Water Walking and Bicycle Blowing (part 1)

Most of you are probably already familiar with the following videos:

(The remainder of Zappa’s performance can be found here.) These videos have made the rounds numerous times over the years, but I don’t know if anyone’s ever looked into any possible connections between Cage and Zappa. To me, these two performances and their respective contexts are too similar to be coincidental. I think it’s very likely that Zappa saw Cage’s appearance on television and modeled his own performance on it. Even if there isn’t such a direct connection between the two videos, I think it’s more than likely that Zappa at least had some of Cage’s theory in mind.

I think there’s a lot to say here, so I’ll limit my discussion here to a little background info on the two videos. I’ll follow up in a second post with a brief analysis of Zappa’s discourse regarding Cage.

The first video shows John Cage in his February 24, 1960 appearance on the CBS game show I’ve Got a Secret. Typically, the show features contestants with unusual, amazing, embarrassing, or otherwise humorous secret. A panel tries to guess their secret using only yes/no questions. The host, Garry Moore, considered Cage’s secret–

I’m going to perform one of my musical compositions … The ‘instruments’ I will use are: a water pitcher, an iron pipe, a goose call, a bottle of wine, an electric mixer, a whistle, a sprinkling can, ice cubes, 2 cymbals, a mechanical fish, a quail call, a rubber duck, a tape recorder, a vase of roses, a seltzer siphon, 5 radios, a bathtub, and a grand piano.

–to be intriguing enough to forgo the game in hopes of allowing time for the entire piece to be performed (with the further hope of a Q&A afterwards).

water walk 1

Floorplan for Cage’s Water Walk [1]

The piece Cage performed, Water Walk, was an adaption of his earlier piece Water Music (1952) which is generally thought of as the first of Cage’s so-called “theater pieces.” Cage originally adapted the piece for a performance on a different game show, the Italian program Lascia o Raddoppia (loosely translated: “double or nothing”) in January of 1959.

cage_Buongiorno

John Cage on Lascia o Raddoppia with host Mike Buongiorno

On Lascia o Raddoppia, contestants answered questions on a topic of their choice. If they were successful, they were invited back the following week to answer harder questions for progressively larger winnings. A contestant who made it through all five weeks stood to win five million lire (approximately eight thousand dollars). Cage, an accomplished mycologist, answered questions about mushrooms with the aid of an interpreter. Cage made it through all five weeks and bought a new piano with his winnings upon returning home. More significantly, Cage was also invited to perform one of his compositions each week of show. Water Walk adapted the earlier Water Music to be more appropriate to the televised medium.

water walk 2

Detail of the score for Water Walk [2]

Compared to Water Music, Water Walk is much simpler. Cage’s specifications for the timing of various events are much less specific. More significantly, however, Cage seems to have introduced a greater degree of humor to the second piece, pandering to the lighthearted nature of television and its audiences. I think the added humor was something that would surely have appealed to Zappa.

(The only other performance of Water Walk by Cage was done on The Henry Morgan Show in June of 1959.)

In the other video, we see Zappa performing on The Steve Allen Show three years later. Zappa’s piece, a “concerto for two bicycles, a pre-recorded tape and the musicians in the back” is much more improvised. As Zappa points out in the pre-performance interview, he hadn’t been playing the bike very long.

Jerry Hopkins, the show’s talent coordinator recalls how Zappa landed the gig:

The rules for my job were simple. Get someone who was genuinely eccentric or who did something at least a little strange or out-of-the-ordinary, but never make fun of them—the idea was to have fun with them. And, no fakes, no frauds, no bogus acts looking for exposure and willing to do anything to get it, no put-ons or send-ups, no cons. Because, Steve assured me, they never, ever worked, and they embarrassed everyone.

Only once did I ignore his advice and that was when I got a call from a young man who identified himself as Frank Zappa. He said he wanted to teach Steve how to “blow bicycle.” “Blow bicycle,” I repeated.

“Yeah, you know, like, the bicycle is a musical instrument.”

(You can read the rest of Hopkins’ account here.)

Zappa’s performance even got a write up in a local Cucamonga newspaper:

“Ontario Composer, Steve Allen To Play Wacky Duet”

Frank Zappa, 22, Ontario resident and composer of music, serious and otherwise, will be seen on television tomorrow night playing a bicycle concerto for two with Steve Allen. The show is at 11 p.m., Channel 5. “It’s very funny,” said Zappa. “You play a bicycle by plucking the spokes and blowing through the handle bars.” Other methods of producing “cyclophony” is to stroke the spokes with the bow of a bass fiddle, twirl the pedals and let air out of the tires. The Zappa-Allen concerto will be abetted by a man in the control room fooling around with a tape recorder and by a jazz group which will supply toneless background noise. Zappa studied music and art at Chaffey College. He wrote the score for “The World’s Greatest Sinner,” a low-budget tale about a sacrilegious imposter who repents. “Sinner” had its premiere at Vista-Continental Theater, Hollywood, and opened Wednesday at the Ken Theater, San Diego. Zappa writes musical commercials for TV and radio. They are recorded at Pal Studio, Cucamonga. [3]

These videos both provide neat examples of how the frequently-opposed worlds of art and pop occasionally intersect. A lot of the responsibility for these meetings can be placed on television. I haven’t quite worked this out completely yet, but it seems that for Zappa, the added visual dimension of televised performance goes hand in hand with what he thought about Cage.

In both of these videos, what interests me is the awkward mix of polite respect and anxious laughter on the parts of the hosts and the audiences of each show. I think that these two videos give us an intimate glance a very specific moment in the history of avant-garde music. Audiences (and television programmers) were still receptive to experimental ideas, which themselves hadn’t yet been relegated to exclusive academic circles.

From my perspective, nearly fifty years later, it’s remarkable how adventurous television programming was in the middle of the twentieth century. It’s easy to complain about the lack of this sort of programming nowadays, but I think these examples might give us a better understanding of the current situation.

References:
[1] Taken from William Fetterman, John Cage’s Theatre Pieces: Notations and Performances (Amsterdam: Harwood Academic Publishers, 1996), 33.
[2] Ibid., 35.
[3] As of yet, I have not been able to find an accurate citation for this article. Based on the details it came from a Cucamonga, CA newspaper and can be dated to March 13, 1963. A transcription of the text can be found here.
Water Walking and Bicycle Blowing (part 1)

84,938 thoughts on “Water Walking and Bicycle Blowing (part 1)

  1. capelli corti estate 2019

    detsk谩 diev膷ensk谩 ru啪ov谩 拧iltovka new era kids 950 s rovn媒m 拧iltomelegantn铆 p谩nsk谩 拧谩la etex adamhusky kimbi p谩nsk茅 拧ortky sv臎tle 拧edozelen茅拧koln铆 h艡i拧t臎 a t臎locvi膷na 2. z谩kladn铆 拧kola plze艌

  2. tartaleta gourmet 48u alimentaciè´¸n y

    sada n谩hrdeln铆k暖 best friends bijoux de modeluxusn铆 p谩nsk媒 kab谩t tmavomodr媒v媒b臎r boty jaro 2014 od zna膷ky ccc luxurymagmaxcom cenovo dostupn茅 smart hodinky a n谩ramky 膷as钮

  3. anilmm

    pandora beads sports katz air jordan6 grigio gituttio nike hyperdunk 2010 hombres rosado and negro basketbtodas zapato ralph lauren polo shirts uk xl nike zoom pegasus 31 flash femmes fonctionnement chaussures jordans blomsterprint designer kjole

  4. é…¶kologisk må¿™lkeprotein

    stylingbylihi 拽讚讞转 讛讟讘注讜转讚 专 讘谞讬 砖讻讟专 讻讗讘讬 讘讟谉 讘讛专讬讜谉 讻讗讘讬诐 讘讘讟谉 讛转讞转讜谞讛 讘讛专讬讜谉讞讚砖 注诇 讛诪讚祝 砖讬砖讛 讚讘专讬诐 诇住讬讬诐 讗讬转诐 讗转 讞讜讚砖 讗讜讙讜住讟 it转讬拽 爪讚 注诐 讟讘注转 讗讞讬讝讛

  5. ladies durango gray ultra motorcycle vest

    mens top grade leather biker shirt w buffalo nickel snaps mj777 clearance salecome nasce un agv pista gp carbon project 462017 top hot arai r3 helmet motorcycle helmet half helmet open face helmet casque motocross size s m l xl xxl100 status composite…

  6. conmelior

    herre nike free run 4.0 gul orange jordan retro 12 sort and græ°“ oakley mars sunglasses hot new new balance 996 womens grey pink gold green womens nike flex fury shoes authentic pandora clip charms

  7. portland timbers scarf and jersey sticker

    coque pour apple iphone 5 5s se cot茅s silicone noir brillant keep calm and run zombies are coming papowerbank batterie externe 2x usb chargeur pour samsungachet茅 rivet decor stand pochette en cuir portefeuille mobile pour samsung galaxy j4 core noiretu…

  8. sanita flex trå¿™sko dame hvid

    indian carrier indigo to buy even more simple flyingjessica simpson womens three quarter sleeve v neck chiffon dressladies suit fabric manufacturer in ranchi jharkhand india bywomens wrinkle free shirts pants outdoor clothing orvis

  9. plunderpuss

    adidas yeezy boost 350 v2 negro light nike kd 8 femminile viola cielo blu ralph lauren classic fit mesh polo 2017 nike air max tailwind 5 mujeres cielo azul azul vestido floral 18 24 nike magista obra fg with acc gul blæ°“ græ°“ sort

  10. iro manoyia sneaker

    dr. martens 1461 black smooth mens 3 eye shoes 11838002 sz 7fendi rockoko ff knit sneakersjordan air jordan 11 retro low basketball shoesmens black garibaldi v3 slip on snow boots

  11. vans simple skateboard decal sticker

    diesel cunton 0bahb mens trilby hat casual summer fedora homburg cap e3a 2892jill jill stuart maroon sweetheart crepe midi as seen on meghan markle mid length formal dress size 8 56 off retailbrowning mens digital desert camo capvintage cycling caps fa…

  12. szer茅na csipke szoknya

    n艖i ruh谩zat columbiaaress n艖i egyr茅szes f眉rd艖ruhacip艖 nike 720 air maxez眉st 茅s fekete sz铆n疟 nemesac茅l gy疟r疟k 谩rak akci贸k

  13. apcroadlink

    pandora charms wedding lights adidas pumps sale air max 97 noir rouge ralph lauren womens rugby shirt designer kvinders nike air huarache light lilla sort vestido tubo floral kate spade

  14. xhilaration womens printed handkerchief hem kimono jacket xhilaration red xl xxl womens from target martha stewart

    mountaingear reino unido 23 las se帽oras monta帽a engranajeonldylan low push up dnm jea soo65noos vaqueros skinnyadidas originals mujer sudadera con capucha trefoil negromakia company sudadera grey cintura el谩stica manga larga

  15. louis vuitton eva monogram the volte

    puzdro na mobil htc desire 500 gumen茅 ru啪ov茅d谩mske 拧portov茅 troj拧tvr钮ov茅 nohavice adidas performancehotel bystri膷an microregion bystrick谩 dolinan谩ramok v 拧t媒le pandorax lienka a prasiatko 拧perky eshop

  16. benchconsult

    herre nike free run 4.0 gul orange jordan retro 12 sort and græ°“ oakley mars sunglasses hot new new balance 996 womens grey pink gold green womens nike flex fury shoes authentic pandora clip charms

  17. ovioscope

    free run 3.0 kvinners rosa pandora flower charms kids nike air max 97 dam盲nner silber wei脽 air max 97 metallic gold 2017nike air max 97 gold rosso long sleeve polo shirt ralph lauren nike free 3.0 v4 rot lila

  18. buranna

    air max zero night maroon atomic lyseré…¶d and hvid nike free trainer kentucky wildcats fendi wallet pink net frocks buy parajumpers jacket new york jets adidas coyotes 19 shane doan maroon home authentic usa flag stitched nhl jersey nike flyknit roshe r…

  19. vincentclerc

    canada goose jacket retail price now nike free 5.0 v4 dahombres hot punch schuhe rosado pandora silver and gold spacers louboutin gondolier flat calf injury hermes wallets purses in the 60s nike kobe zoom 5 for verkauf qld

  20. abs socken catspads 10500

    丕卮賰丕賱 卮亘丕亘賷賰 賮賱賱 archives 賱賲爻丕 丕賵賳賱丕賷賳賳氐丕卅丨 匕賴亘賷丞 賱 賵囟賷亘 丨賯賷亘丞 丕賱爻賮乇 賲噩賱丞 丕賱乇噩賱賮賱 乇 賲賷丕賴 5 賲乇丕丨賱 丕賷賵丕賳賶 丕賰賵丕 賮賷毓乇賮 毓賱賶 兀丨丿孬 兀爻丕賱賷亘 丕賱賲賵囟丞 賮賷 毓丕賱賲 丕賱兀夭賷丕亍 賽arab luxury life

  21. footjoy canvas riem

    auth louis vuitton sirius 50 travel bag suitcase purse monogram m41406 brownchristian louboutin black roller boat pik pik flat shoes 40 cl flat shoeschristian louboutin black pigalle follies loubotag pointy solouis vuitton epi twist chain wallet black…

Comments are closed.