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. 闃插瘨 鏈€寮?銈偊銈裤兗銇€氳博 au wowma

    伪谓慰喂蠂蟿畏 蟺位伪蟿畏 蠁慰蟻苇渭伪蟿伪纬蠅谓喂伪魏蠈蟼 魏伪谓伪蟺苇蟼 alcare xl 伪蟻喂蟽蟿蔚蟻萎 苇蟺喂蟺位慰 蠂伪谓喂蠅蟿维魏畏蟼魏慰蟻喂慰蟽 蟺伪蟻伪魏慰位慰蠀胃畏蟽畏蟽 畏蠂慰蠀attrattivo 蟿蟽伪谓蟿蔚蟽

  3. new balance liverpool fc 18 19 3rd kids football shorts

    roka cross body bag paddington b emeraldjeffery west escobar brogue boots in brown brownbotina masculina cano curto em couro銈傘亞銇欍亹绗?瀛愯獣鐢?銈搞偋銉炽偨銉?銉愩儓銉?濠氱磩鑰呫儢銉儓銉嬨兗 銉兗銉夈仺鎵嬨仱銇亷銉囥兗銉?/a>

  6. authentic chanel black leather bag gold chain

    ysl phone case ysl iphone casessilicone back case cover by ineix for samsung galaxy j7 prime clearbrand new instocks fendi monsters bag bug inspired designs soft shell silicon mobile hand cell phone hp cover apple iphone 6 6s 7 7plus plusnew porsche de…

  9. lego ninjago training set

    elegant sexy nude girl leopard print lady fursonix sonix lenntek color block pink case for iphone 6 iphone 6s from walmart morefendi mophie phone casefendi galaxy s7 edge case walmart

  17. 邪泻褋械褋褍邪褉懈 芯斜褉褍褔 薪邪 谐芯谢芯胁褍 写谢褟 写褨胁褔懈薪泻懈 屑邪褋泻邪褉邪写薪褨 10 谐褉薪

    泻谢邪褋褋懈褔械褋泻邪褟 胁褘泻褉芯泄泻邪 锌谢邪褌褜褟 52 褉邪蟹屑械褉邪 褕懈褌褜械 写谢褟 卸械薪褖懈薪卸械薪褋泻邪褟 褎褍写斜芯谢泻邪 fruit of the loom 斜械谢邪褟 锌懈芯薪褘 锌褉芯写邪卸邪锌谢邪褌褜械 邪薪谐芯褉邪 蟹懈屑邪 芯褋械薪褜 褉 48卸械薪褋泻邪褟 褌褍薪懈泻邪 锌谢邪褌褜械 斜械褉褌邪 邪褉褌. 0321

  19. doma leather jacket. clothing stores

    diesel diesel mens folk parka black diesel from blueberries ukpaul smith spotted scarves shawls for women for sale ebayshop paul smith sweater for women obsessorykenzo holiday capsule collection tiger slip ons womens black

  21. putni kofer torba

    torba za laptop pepe jeans croc beige 70260za 啪ene armani exchange tenisice crnako拧ulje zelene boje za mu拧karce veli膷ine xxlputni koferi veoma kvalitetni i veliki svima se velicina

  22. womens dress shawls

    yves saint laurent monogramme sl m28 cat eye sunglasses with nylon lenses and acetate temples black saint laurent eyewear屑邪褋泻邪褉邪写薪褘泄 泻芯褋褌褞屑 蟹谢邪褟 胁械写褜屑邪锌褉芯写邪卸邪 斜懈蟹薪械褋邪 锌褉芯写邪屑 屑邪谐邪蟹懈薪 屑褍卸褋泻芯泄 芯写械卸写褘 斜懈蟹薪械褋褘芯褌泻褉褘褌泻邪 褋胁芯懈屑懈 褉褍泻邪屑懈 泻芯 写薪褞 褍褔懈褌械谢褟 懈写械懈 懈 胁邪褉…

  23. google pixel xl flip case daisy

    ash stivali falcon russet pelle scamosciata 100 a puntascarpetinc scarpetinc chaussure stivalilego dimensions beetlejuice saturns sandworm fun pack 71349all things fett lego batman movie blind wave ballerina batman

  25. curry 2 boys grade

    qiyun.z pantaloncini da surf da uomo casual con pantalonciniabbigliamento donna balenciaga camicia tilted raso royal blue abbigliamento donna topsdooxi uomo vintage affari scarpa casuale allapertoi numeri adesivi casanet russuoso orologio murales con d…

  26. fuse sport and entertainment appoints lou johnson as md

    ny mode imiteret l忙der el naturalista vinterst酶vler kakionitsuka tiger mexico 66 erkek spor ayakkab谋polo ralph lauren harvey skor专砖转 讛讗讜驻谞讛 专谞讜讗专 诪爪讬注讛 拽讜诇拽爪讬讬转 谞注诇讬 讘讬转 谞讜讞讜转 诇讬诪讬

  28. best designer earring sets buy online shopping website studio we provide high quality and luxury out look fashion jewellery

    a bathing ape one point ls tee online shop 75061 reduced womens long sleeved polo shirts womens short sleeve slub jersey graphic art tee from lands end cute white long sleeve top oversized button up shirt blouse eileen fisher eileen fisher organic line…

  40. lesene pu拧膷ice 拧atulje

    compre 2018 novedad 100 algod贸n invierno oto帽o trabajo devectry camiseta de tirantes mujer chaleco hippie mujerfaldas largas de punto mujer talla 34 a 48 kiabitiendas en l铆nea efecto devor茅 ropa mujer pin up stars

  44. threadbare sudaderas jers茅is

    chicago white sox mlb short sleeve maternity t shirtchicago cubs mlb black fan favorite adjustable baseball hatmens justin turner replica jersey majestic los angelesgirls baby gap flowered dress panties pink bow empire waist toddler 2 nwot

  47. kors é…¶redobber i sé…¶lv

    olav kross næ°“ det med maskingevå¿™r i oslos da ny jakke fra brynje hva skjer carinthia defence 1 top olive green parkdress str 116 polarn o. pyret é…¶repynt barn ré…¶d sommerfugl gear huawei p9 lite deksel ssj é…¶redobber i stæ°“l thrustmaster ferrari f1 wheel a…

  49. teleskopisk grensax karlsson

    billiga cheryl m kvinna ringarvikt pojkar 2 5 氓r barntotal21 b盲sta inredningsk枚pen att h氓lla utkik efter p氓hagl枚fs roc spirit pop r枚d rich r枚d jacka dam outlet

  50. 賰賷賮 賯丿賲 丕賱賶 丕賱賵馗丕卅賮 毓賱賶 亘賷 .賰賵賲 bayt.com blog

    my heaven jacqueline de yong til kvindergypsy online ké…¶b spar 25 70 find udsalg tilbudduftlys med trå¿™læ°“g hyggeblæ°“ tamaris 1 1 22420 25 dame sko

Comments are closed.