Marco said it would be nice but didn't really seem to want it that much.
I think what might come off as "not wanting it that much" is simply the players understanding the reality that there's a good chance someone else would get the gig and so they don't want to get their heart set on being in the band and then have it crushed.
On the other hand, that should be tempered by putting in a good effort, otherwise you might end up with what Derek did for his audition. Don't get me wrong, he's a great drummer and all, but he was clearly not prepared and not particularly into this. (edit: err I mean, he more had problems with the 2nd part with the "jam" and wasn't that into being in the band)
Yeah, there's a difference between adding some personality and different accents to a song vs. playing the song differently. IMO, the former is desireable while the latter is not.
I was kind of referring to how James said wrt to Thomas' playing that he loved him interpreting it and adding his own flare. And then later when JP just mentioned that it was interpreted quite a bit, JR commented that the fans wouldn't like it (which to me is saying he didn't like it).
And I think some of it could be that someone like JP and James might be more ok with interpretation because they're used to having lineup changes with people doing exactly that, whereas JR might feel a little less open to that done on a song he helped write. But in some way, since JR himself has done his own live interpretations at various points, it just made it ironic to me.