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. sharon ls shirt suser i sivet

    爻乇賷亘丕 噩丿賷丿丞 爻 毓乇囟 賱賳丕 氐賲賷賲 丕賱賴丕 賮 sony xperia 2 賲賳 賲禺 賱賮禺賮賷囟丕 丕賵賳 丕賷賲 丨 賶 50 丕賯賵賶 毓乇賵囟 丕賱爻丕毓丕 2018 毓乇賵囟 丕賱賷賵賲賵丕賷 賮丕賷 賯丕亘賱 賱賱 毓丿賷賱 賱 丨丿賷丿 丕賱賲賵丕賯毓 噩賴丕夭 丕賱 丨賰賲 毓賳 亘毓丿賲賮丕噩兀丞 丕賱毓賷丿 夭賵丕噩 丕賱賮賳丕賳丞 賳賵乇賴丕賳 賵賴賵賷丞 丕賱毓乇賷爻 睾丕賲囟丞

  4. stephenemay

    air jordan retro 12 mujeres pç…¤rpura blanco pandora charm dancing couple nike free 5.0 inneva woven nero puma pink suede classic trainers with gum sole ralph lauren long sleeve rugby polo nightclub nike air flight 89 university azul verde

  5. neon yellow bows

    simms simms visor beaniesunday river visor beanieboys girls adjustable classic dad trucker cap blue lives mattersupreme new era box logo beanie dark green size one size 100

  7. barrylipscomb

    nike sb lunar gato vivid azul volt ice ralph lauren big pony polo shirt in white nike free flyknit 4.0 v2 rosa verde dotti blue floral dress nike zoom pegasus 31 venta near me adidas prossoator absolion online

  8. xzibitmalta

    pandora earrings birthstone november episode femmes nike free run 3.0 v6 noir bleu air jordan shoes outlet air jordan shoes for kids ralph lauren oversized sweater looks new balance cm577twg lightgr眉n rosa wei脽 navy blue floral dress forever 21

  10. sigaldavid

    black air max 1 patch air jordan retro 4 hvid mintgré…¶n nike lebron 15 purple germany mens nike denver broncos 65 gary zimmerman navy blue alternate vapor untouchable limited player nfl jersey buy cheap floral dresses online red yellow womens nike air m…

  11. 诪转拽谉 拽驻讬爪讛 讘住讬住讬 诇诇讗 爪讬讜专讬诐 讚讙诐 9003 讛驻讬 讛讜驻

    wholesale clothing korean fashion style women batwing sleeved blouse cute t shirt summer autumn clothing xxx xxx buy women t shirtasics gel kayano womens other fabric trainer 32019 thunder in the valley purple wings v neck black ladies topasics womens…

  12. pullover warmer wollpullover

    green and white prom dressescanwin sleeve sex electric pump digital vacuum extender penis enlargement increase exercise male sex product men toysnew eyeshadow palettes to shop now for fall 2019sexy beautiful brunette woman in black underclothes

  13. switchback die aus dem konfigurator

    丕賱兀丨匕賷丞 丨匕丕亍 umbro 賱賱丕胤賮丕賱亘賱丕賷夭 卮賷賰 亘丕賱賱賵賳 丕賱丕爻賵丿氐賵乇 兀睾賱賶 卮賳胤 賴賷乇賲爻 hermes yasmina兀爻卅賱丞 賱賱亘賳丕 兀爻卅賱丞 賱賱噩乇賷卅丕 賮賯胤 賱賲毓丞 丕賱丕賱賲丕爻

  15. letn茅 vychyt谩vky

    viano膷n茅 anjelikyp谩nske pohodln茅 bavlnen茅 py啪amo adventures tyrkysov茅visk贸zov媒 煤plet farebn茅 vlny 拧铆rka 150 cmtri膷k谩 alpha industries 280 k煤skov

  16. dineet

    jordan 7 yellow vii retro tory burch robinson zip continental wallet pink nike kobe icon nero oro parajumpers geena down jacket fendi black scarf ralph lauren womens short sleeve oxford online

  19. iviatravel

    robe florale dolce gabbana 2013 nike zoom structure 20 negro marrè´¸n nike huarache ultra gris hommes blanc parajumpers sand kodiak down parka coats canada goose coat london ontario email asics gel kinsei 5 rosso verde

  22. total dominans sverige krossade usa och fæ°“r fæžšrsvara vm

    latest shopee dresses for women cheap price october 2019 inafrican print ankara wrap midi dress w puff sleeve写芯胁谐褨 锌谢邪褌褌褟 胁械谢懈泻懈褏 褉芯蟹屑褨褉褨胁 泻褍锌懈褌懈 胁 褨薪褌械褉薪械褌 屑邪谐邪蟹懈薪褨 monew york co. ruffled pencil skirt city

  25. tcdigicrops

    canada goose jacket mississauga nike air huarache grigio knit pandora bracelets kalamazoo art jimmy choo low heel sandals hermes evelyn pm yoga nike roshe run blomstret gul ré…¶d

  27. jordan retro

    I am glad for commenting to make you be aware of what a outstanding encounter my girl developed checking yuor web blog. She even learned a lot of pieces, most notably what it’s like to possess a very effective teaching mood to let a number of people w…

  30. 诪转讗讬诐 爪诪讬讚讬 驻谞讚讜专讛 讛诇讘 砖诇 诪讬拽讬 讘讟讬讞讜转 砖专砖专转 讞专讜讝讬 讻住祝 讞专讜讝讬诐 讞讚砖讬诐 100 讻住祝 住讟专诇讬谞讙 925 拽住诐 diy 转讻砖讬讟讬诐 讛住讬讟讜谞讬讬诐

    asos archives side 3 af 7 kathrine rostrupvindjakker damejakker damertommy jeanstjm lined parka parka mit teddyfuttersuchergebnis auf f眉r gruene streifen socken

  32. zapatillas con franja blanco

    chase de leo on twitter thank you winnipeg for the last 3gameday thread stars vs predators 7 30 pm cdt defendingdinner with stars john klingberg the d manteam new jersey online shopping new team jersey bibs

  35. paul smith ladies boots size 38

    bell rogue solid matte black helmetwholesale chinese motorcycle helmet dirt bike helmet buy dirt bike helmetbottega veneta fall 2016 menswear collection voguecelebrity pink womans junior faux leather jacket size m

  39. docdomicile

    blomstret kjole macys amarillo netting on jordan 5 herre nike air huarache sort guld parajumpers gobi bleu royal marine canada goose freestyle sale qld femminile air jordan retro 10 bianca oro

  41. new lego city mining power splitter

    dc super hero girls wonder woman 10 inch plushelite praetorian guard 75529 star wars buy online at the official lego shop usmcdonalds toy complete set shrek tmnt lego bionicle ninjagobricklink set 60201 24 lego advent calendar 2018 city

  43. domcilios

    north face vest primaloft xj adidas zx 630 femmes argent michael jordan air jordan 13 air jordan 18 for salg authentic nyc nike womens jahleel addae ash one color los angeles chargers nfl 37 t shirt hermes bag broken queen

Comments are closed.