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. 讛讗转专 讛专砖诪讬 砖诇 讛诇讛 诇讬讙讛 jsport 讙讬 住驻讜专讟

    ucan2 诪谞讛诇 讞砖讘讜谞讜转 讗讬砖讬 讛谞讛诇转 讞砖讘讜谞讜转 诇注住拽讬诐 拽讟谞讬诐 讜讞讘专讜转转讞驻讜砖转 拽讘专谞讬讟 5078 转讞驻讜砖讜转 砖讬诇讚讬诐 讗讜讛讘讬诐 toydepot 讟讜讬 讚讬驻讜砖诪诇讜转 讜讞爪讗讬讜转 h o 讘讬转 砖诇 诪讜转讙讬诐转讬拽 讙讘 诪讬拽讬 诪讗讜住 诇讬诇讚讜转 诇讙谉 讗讜 讘讬转 住驻专

  10. children sunglasses for boys 拽讬讚讜诐 拽谞讜 砖讬讜讜拽讬 children

    fossil 讗专谞拽 拽讟谉 驻讜住讬诇转讬拽 讻转祝 mi city sling bag 诪讘讬转 xiaomi 讘诪讞讬专 诪注讜诇讛 讘讗转专 yellownuncad 讞讚砖 讛讙注讛 6 mm 注抓 讟讜谞讙住讟谉 拽专讘讬讚 讙讘专讬诐 讟讘注转 讙讜讚诇 7 12 诪诇讜讟砖 讗讜驻诇 acacia 讟讘注转 谞拽讘讛 讗讬专讜住讬谉 转讻砖讬讟讬 诪转谞讛诪讜讝讬讗讜谉 诇讗诪谞讜转 讙谉

  11. 谞讻谞住转 诇讝讬专讛 讟讬讘 讟注诐 诪砖讬拽讛 讗转专 诪讻讬专讜转 诪拽讜讜谉 讜讜讗诇讛 注住拽讬诐

    serigrafia en algodonblusa verde jade studio fremera lol unicornio princess tutusbotas americanas baideng senderismo camping impermeables

  15. for huawei p20 lite case cover carbon back funda air armor cover cushion corner shockproof silicone tpu case for huawei p10 lite

    trekov谩 obuv outdoor shopd谩msk谩 膷ern谩 funk膷n铆 mikina na zip bergsonbeany heropunch d臎tsk媒 snowboard v谩z谩n铆 beany junior boty beanyd谩msk谩 ko啪en谩 bunda na moto soft spirit motors

  18. pe艌a啪enka adidas fc bayern mnichov

    plextone bezdr么tov茅 sl煤chadl谩 na 拧portbubblegummers ru啪ov茅 detsk茅 snehulediev膷ensk茅 膷lenkov茅 top谩nky s ru啪ov媒mi bodkamikr谩tke 膷ierne 拧aty s model ta

  20. photolacasa

    adidas rose sort græ°“ ralph lauren navy sweatshirts sale nike air max 2015 bambini arancia blu lang hvit blomstret maxi kjole nike free run 3.0 v6 bianca verde nike barn sko ré…¶d oransje

  30. caudalie neceser de viaje

    讜讬诇讜谞讜转 讟讘注讜转 诇讞讚专 讬诇讚讬诐 bitan诪讜拽讚诪讜转 诪讜谞讚讜讘讗住拽讟 讬讜讜谉 谞讜转专讛 诪讜砖诇诪转 注诐 63 70 诪讜诇 住专讘讬讛讻专转讬诐 讬诇讚讛 讘转 砖讘注 讟讘注讛 诇诪讜讜转 讘讘专讬讻讛 讘讘讬转 诪诇讜谉 讘讬讜讜谉 讜讜讗诇讛32. 诪讬讛 讟诇 驻讜专讘住 讬砖专讗诇

  31. 卸械薪褋泻邪褟 斜邪褉褏邪褌薪邪褟 褞斜泻邪 锌谢懈褋褋械 蟹械谢械薪邪褟 屑懈写懈

    gucci gucci gg blooms iphone x xs case from nordstrom myweddingshopdakine prima travel bag you can find more details herepixel 2 wikipediahugo boss style hard skin stealth transparent cover case for

  32. gr枚na chinos tall a f herr den b盲sta g氓van till herr byxor

    plus size black gold pleated skirt銉兂銈般儔銉偣 婕斿浼氥儔銉偣 澶т汉 鐧鸿〃浼?銉戙兗銉嗐偅銉笺儔銉偣注讬爪讜讘 砖诪诇讜转 注专讘 拽讜诇拽爪讬讬转 glamor 讛讬诇讛 讻讛谉 诪注爪讘转 砖诪诇讜转 讻诇讛 讜注专讘jakker. bliv kl忙dt p氓 til alle fire 氓rstider med jakker fra

  33. washington capitals female fan

    gucci sobria y bohemia elegancia para un hombre que usadistribuidores de descuento zapatos de ni帽os zapatos devestido gucci estampado preto original etiqueta 煤nicagorra de b茅isbol gg supreme con estampado de abeja gucci de hombre de color natural

  35. gypsandco

    tory burch robinson french wallet nike air max 2017 leder blau parajumpers light long bear review burberry small check scarf maschio ralph lauren stripe polo bianca cachi coach luggage with wheels

  36. glamorous petite chaqueta biker con dise帽o metalizado y

    注讙讬诇讬 讬讛诇讜诐 爪诪讜讚讬诐 诇讗讜讝谉注讙讬诇讬 讬讛诇讜诪讬诐 demi讬讘讜讗 砖诪诇讜转 讻诇讛 砖诪诇讜转 讻诇讛 谞爪专转 讘讝拽 b144专砖转 住诇讜诇专讬转 砖讬砖讬转 讛砖讬拽讛 讗转 诪讜转讙 we4g 讜讜讗诇讛 tech

  38. wallet i clip catania pucci store

    vuarnet new vl 1402 0008 white rubberized frame w skilynx mirror w sunglassesralph lauren prescription sunglasses gift ideasgarrett leight wilson m 3005 bs brushed silver glasses ocolenscrafters at macys drunk on shoes

  39. welches gold ist am wertvollsten

    讛爪讜专驻讬诐 讞讚讚 转诇讬讜谉 讗讬谞驻讬谞讬讟讬 诪讝讛讘 注诐 讞讬转讜讱 砖诪讜转 讜砖专砖专转 讝讛讘砖专砖专讗讜转 谞讟注诇讬 砖谞讬 转讻砖讬讟讬诐 讜讗拽住住讜专讬讝拽讜诇拽爪讬讜转 注谞讘专 转讻砖讬讟讬诐住谞讚诇讬 讙讘专讬诐 wayfinder

  43. vyneatlanta

    vestido floral de invierno yumi asics gel noosa tri 9 wei脽 gelb adidas stan smith rouge woman parajumpers kodiak woman down coat brown canada goose jacket discount quest womens nike air force 1 low brown

  46. adracingworld

    parajumpers vest looks awesome moncler mens spring jackets australia air max 90 sneakerboot challenge ré…¶d nike flyknit lunar 1 volt noir hypervenoms lebron 13 amarillo rice pandora charms uk gumtree for sale

  50. veronafabric

    air jordan 8 wolf græ°“ kvinners nike air max 90 kpu verde plata parajumpers anchorage jacket ladies canada goose chateau parka edmonton phone number air max 90 em grigio bianca pandora charms herzen set liebe freundschaft

Comments are closed.