PITTSBURGH — A man who organized "jam band" concerts on his 147-acre spread in southwestern Pennsylvania is either a disgruntled land owner embroiled in a zoning dispute or a misunderstood church leader being harassed by county officials.

William Pritts heads the Church of Universal Love and Music, headquartered in Bullskin Township, about 35 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, where a federal jury is scheduled to be picked today to hear his $1 million religious freedom lawsuit against Fayette County officials.

Pritts contends the concerts, since banned by a county judge, are church services. In a 2003 interview on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show," Pritts espoused his philosophy by saying, "God never said you can't party on."

But before a jury is picked, attorneys for both sides will meet with U.S. District Judge Donetta Ambrose to try to settle it, Pritts' attorney, Gregory Koerner, told The Associated Press on Sunday.

"Just as we've been willing to settle from the outset, we're willing to settle now," Koerner said. "But we're pretty far apart on some issues."

County attorneys claim Pritts' lawsuit, filed in 2006, is "a zoning and land use case dressed up as a religious rights case." But Pritts' attorneys say his right to define a church in any way he sees fit is the essence of religious freedom.

"As its name implies, CULM's religious and spiritual focus is on universal love and music and is in large part mystical," Koerner argued in his 23-page pretrial statement. "It is the CULM's belief that no dogma is necessary to honor the Earth and people's place in it."

The dispute began in 2001 when Pritts filed for a zoning exception to hold concerts on the agricultural tract. Pritts didn't claim to head a church when he first sought the exception and a permit to build a stage.

Residents raised concerns including traffic, safety, noise, and alcohol consumption after Pritts explained the half dozen concerts a year would attract up to 4,000 people each, many of whom would also camp there, the county contends. Officials said Pritts charged admission, but took to calling it a "donation" and formed the church only after the county rejected his plan.

Pritts' attorneys say his "non-denominational Christian church" had about 200 members and dates to 1985, but acknowledge it wasn't formally incorporated under state law until 2002.

U.S. District Judge Donetta Ambrose has refused to let the county introduce "The Daily Show" clip as evidence that Pritts doesn't take his beliefs seriously, saying editing and a laugh track make the context of his remarks unclear.

The judge said she'll consider letting the jury see the unedited Comedy Central interview, but the county's attorney, Marie Milie Jones, hasn't said if she has successfully subpoenaed it. The judge also said Pritts can introduce a letter from a former county solicitor recommending the zoning exception.

Jones didn't immediately return calls for comment.

Koerner said that any potential settlement would include allowing Pritts to hold some concerts on his land, but he denied the landowner was holding out for monetary damages beyond recouping Pritts' expenses in fighting the county.

"Where we're at right now, we'd be willing to settle without a red cent, we're just trying to recoup the costs which we can document, every penny of them," Koerner said.