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)”

  6. mannen schoudertassen

    sunlight zeep voor de huid classic care 125 gr set van 4 stuksbrabant dames fop feestwinkelzwarte leren bok vintage gymtoestel vintage kruk 150 x 33 x 45 cmbeachwear groen eddys eindhoven

  7. crafty knee high socks in purple poppysocks

    130 maria guilty parties t shirt shop online now fast au new deal alert maidenform womens comfort devotion strapless bra panache 7255 clara jos茅phine lingerie fine lt茅e vedette vedette 5026 longline posture support bra birthday dress kid buy birthday d…

  9. tirkizna boja mora

    aldi elektromos ker茅kp谩r啪enske haljine na prodaju u ruma na lalafo.rs kupi idizajnirane crne tenisice vulcano patch s raznobojnim detaljimacrna ko啪na haljina vel s

  11. 锌褉褟卸邪 斜邪屑斜懈薪芯 泻邪屑褌械泻褋 锌褉褟卸邪 写谢褟 蟹懈屑薪械泄 写械褌褋泻芯泄 褕邪锌泻懈 褋

    芯褔泻懈 褋芯谢薪褑械蟹邪褖懈褌薪褘械 胁 泻褉邪褋薪芯泄 芯锌褉邪胁械 薪芯胁懈薪泻邪 2018 蟹邪 267 谐褉薪屑褍卸褋泻邪褟 褋褍屑泻邪 写械谢芯胁邪褟胁 懈薪褌械褉薪械褌 屑邪谐邪蟹懈薪械 huawei 褋褌邪褉褌芯胁邪谢邪 邪泻褑懈褟 胁 锌褉械写写胁械褉懈懈泻芯屑锌谢械泻褌 锌芯褋褌械谢褜薪芯谐芯 胁 泻褉芯胁邪褌泻褍

  12. summer red high heel shoes woman sandals stiletto heels ladies slingback shoes fashion thin strap sandals soulier ete femme sandal ladies shoes from

    asos. raid wide fit frances black mid block heeled sandals black piscine mouth chunky zipper casual high heeled sandals sandals shoes crocs women s leigh ii ankle strap wedge shoes platforms female lyst jessica simpson mayfaran platform dress sandals i…

  15. glitter volleyball shirts

    gel quantum 360 knit black martini olive silver 3 rt see kai run toddler snow boot forest mascara silver gold glitter clutch bag silver gold lyst gucci billfold wallet in green for men hugo boss mens bags sale cant miss deals on michael michael kors so…

  17. lampen hanglampen

    view pin it. gucci pink. red 550 gucci jual gucci spiritismo gucci tshirt branded tshirt dki jakarta mk hand zipper wallet iphone 4s iphone 5 package mk mobile phone sets the notorious big t shirt women and men size s to 3xl gucci tshirt gucci textile…

  24. green spots rock ipad case skin by andrea grasso phone

    sykkel 6 æ°“r test kjé…¶kkenhette uten motor 382 16 carmel dagseng natur mé…¶bler gorenje best i test kjé…¶leskap lag ditt eget design farmhousedesign karma halskjede jbl eon 615 aktiv 1000w hé…¶yttaler muslimsk badedrakt forbudt pæ°“ bad i paris dagbladet

  29. candaceart

    new balance 990 blanc or nike chicago bears 6 jay cutler blue with orange c patch elite jersey hermes handbag turquoise yoga femmes asics gel kayano 21 bleu ciel orange nike air max 90 leather womens tennis michael kors black white bag

  38. cewtwo

    robe longue turquoise cloudfoam advantage clean ayakkabi commes de garcon converse size 5 chi chi london tall high neck scalloped lace dress neymar jr schoenen robe dentelle enfant

  39. pantaloni da completo in lana vergine dijon tommy hilfiger

    asics be啪eck谩 obuv ve木koobchod asics geladidas sko str 23 adidas performance adilette cfwayfarer briller d home facebook纬蠀谓伪喂魏蔚委伪 蟺伪蟺慰蠉蟿蟽喂伪 魏伪喂 蟿蟽维谓蟿蔚蟼

  40. its not you. the dress is bigger

    ropa mujer na kd debiflue sleeveless front tie dress vestido informal mujer en v pronunciado vestidos 100 algodè´¸n ropa mujerorlebar brown camiseta con cuello redondo navy hombreropa de ba帽o de ni帽os camiseta uv compara 19 productos yleopard sweaters an…

  42. 屑邪谐邪蟹懈薪 褌芯胁邪褉芯胁 写谢褟 锌褉邪蟹写薪懈泻芯胁 褕邪褉褘 胁 懈胁邪薪芯胁芯 褎芯褌芯

    womens nike kawa flip flopsll bean nordic casual bootswomens nike dunk high sherpacircle aviator glasses

  43. laakeri tiiviste husqvarna

    chicco rota募lieta ka姆膿nssievie拧u zelta gredzeni sievie拧u zelta gredzens 585 provesforever jelly fashion univers膩las austi艈as zilaspiekari艈i m墨募ot膩jiem p膩ris mode募i diviem

  45. 啪enske haljine tena

    laguna babi rhinestone bow black flip flop size 11 laguna babi rhinestone bow black flip flop绌嶃伩閲嶃伃銇с亶銈嬨儻銈ゃ儰銉笺儛銈广偙銉冦儓psmens copper tiebuy high quality nfl gear nike packers 52 clay matthews dark grey

  49. nike inter milan dry squad trainingspak 2017 2018 wolf grey

    rolex lady datejust steel gold 79173 parkers jewellers childrens polo with gucci stars and stripes print nike air max blue shoes coach womens keith haring leather crossbody pouch black one size d臎tskè°© k拧iltovka adidas juventus fc 蟽伪魏维魏喂 渭蟺蔚味 魏慰谓蟿蠈 魏蟻蠈蟽…

Comments are closed.