyone I've worked with. I've had to fire him twice from two different bands for this. This is another who spends time comparing other players in a negative way but is perpetually a sub and never a member and can't understand why.
Yet another is pretty good and very experienced but is very arrogant and is an addict who feels he is above being questioned when he shows up stoned and plays everything too slow to dance to. He definitely makes it a point to mention other "better" players...yet- again- I am the one with the steady gig.
There is ALWAYS someone better than you. There is no need to make any comparisons because it's just plain rude. I know of several players who are better than me in one way or another but it is entirely irrelevant because I'm not walking in their shoes and they're not walking in mine. I have played big arenas and small clubs and recorded and been broadcast locally and nationally in one way or another and somehow trying to tell me that I am somehow lesser than another (based on arbitrary criteria) says more about them than me. Every player brings different things, and the amount of formal training is not the only standard to measure by. If that were the case, most of your favorite players would never even have been heard of. I know someone who is "better" than every single person I've ever met in this business, both pro and amateur...I just don't SAY it.[/QUOTE
I totally relate to your situation. I once auditioned for a classic rock band and the band leader couldn't decide whether to go with me or another bass player. It was totally up to him...I had previously worked with the drummer who wanted me, the other guy was friends with the lead guitar player who obviously wanted him.
The other guy was a very good slap bass player and was extremely technically proficient. He didn't have a lot of gigging experience though. I'm no slouch technically, but I am not the best slap player. But I am a solid, in the pocket player.
At a second audition the other guy was there too (with a third friend that came along). I went first, and the other guy made comments the entire time to his friend about my "lack of technique and terrible tone." Just a total arrogant jerk. When it was his turn, he threw in way to many fills...the dreaded lead bassist. I didn't say a word.
The band leader decided to let us each try a gig (on short notice). I think that he just wanted to believe his guitar player who insisted that the other bass player was just showing off to me. The other guy's gig was first and I wasn't there, but the drummer told me later that it was a complete train wreck. Apparently the other bass player continued to throw in inappropriate fills at every opportunity, to the point of messing up a lot, and losing his place. He even tried throwing some slap lines into songs.
On my gig, I played mostly root notes on the songs that I was least comfortable on. Just boring, solid rhythm. The songs that I knew well, I just played the original line. The only fills were ones that were in the original songs. Guess who got the permanent gig.
