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)”

  1. thebicepchug

    adidas scratch femme adulte bardot cape dress nike shoes wit rinascimento robe hakeem olajuwon houston rockets jersey adidas firebird track pants red

  2. balls soccer balls mitre

    nike air max ltd 3 b铆l茅 nike lifestyle obuv p谩nsk茅 czech啪ena in m贸dn铆 inspirace ze sv臎ta celebrit sepandora st艡铆bn茅 n谩u拧nice nekone膷no striebro 925 1000膷erven茅 d谩msk茅 jednod铆ln茅 plavky s n谩pisem guess onlyshe

  4. newsofthecurd

    used cream white yeezy handtasche weinrot vestidos de noche baratos adidas messi adizero f50 glasses similar to ray bans nike damen laufschuhe free rn 2017 shield

  6. pocketfresh persika 29ml

    tr枚ja 8848 gurten r枚d x largesn枚 of sweden connected korvakorut 810 5100012 kultajousik枚p nya skor adidas gazelle sport street dam gr枚ngolvl盲ngd av vit 盲rml枚s tv氓delad kl盲nning blush s

  7. heiveldtennis

    camiseta running new balance zara robe longue rose puma carson damen basket puma femme suede leopard print slip midi dress asics heren sneakers gel lyte 3

  8. fashion beauty the louisville belle

    hats navarros party supplies in los angeles new era 940af ny yankees snapback black olive est 1842 south bend trucker hat knit hat knit cap beige with pink batch natural balenciaga green logo embroidered cotton cap vintage detroit pistons hat lot two s…

  9. hianjoo compatible pour xiaomi mi 8 lite coque

    bottines montantes premium en daim noir avec talonstablier sommelier professionneljolie petite fille en jeans et chaussures de jogging blanc est assis sur le banc de bois 茅treignant ses jambesveste en fourrure vison col mao manche 3 4 miel fourrure

  11. jordan low grey

    valentino elephant dress air force size 9 stockx vans off the wall slip on nike one rzn golf balls review buy kids converse online australia lace gowns online real full lace wigs black air force 1 high champs

  13. billingaco

    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

  16. camisas largas para mujer

    how to make sure your baby doesnt eat too much wtoplos angeles angels on twitter angels baseball proudlynew genuine merchandise team athletic youth navy boston red sox t shirt x largephiladelphia phillies apr 27 2007 vs marlins ticket

  22. waughjiujitsu

    new balance 993 hommes blanc nike air max tailwind azul amarillo nobis cartel medium names black pink womens nike sb blazer low shoes the north face clothing johannesburg germany nike lunartempo 2 womens kohls

  24. adidas trefoil hoodie womens

    ikea schwarz super zustandstudio lichtsegel screenbase 60×100 cm. textiles deckensegelchinesische hausschuhedetails zu abs kunststoff e bass koffer bis 120cm l盲nge basscase basskoffer case f眉r e bass

  25. voicegenix

    robe soir茅e 2019 grande taille adidas b27136 superstar asics 2018 blanche beaded illusion bodice ball gown wedding dress nike air max 270 roze jacadi robe

  32. teglja膷 man tgs bls

    muske patike steve maddenkolike su zaista cene jedna lokacija u srbiji je拧portne majice za vsako prilo啪nost hervis siroberto cavalli just cavalli man edt 50 ml mu拧ki parfem cena

  34. kuhinjsko pomivalno korito variant 10 inox mm alveus

    褋胁褟褌泻芯胁械 屑芯谢芯写褨卸薪械 锌谢邪褌褌褟 泻褍锌懈褌懈 胁 褨薪褌械褉薪械褌 屑邪谐邪蟹懈薪褨detalles de 3 aro boda vestido disfraz graduaci贸n enagua miri帽aque faldatraje recto marino b t carlo corinto searsvestido de catrina para mujer

  35. atomic ski boots australia

    i love your melon hats perfect lingerie mets black and blue hat womens hooded winter coats sports direct laceless sock boots adidas nike tech fleece for boys christian louboutin tsar pumps air force 1 size 8 Footasylum

  40. bottes femme timberland talon

    hello little one pink and gold girl baby shower water bottle sticker labels set of 20poliphili womens plus size two piece leopard print high waist bikini swimwearnejlep拧铆 venice beach dè°©msk茅 plavky b铆l媒 navyoriginè°©ln铆 plavky litex z nov茅 kolekce 2018 o…

  43. yourownpub

    giant cowboy hat scarpe nike pagamento in contrassegno ray ban classici uomo adidas weightlifting shoes australia graues j盲ckchen f眉r kleid y3 buty

  44. 屑芯写薪褘械 屑褍卸褋泻懈械 锌邪谢褜褌芯 芯褋械薪褜 蟹懈屑邪 2017 2018 褎芯褌芯 褌褉械薪写芯胁

    写械褌褋泻懈泄 屑褟谐泻懈泄 屑邪褏褉芯胁褘泄 褏邪谢邪褌 褋 泻邪锌褞褕芯薪芯屑 dorota fr 103 152 158写芯褋褌邪胁泻邪 薪邪 褉芯蟹械褌泻械泻械写褘 卸械薪褋泻懈械 vans 斜芯褉写芯胁褘械 泻褍锌懈褌褜 锌芯 谢褍褔褕械泄 褑械薪械褉械屑械薪褜 comme des gar莽ons red

  46. melon head hats

    la dodgers gear vans old skool vintage black stuffed elephant pillow london times lace dress peach strappy sandals pastel pink suede pumps seiko gps solar chronograph high quality leather laptop bags

  47. yeezy boost outfits

    womens nike pro running tights steve madden clear strappy heels electric eg2 timberland 4.5 vog website patriots super bowl 52 jersey green army boots skechers go go max

  50. charlie 1 horse shapeable straw cowboy hat

    online prodej rip curl d谩msk茅 plavky blaumarizu fashion ledov臎 modr茅 plesov茅 spole膷ensk茅 maturitn铆p谩nsk茅 hodinky weide 1502 膷ern茅 d谩rek k objedn谩vcedetsk谩 膷lenkov谩 obuv adidas hoops high top trainers infant

Comments are closed.