As the old adage goes, comparison is the thief of joy. Even the best of us experience imposter syndrome – but, as Cory Wong and bassist to the stars, Oteil Burbridge, discuss on the Wong Notes podcast, the key is to develop, and be confident enough in, your own playing style.
“Lean into what you are,” Burbridge imparts. “That's what I do, and that's what people call me for. But when [they call] me for 'this', and now you're saying you don't want me to do 'that', I'm like, 'I think you need to get someone else.'”
Wong notes that “guitar players are very susceptible to clashing of egos, where you feel like you're against each other”.
He reflects, “Naturally, we as humans [are] sometimes like, ‘Oh, I feel threatened because of whatever.’”
He goes on to describe himself as a “late bloomer” when it came to finding himself and his own sound – a journey that has culminated in a distinct philosophy: “I'm not competing with anyone., I'm just me. There could be 10 of us soloing over the same tune. I'm like, guess what, I'm gonna give you the most me version of this thing.”
That philosophy has meant he's no longer afraid to trade leads with his heroes. Before, imposter syndrome may have got the better of him. Now, Wong embraces his own style.
“If you talked to me when I was 25 years old, I would have been frightened to take a solo after Joe Satriani,” Wong admits.
“Now it's just like, ‘Oh, Joe's gonna be Joe. I'm going to be me. There's no way I'm going to be able to do what Joe did, and he's not going to do what I'm going to do. So we're good.’ It's like we're shopping at different aisles of the grocery store here.”
As Burnbridge sums it up, “You've got to get to that place. [It's like] a whole field of flowers, they're not competing with each other – they're making it better being all together. It's more impressive.”
In more recent Wong news, the modern-day funk maestro discusses why he’s not buying the Klon hype, and why you don’t need to use a piece of gear just because somebody else uses it.
