Water Walking and Bicycle Blowing (part 1)

Andre, , , ,

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)”

  5. kaws shirt stockx

    new balance new balance mens responsive running shoe trailnew balance numeric brighton 344 skate shoes black high abrasionwomen lightweight walking shoes casual breathable flats sports mesh fashion sneakershow to soften leather boots

  6. children china dress of the tang

    light grey long asymmetric tunic dressyour beautiful hat ladies summer south korea version hat folding sun hat beach hat sun cap hatelegant black and white long sleeve short prom dresssmall hoop earring for women

  7. champion reverse weave hoodie with large logo in grey grey

    villart 蟿蟻伪蟺蔚味喂 蟽伪位慰谓喂慰蠀 伪蟺慰 尉蠀位慰 魏伪喂 渭蔚蟿伪位位慰 160蠂90x40city 未喂维蟽蠅蟽畏 伪蟺蠈 蟿畏谓 蟺蠀蟻魏伪纬喂维 蟽蟿慰 渭蟺苇蟻纬魏蔚蟻 渭蟺伪蟻 慰未慰蟽 蔚蟻渭慰蠀魏喂谓畏蟿蠈 纬喂伪 畏位喂魏喂蠅渭苇谓慰蠀蟼 渭蔚 魏慰蠀渭蟺委 sos蟿慰蠉蟻蟿伪 纬喂伪 谓蔚慰纬苇谓谓畏蟿慰 魏慰蟻委蟿蟽喂

  9. mai么 engana mam茫e estampado com bojo e tiras moda praia r 49

    銉忋偆銉嶃儍銈儞銈儖 瑗块え6闅?骞撮枔姘寸潃銈枫儳銉冦儣 peak pine鍚嶅彜灞嬨儜銉偝搴?/a>澶х壒渚?銈般儸銉?銉曘儹銉炽儓銈儍銉堛偄銈︺儓 銈广儘銉笺偗鏌?銉戙偆銈姐兂鏌?銉愩兂銉夈偉銉撱偔銉?銉併儱銉笺儢銉堛儍銉椼儞銈儖 銉愩兂銉夈偉銉撱偔銉?銈ゃ兂銉濄兗銉?姘寸潃 閫氳博銉兂銉斻兗銈?銈儍銉夋捣璩婂洠銇竴鍛炽倰銇俱仺銈併仸銇裤仧zozo銉嬨儍銉堛伀zozo銉囥儖銉?銈ゃ兂銈广偪銈般儵銉?銉勩偆銉冦偪銉笺倐銈堛倣銇椼亸銇婇銇勩仐銇俱仚 insta

  12. mens lined pea coat camel

    kenneth cole new york womens olivia espadrille wedge sandalfashion wholesale men boots dr martens ramsey alt neon creeper shoesugg toddler girls navy blue suede mini bailey bow boots size us9 rtl 140ugg blaney 40 chestnut shoes bags

  13. graphic leather shopper tote

    魏蟻伪蟿萎蟽蔚喂蟼 伪蔚蟻慰蟺慰蟻喂魏蠋谓 蔚喂蟽喂蟿畏蟻委蠅谓 air canada archives尾喂尾位喂慰蟺蠅位蔚委慰 纬位蠀魏维 谓蔚蟻维渭蟺位慰蠀味伪 蟺位蔚魏蟿伪 蠂蔚喂蟻慰蟺慰喂畏蟿伪 2018 胃蔚蟽蟽伪位慰谓委魏畏 蟻慰蠉蠂伪蠁慰蠀蟽蟿蔚蟽 蠄畏位慰渭蔚蟽蔚蟽 2018

  14. 伪谓伪位慰纬喂慰 渭慰蠀蟽喂魏畏蟽 蔚尉伪蟻蟿萎渭伪蟿伪 伪尉蔚蟽慰蠀维蟻

    balenciaga short strap classic city graffiti s black multicolormeta labwear womens embroidered 36 lab coatbalenciaga pochette en cuir navy clip small bleu femmeluxury handbags women bags designer female hard should bag ladies crossbody bag delicate pat…

  15. palace skateboards bun sack bag in yellow shoulder waist bag fw18

    懈薪褌械褉薪械褌 屑邪谐邪蟹懈薪 褑胁械褌芯胁 褋 写芯褋褌邪胁泻芯泄 胁 屑芯褋泻胁械. 锌芯褉褌褎芯谢懈芯谐芯褌芯胁褘泄 褕邪斜谢芯薪 懈薪褌械褉薪械褌 屑邪谐邪蟹懈薪邪 屑芯写薪芯泄 屑褍卸褋泻芯泄 芯写械卸写褘泻褍锌懈褌褜 锌芯褋褌械谢褜薪芯械 斜械谢褜械 la scala. 3d 112 谢褍褔褕邪褟 褑械薪邪 胁 懈薪褌械褉薪械褌泻芯屑斜懈薪邪褑懈褟 mia mia 16008 mia amore 泻褍锌懈褌褜 胁 懈薪褌械褉薪械褌 屑邪谐邪蟹懈薪械

  17. abbigliamento da uomo verde scotch soda

    men s sweatshirt ellesse shs01148 anthracitepuma tazon 6 fm women s training gym shoes puma black puma silver beetroot purple puma shoessaint laurent white ysl monogram zip around wallet 33 off retailim back baby. classic fit oxford classic fit casual…

  19. a839 0579 buty adidas zimowy hiker speed zimowy m臋skie w czarne

    銈儐銉冦偟 銈枫儊銈恒兂 attesa citizen 銉栥儵銉冦偗銉併偪銉?闆绘尝 銈姐兗銉┿兗 銉併偪銉?銉°兂銈?鑵曟檪瑷?/a>銉炪偝銈兂銈?macoking 銈汇兗銈裤兗 銉儑銈ｃ兗銈?銉嬨儍銉堛儻銉炽償銉笺偣 銈裤兗銉堛儷銉嶃儍銈?銈︺兗銉?銉嬨儍銉?銈广儶銉冦儓鍏ャ倞 鐒″湴 鍙剾銇?绉嬪啲鏈?銈偢銉ャ偄銉?鏃ョ郴 銉囥兗銉堟湇 闀疯 鐫€鐥┿仜 銉曘儶銉笺偟銈ゃ偤 5鑹插睍闁?/a>champion 銉併儯銉炽償銈兂 銈广偊銈с儍銉?銉戙兗銈兗 銉儑銈ｃ兗銈?銉堛儍…

  26. fietsbroek heren mountainbike

    prvn铆 dojmy toyota prius phv plug in hybrid vrac铆 煤derp谩nske 拧portov茅 hodinky casio aeprv媒 obal a remienky na apple watch拧t媒lov茅 tri膷k谩 pre p谩nov panskyshop

  32. buty letnie sanda艂y

    teva 銉嗐儛 銉忋儶銈便兗銉硏lt2 銉°兂銈?/a>涓彜 herno銇儭銉炽偤 銈偊銈裤兗 銈搞儯銈便儍銉?銉儛銉笺偡銉栥儷銉€銈︺兂銈搞儯銈便儍銉?/a>銉堛儸銉笺儖銉炽偘 銈︺偋銈?銉°兂銈?涓婁笅銇嬨仯銇卞鍙搞伄椋熴伖鏀鹃 3绋伀閫插寲 闁嬪

  42. oversized midi t shirt dress

    louis vuitton brown monogram folio iphone 7 8 plus lv case tech accessoryxl snap hook key holder accessories fancy accessoriesyoutube louis vuitton leather bracelets mount mercy universitymens ankle boots christian louboutin alpinono flat black

  44. male shoe stores

    order control thinsulate realtree snow aps mens sabre trapper hatnike dri fit bucket hat nike dri fit bucket hat with ventilationwomens braided sun hat grey blue upf 50dallas cowboys knit cap new era glow dark nfl beanie hat mens size one size osfa

  49. voc锚 est谩 visualizando macac茫o c bordado nas costa r 239

    锌械褉褋芯薪邪谢褜薪褘泄 屑褍薪写褕褌褍泻 褔械褉薪褘泄 泻褍锌懈褌褜 薪械写芯褉芯谐芯 胁 褍泻褉邪懈薪械泻褍锌邪谢褜薪懈泻 褌邪薪泻懈薪懈 褉邪蟹屑械褉褘 48 50 lina 褋懈薪懈泄 褌械屑薪褘泄 褋 邪斜褋褌褉邪泻褌薪褘屑 锌褉懈薪褌芯屑 泻芯褉邪谢谢褋芯褉芯褔泻邪 泻谢邪褋褋懈褔械褋泻邪褟 屑褍卸褋泻邪褟 fav芯锌褌芯胁褘泄 懈薪褌械褉薪械褌 屑邪谐邪蟹懈薪 写械褌褋泻芯泄 芯写械卸写褘 mioopt 写卸懈薪褋褘 薪邪 褉械蟹懈薪泻械 ipy

  50. automatic tide watch

    sleeveless blouse in striped pliss茅 fabriccheap womens hoodies sweatshirtsbuy designer am pm collection for womenamazing 2017 new mercedes men luxury sunglasses car men polarized protection eyewear 2017 2018

Comments are closed.