Improvisational Music Performance: On-Stage Communication of Power Relationships David A
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University of South Florida Scholar Commons Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate School January 2012 Improvisational Music Performance: On-Stage Communication of Power Relationships David A. Steinweg University of South Florida, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd Part of the Mass Communication Commons, and the Music Commons Scholar Commons Citation Steinweg, David A., "Improvisational Music Performance: On-Stage Communication of Power Relationships" (2012). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/4407 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Improvisational Music Performance: On-Stage Communication of Power Relationships by David A. Steinweg A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Communication College of Arts and Sciences University of South Florida Major Professor: Fred Steier, Ph.D. Stacy Holman Jones, Ph.D. Elizabeth Bell, Ph.D. Daniel Belgrad, Ph.D. Date of Approval: August 9, 2012 Keywords: Performativity, Frame Analysis, Ethnography, Grateful Dead, Reflexivity Copyright © 2012, David A. Steinweg Acknowledgements I would like to express my sincere gratitude toward a number of individuals who made this project possible. I extend a huge thank you to Fred Steier for inspiring and directing me throughout all stages of this project’s development. Without you, Fred, I would not be the person I am today. I would also like to thank the rest of my committee, Stacy Holman-Jones, Elizabeth Bell, and Dan Belgrad for their guidance and creative input. Stacy, your approach to the research and writing process inspired me to no end. EBell, thanks for being you. Your creativity knows no bounds. Dan, thanks for your diligence with establishing the concept of improvisation and finally breaking me of my dependence on binaries. To the members of Uncle John’s Band, especially the Gilman family, thank you for allowing me into your world. Finally, I would like to thank Tom White, Chris the bartender, and the community of Skipper’s Smokehouse for being open enough to allow me to conduct my research. Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii Chapter 1: An Introduction to Creativity, Improvisation, and Process ...............................1 The History of Improvisation...................................................................................6 Improvisation as Interaction ..................................................................................10 A Critical/Cultural Approach to Improvisation .....................................................18 Chapter 2: A Performative Musical Improvisation ...........................................................23 Performance ...........................................................................................................24 Performativity ........................................................................................................29 Frame Analysis and Sets of Expectations ..............................................................36 A Metaphor for the Processes of Musical Improvisation ......................................39 Chapter 3: The Musical Improvisations of Uncle John’s Band ........................................45 Ethnography as Method .........................................................................................46 The Venue of Skipper’s Smokehouse ....................................................................49 Uncle John’s Band .................................................................................................55 Playing the Bass Guitar ..........................................................................................59 Spokes of a Wheel .................................................................................................65 Uncle John’s Band and their Audiences ................................................................67 The Importance of a Setlist ....................................................................................72 Chapter 4: The Experience of Energy ...............................................................................75 Collective Consciousness and the Ripple Effect ...................................................77 Knowledge of the Grateful Dead ...........................................................................88 The Effect of Skipper’s Smokehouse ....................................................................93 Chapter 5: An Improvisational Ethnography ....................................................................98 My Process of Ethnography .................................................................................101 Improvisational Ethnography...............................................................................105 Chapter 6: Conclusions ...................................................................................................113 Summary of the Project .......................................................................................116 Future Directions for the Project ..........................................................................121 List of References ............................................................................................................125 i Abstract This project explores how musical improvisational processes come into being through interacting discursive power relationships that are embodied and enacted through performance. By utilizing the concepts of framing and performativity I am able to show how discursive power constitutes the performance of improvisational music. To exemplify this theory, the project presents a case study examining a Grateful Dead cover band named Uncle John’s Band that performs at Skipper’s Smokehouse in Tampa, FL. Using an ethnographic methodology, the project articulates the dominant discursive power relationships that constitute Uncle John’s Band’s improvisational performances. The dominant discursive power relationships revolve around the lived philosophies and performance style of the Grateful Dead as embodied and communicated through performance by the members of Uncle John’s Band. Dominant discursive power relationships also form among audience members as well as the staff at Skipper’s Smokehouse. All of these power relationships constitute the performance of improvisational music. In a reflexive turn, the project also offers a re-articulation of ethnography through the tenets of improvisation. Finally, the project presents conclusions concerning the nature of researching improvisational music performance and some future directions for this study. ii Chapter 1: An Introduction to Creativity, Improvisation, and Process And I say row, Jimmy, row Gonna get there, I don't know Seems a common way to go Get down and row, row, row, row, row “Row Jimmy” (Garcia & Hunter, 1973, track 3). Think about the moment after you read an especially compelling book or listen to an uplifting song. You are emotionally wrapped up in the text. You hold on to those passages and verses that say something special to you. Maybe the text shed light on a difficult situation, or opened your eyes to an alternate point of view. Maybe the text gave you some insight, or suggested an interesting approach to a problem. Soon, however, you recognize the fact that this text was written/composed by someone. What does it take to create such emotions and feelings? You realize that the book or song is a reflection and embodiment of a creative process. If you could ask the author or composer questions about her/his work, what would they be? What was your inspiration? What is your creative process? What advice do you have for an aspiring author/composer? Different artists will reply differently. Le Guin (1997) states, “the one thing a writer has to have is a pencil and some paper” (p. 227). Zappa (1997) says that, “composition is a process of organization, very much like architecture” (p. 195). In order to be creative, one needs tools, a process, and organization. Books and songs are products of a creative process. This creative process is as interesting and compelling as its products. 1 This project takes as its starting point the creative process, and seeks to understand how creative processes work within/on culture and individuals. The creative process pushes culture forward, challenges traditional meanings, and helps to transform society (Barron, 1997). Creative processes can help to change society, break apart ideas of oppression and intolerance, and introduce new meanings into a culture. Creative processes can also preserve the status quo and obfuscate notions of domination, coercion, and cruelty. In this sense, creative processes communicate meaningful relationships among culture and those who participate in creative processes. In other words, culture speaks to creative processes, and creative processes speak to/about culture by way of individuals involved in the processes. Individuals participating in creative processes exist within a culture. Individuals obtain knowledge through social interaction with others in their society (Mead, 1936). Individuals