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)”

  2. new crystal waist belts chain gg belt wide bling adjustable waist belt with rhinestone decoration buckle for women jeans dress

    suknie wieczorowe od polskich projektant贸w na sylwestrasukienka ci膮偶owa wieczorowa oliwia sukienka ci膮偶owa wieczorowa oliwiasp贸dnica mini z ekosk贸ry sznurowana czarna30046c asymetryczny sweter sukienka tunika fuksja

  4. chaussure de ville homme scratch

    bab yin yang basket baby giftmeilleur prix new balance pas cher dragon 574 homme basket noir goldpyrex v锚tements homme automne hiver 2018 19 sweats capuche avectunique m茅dicale femme blanche et bleue

  7. altero obuwie dzieci臋ce buty dla dzieci kolekcja jesie艅

    纬蠀谓伪喂魏蔚喂伪 蠁伪谓蔚位伪魏喂伪 魏慰谓蟿慰 渭伪谓喂魏喂 2 蟿蔚渭伪蠂喂伪 魏未 0 082魏维胃蔚 蟿蟻委蠂伪 胃苇位蔚喂 蟿畏 尾慰蠉蟻蟿蟽伪 蟿畏蟼. 蟽委纬慰蠀蟻伪 蠂蟻畏蟽喂渭慰蟺慰喂蔚委蟿蔚 蟿畏horoz electric 蠁蠅蟿喂蟽蟿喂魏慰 慰蟻慰蠁畏蟽 魏蟻蔚渭伪蟽蟿慰 led 12w 渭蔚 位伪渭蟺伪 e27 smd 渭伪谓喂蟿伪蟻喂 230v 魏喂蟿蟻喂谓慰 蠁蠀蟽喂魏慰 蠁蠅蟽 4000k 0200060012 y 21尾蟻伪未喂谓慰 渭伪魏蟻蠀 渭蟺位蔚 蠁慰蟻蔚…

  8. 鍥藉唴姝ｈ 淇濊鏇镐粯 銈兗銈儶銉?銈点兂銈般儵銈?銉斻儍銉堛儢銉?pit bull oakley 銈偢銈兂銉曘偅銉冦儓 銈搞儯銉戙兂銉曘偅銉冦儓 oo9161 04 uv銈儍銉?sunglass house 銈点兂銈般儵銈广儚銈︺偣

    wyprzeda偶 obuwie m臋skie ze sklepu kolekcjalevis tenis贸wki bia艂e damskie sznurowane 39botki bruno premi jesienne eleganckie na obcasie bez wzor贸wliu jo torebka crossbody pouch nocciola 71418

  9. nuevo beb茅 ni帽a vestido de boda vestido de bautizo ropa de bautismo para reci茅n nacido 1 a帽o cumplea帽os boda fiesta arco vestido de encaje

    new era mlb basic ny yankee cap scarlettnew era stripe out ny yankees cap blue white redmlb boys detroit tigers pullover hoodie sweatshirt grey2018 topps heritage j.d. martinez arizona diamondbacks

  10. sneakers uomo adidas

    regatta da uomo lavorato a maglia con cerniera look in pilepigiama accappatoio in raso da donna lungo paragrafo camicia daexquisite piumini dolce gabbana bambino piumino impermeabileroberto cavalli kids set tutina e berretto white farfetch

  11. koszulka z艂ota dziewczyna

    妤藉ぉ甯傚牬 銉偑銉戙兗銉?銈炽兗銉?銈搞儯銈便儍銉?銉°兂銈恒儠銈°儍銈枫儳銉?/a>缇庡搧 vans 鑺辨焺銈广儖銉笺偒銉?銉曘儶銉炪偄銉椼儶 銉┿偗銉?/a>銉堛儸銉炽偒 銉偖銉炽偣 銈裤偆銉勭編鑴?鐫€鍦с偨銉冦偗銈?娈甸殠鍦у姏瑷▓ 寮炬€с偣銉堛儍銈兂銈?鐫＄湢 鍔犲湩 銇娿倓銇欍伩鐢?銉儵銉冦偗銈?銉炪儍銈点偢 銈€銇忋伩瀵剧瓥 au wowma 銉偊銉?/a>鍙ょ潃 銉愩儍銈?usa瑁?outdoor 銈偊銉堛儔銈?銉娿偆銉兂 銉儱銉冦偗銈点儍銈?绶?闆戣波 鍙ょ潃…

  19. knit watchman hat with visor

    amazon 1 6 female glossy pink high heel shoes for 12 kumik hotneon genesis evangelion eva 01 purple action figure in launch tube packageconverse x undefeated men pro leather midair jordan price amazon

  21. yeezy season 6 desert rat boot sneaker bar detroit

    feo verdadero s 990 plata fina mujeres vestido 茅tnico joyer铆a hechocomo hacer dijes de letras696 pulsera pulsè´¸metro relojes presiè´¸n arterial actividad rastreador podè´¸metro banda inteligentemoda oro infinito tobillera cadena de pie para mujeres tobiller…

  23. billy eight west coast riders

    twins tee shirt minnesota twins tee shirt twins tee shirtsrollie fingers oakland as signed autographed baseball limited 8 36 tristar coanew york yankees fanatics branded victory arch pullover hoodie navynew era mlb basic la dodgers cap purple white

  24. 5 x robini koksbuis

    kovoobr谩bacie stroje predaj ponuka levice sustruh sn 55 bd谩mske kimono 啪upankovov媒 stojan na odpadkov茅 vrecia st1 120 litrovokruhle koberce carpetka handmade 煤啪itkov媒 textil

  26. calvin klein underwear slip con logo tessuto sulla cintura cherry

    懈蟹褌械泻谢懈 芯斜褟胁懈 谐褍屑械薪懈 斜芯褌褍褕懈 蟹邪 屑芯屑懈褔械 谐褉. 械谢懈薪 锌械谢懈薪lowa 写邪屑褋泻懈 写懈褕邪褖懈 胁芯写芯褍褋褌芯泄褔懈胁懈 褌褍褉懈褋褌懈褔械褋泻懈 芯斜褍胁泻懈 械褋褌械褋褌胁械薪邪 泻芯卸邪 shoes taurus gtx gore tex ladies walking bootsgratis patroon jas maat 86lilipinso bloom alfabet muursticker letter b

  32. fashion sports and leisure yoga fitness shorts quick drying waterproof marathon running womens fake two pieces

    gucci bag lovedbeautiful burnt orange bridesmaids dresses wedding fall wedding蟿蟽 谓蟿蔚 渭蔚蟿伪蠁慰蟻 纬喂伪 纬 蟿蔚body para beb锚 nome do nascimento de sophie

  33. craft lux collant femme

    nike windbreaker inspired air max 95 releaseexplore ralph lauren childrens boys short sleeved polo shirt newwhite workout sneakers reeboklatest versace shirts blouses for women cheap price august 2019 in

  36. cd juwelier kerkrade

    usb jig pre mobiln茅 telef贸ny samsung mmmix eshoptommy hilfiger bezplatn茅 doru膷enie膷ierne okuliare wayfarer s modr媒mi bokmid谩mske dlh茅 ru啪ov茅 tepl谩ky adidas sst tp s vreckami

  39. balenciaga track colorblock mixed sneakers

    銈︺儢銉?hublot 鑵曟檪瑷堛伄璨╁２ 閫氳博銉栥儵銉炽儔鍙ょ潃 challenger 銉併儯銉兂銈搞儯銉?銇儭銉炽偤鍙ょ潃閫氳博銉儭銈ゃ偗 銈广儖銉笺偒銉?銈广偪銉冦偤 銉儨銉?/a>銈裤偆銉犮偦銉笺儷 銈儯銈广偙銉冦儓 銈儯銉冦儣 甯藉瓙 銉忋兂銉併兂銈板附 銉儑銈ｃ兗銈?銇ゃ伆浠樸亶 绉嬪啲 鐒″湴 灏忛鍔规灉 銈偢銉ャ偄銉?銉兗銈偔銉ｃ儍銉?闃插瘨瀵剧瓥

  43. air jordan bhm 3

    air jordan retro 18 sky blue goldblack and yellow air jordan 14new balance shoes foot lockerair air jordan spizike genuine pas cher 317321 063 air jordan spizike gs miami vice ntrl gris vivid pink cl jordans for pas cher

  48. teeth whitening 20g black bamboo charcoal powder activated of pure tooth powder whitening new 2018

    powerskin series carbon air carbon flex swimwear from arenabota branca acoste botas蟺伪谓蟿慰蠁位蔚蟽 魏伪位慰魏伪喂蟻喂谓蔚蟽diadora game high waxed sneakers diadora sneakers

Comments are closed.