Not impressed

Sounds good; but, it doesn't always work that way. Of course, every player
should always do their best; that is not being questioned and most of the
players I refer to do just that. Attitude, however, is a different matter and is
not necessarily something that is expressed to anyone except to other
players. Bottom line: if a particular player is predisposed to a certain
attitude about music that strays from his/her idea of what good music is,
how much bullshit he can get away with is determined by how good he is
as a player; and, to a lesser degree, how good he is at bullshitting. Talent
and bad attitude are not mutually exclusive. Some players are so good,
and so busy (yes, there are still a few of those out there) that they can
indulge in an attitude that is not as rosy-eyed as what you portray with little
effect on their careers. Musicians are people too and what we are talking
about (trying to, anyway) is found in any walk of life. The "real
world" that I am talking about is the world of two, three, sometimes
more services A DAY; every day. Many of these players are not looking for
a "shot at playing"; they are well past that point in their careers. Some get
burned out, some get mired in negativity, but luckily, most still play their
best; or, at least, on a very high level. Either I made up the story about the
joke or, as with most jokes, there is an element of truth in it. Which do you
think it is?

While this particular scene is mostly gone, the message applies to all
scenes, and no one has said it better:

[URL]http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=snetMOvbqRQ[/URL]

Upgrade at Radio Shack!!

Djverne any chance there is a audio club where you live?
If not how about another person who can offer some other insight and possibility hear something you might be missing.
How about your listening environment have you done anything there?

Frog...I'm simply stating the reality of a world I'm in. There is a huge difference between what you call "rosy eyed" and what I call professional, and I've personally experienced situations with more that a few producers who will fire any asshat (regardless of talent) on the spot if they have issues with a session. I know a guy who played French Horn with a production of Les Mis for many years, travelling around or stuck in a town far from home, and he did the gig because he's a pro...hard gig but hey, he knew what he was in for. So in reality the joke is less than accurate for those of us who are in the biz...for others I can't say.

We have no basic disagreement. What perhaps I haven't made clear is that the "unhappiness" referred to in the joke is usually not expressed in an overt way; it's much more subtle than that and mostly kept to themselves.