Now the connection between Judge Knipel part rules‘ courtroom can be seen as somewhat arcane and unintentional, much like the history of the jam band. Judge Knipel, who runs a no-nonsense, super strict civility based courtroom is not viewed as a ‘friendly’ judge. He is not known as a guy you want to sit down and have a drink with after the case is over. But, there is always order imposed in his courtroom. Always. And, at the end of the day, one may even feel that that’s appropriate and what should happen. However, sometimes in life, we need a little jam time too, and the power of the jam band reaches also into the courtroom. Sometimes, we just need a little out of control. So keep an eye on the Pop ‘stache as the blog tries to take the velvet gloves of Nice-Nice and find some fancy balance in the space. So, here goes.
If you think of music, structured theory is only one half of the spectrum musicians negotiate as they move through time. There’s also the other half – the out of control balancing act of creativity, the genius of musical invention, the artistic freedom that produces great music. So, sometimes we need to see how Judge Knipel’s ‘structured’ rules for civility are part of this continuum and not the antitheical to it. While it may be difficult to remember phrases written on mounds of back to back single spaced pages of Peter Simeon’s courtroom rules (9 flushable toilet size pages to be exact), I am trying to find the music and find out where the rules fit into the freedom of expression continuum. My premise is that they do : That underneath, behind, and beneath the ‘structure’ of the rules there is another layer, one that allows you to speak your truth, be heard, and still move through time. And that layer is the jam band layer. So, the rules create the order, and the jam band leaders add in ‘rhythmic’ tones that develop the story.
What gets lost sometimes is how much musicians utilize structure before there is ever any attempted “freedom”. For example, Miles and other Jazz musicians have a ‘set’ list before they ‘jam’ into spontaneous dispute over the melody. The important thing is to note that the entire show, all the songs, all the talent, all the musicians, all the work that went into the jam was centered around a ‘system’ or ‘structure’ if you will, that made the ‘freedom’ possible. It was a ‘system’ that they all had rehearsed together. It was a structured jam if you will. You can’t defend yourself in court without knowing the ‘rules’. You can’t do it (make music) without knowing the chords. In both cases, the ‘rules’ help you read the sheet music and where the doodles start and stop and where it is best to squeeze in a P-double-C# on an unintentional staccato note. Then, when the ‘music’ starts, you can go off into creative territory. So, that’s what I see happening in Judge Knipel’s courtroom. You need to know exactly what the rules are. You follow the rules first and foremost (no ifs, ands or but’s notwithstanding). You do what the Judge says. And, what might seem to be together, is actually incomplete, and needs more practice time, and needs to keep working on the rhythm, and let’s keep moving toward creating the ‘music’ in a time sensitive way. And, in the courtroom, just as on the bandstand, you just might need some help (yeah, that’s the Judge saying that you can’t play that particular song because you don’t have the pre-authorization from the band). Okay, that’s it for now. I’ll post more on this unique structural jam style organization later. See ya later.
For more information on courtroom procedures, you can visit Wikipedia.
