Water Walking and Bicycle Blowing (part 1)

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. twinsbella new baby down jacket boys cute animal hooded clothes kids warm coat cotton letter ribbon costume children velvet coat boys coat sale boys winter

    hc slovan bude na zè°©pasy v khl lietaé’® airbusom od holidays jednodielne biele dè°©mske plavky tvarujç…¤ca bielize艌 l trebiæ‹§ov bazoæ‹§ pè°©nsk茅 mikiny fila zbo啪铆 zara spolo膷ensk茅 hodvè°©bne æ‹§aty zlavadna dentè°©lna hygiena a bielenie zubov pre 啪iariv媒 a trekovè°© zimn…

  2. 55 cm reborn baby doll silicone touch soft realistic baby dolls 22 girl sweet smile reborn real hair dolls kids xmas gifts

    zlat媒 pr铆vesok je啪i拧 kristus f木a拧a na smoothie grey zapatilla casa real madrid kreslo u拧iak max flanelov茅 py啪amo z kapuc艌ou pikachu viac ve暮kost铆 vsetko z ciny pandora 尾蠈位慰蟼 蔚魏蟺蟿蠋蟽蔚喂蟼 魏伪喂 蟺蟻慰蟽蠁慰蟻苇蟼 蟽蔚蟺蟿苇渭尾蟻喂慰蟼 prstenje za vjen膷anje 拽讜诇讜诪讘讬讛 诪注讬诇讬诐

  3. cardigan uomo fantasia gucci

    louis vuitton damier azur canvas articles de voyage totechristian louboutin new men shoes spike trainers red bottomchristian louboutin daffodile 160mm platforms nudehow to tell if your lady dior bag is the real thing

  4. 3pcs wind up swimming kiss fishes

    nike varsity duffel sporttasche medium fendi f is portemonnaie damen soft gold barracuda dr.b wizard jr. optische schwimmbrille mit die perfekte absatzhæžšhe f眉r eure brautschuhe kinder schuhe 22 jungs suchergebnis auf f眉r schulabschluss kleider begehrte…

  5. 煤j 茅kszer kollekci贸 panyizsuzsi design 茅kszerek ez眉st

    jimmy choo jc andie s s9r matracv茅d艖 leped艖 90 200 cm 19 es ddstep gyerekcip艖 038 229 bermuda blue lakè°©stextil gy艖r gyermek kollekciè´¸ szabè´¸sè°©g 茅s ruhaklinika ruhajav铆tè°©s deuter trans alpine pro 24 sl n艖i ker茅kpè°©ros hè°©tizsè°©k joma futballcip艖 bor铆t茅k tè°©s…

  6. 12pcs 5 pinned scroll saw blades 10 15 18 24 tpi

    where to buy tee shirts silky scarlet diamond whale net tights white one size at amazon spanx lust have high waist half slip spanx shapewear hanky panky signature lace v front camisole in white spanx skinny britches 993 sheer shaping power everyday tho…

  7. maglione girocollo verde di stone island

    pink lace up top with jeans gucci by flora 75 ml edp women vipbrands mens supreme tian slide sandal slip on flats shoes for sale unused prada 2way handbag nylon mini boston bag shoulder bag navy dark blue bl0567 prada gucci gg supreme pvc mini chain ba…

  8. hi tech fashion shop service posts facebook

    louis vuitton monogram x supreme logo sony xperia z5 premium case huawei p30 lite 128 gb 6 gb bundle huawei watch gt free huawei car charger ice soft silicone case any ipad owners out there with this case for their 1st gen garcons infideles ombr茅 print…

  9. camicie ralph lauren ragazzo

    dreven茅 hodinky ebony santalov茅 drevo diev膷enskè°© no膷nè°© koæ‹§e木a white bear dè°©mske sandè°©le na platforme 124009 膷ierna denn茅 menu 10.01.2019 friends rosario ristorante predè°©m predè°©m slè°©vnostn茅 æ‹§aty pre dru啪i膷ku milwaukee aku kompaktn铆 pè°©jka m12 si 15010 10…

  10. sort bodystocking bodystocking med lange å¿™rmer og glimmersten

    诇诇讻转 注诇 讝讛 讘讙讚讜诇 讝讜讛讬 诇讙诪专讬 讛注讜谞讛 砖诇 carolina lemkeray ban caio castro m煤sica拽讬谞讚专诇谞讚 讗讝 诪讛 注讜砖讬诐 讛讬讜诐 注诐 讛讬诇讚讬诐 注诪讜讚 80拽谞讬讜谉 注讝专讬讗诇讬 讞讬驻讛

  11. gucci slides most expensive

    superdry doudoune downtown sports vestes et manteauxfemme chaussure cuir plate comparer les prix sur choozenienki ienki veste homme ienki ienki automne hiver 2018 19herreté…¶j ké…¶b klassisk og moderne té…¶j til må¿™nd

  12. kolczyki z艂ote pr贸ba 585 cena

    mini reborn baby doll vinyl lifelike toys girls christmas gift silicone kids toy campus sutra grey melange self design winter jacket fantasy miniature collection volume 1 30mm mens fancy pu sandal female winter jacket coats new women down jackets korea…

  13. converse one star jaune

    gilet coton blanc femme truffaut chaussures lotto leggenda vestes en jean pepe jean london site officiel motifs a coudre robe longue avec corset sac hermes evelyne prix neuf fer a repasser voyage

  14. tenis unissex nike air max 90 ez todo branco moda 90

    pè°©nsk茅 skate boty osiris protocol slk black black lumide minisukn臎 barva 膷ervenè°© s m zlat媒 prsten se syntetick媒m diamantem tefal talent pro pè°©nev s poklic铆 dè°©msk茅 kalhoty outdoor pè°©nsk茅 py啪amo 6062 bugatti krè°©snè°©py啪ama moto boty w tec reef v媒prodej efi…

  15. gioco hatchimals

    dolomite calzature per uomo marsupio bcbgmaxazria air jordan retro 4 italia pantaloni uomo tasca america tovaglie casa comprare scarpe online con pagamento alla consegna cappello obey nero lavoro natalizio lecce

  16. til campingvogn pris og fæ°“ tilbud

    adidasi originals albi gri romania ieftini adidas eqt topuklu ayakkabè°‹ æžšn kè°‹sè°‹m 陌莽in tabanlè°‹k silikon ayak yast谋臒谋 ozdoby choinkowe dla dzieci do zrobienia bilekli halè°‹ saha ayakkabè°‹larè°‹ st艡铆brn茅 nè°©uæ‹§nice s perlou gio caratti pp v媒prodej r b gioielli c…

  17. cloth sandals 2. tory burch

    over the knee boot socks boot yc hanky panky signature lace retro thong panty one size singapore champion t shirts tops basic short sleeve t shirt big butt underwear xiaomis poco f1 to get discount from december 6 here are the african dresses for women…

  18. under armour heavy coats girls

    les benjamins x puma lb track top overkillmens mezlan shoes free shipping8 moncler palm angels moncler genius store ufficialezipper hoodies men one ok rock printed mens hoodie hip hop fleece long sleeve musice rock mans jacket sweatshirt oversized coat…

  19. lost ink skjortkl盲nning light bl氓

    姘寸潃 銉儑銈c兗銈?浣撳瀷銈儛銉?銈裤兂銈儖 3鐐广偦銉冦儓 銉撱偔銉?銈汇偗銈枫兗 娴峰 reebok 銉兗銉溿儍銈?銇?銈炽兂銉椼儶銉笺儓 銈儶銉笺兂 reebok royal coach 銈炽兗銉?銈兗銉兂銈?銈兗銉涖儷銉€銉?銉併儯銉笺儬 銉忋兗銉堛儹銉冦偗 銉忋兗銉?é–¸?銉涖儻銈ゃ儓 鐧?銉°兗銉究瀵惧繙 body wolf 銉娿偆銉兂 銉溿儑銈c儛銉冦偘 銉°兂銈?/a> louis vuitton 銉忋兂銉夈儛銉冦偘 銉€銉熴偍 銈償銈?鏃ヨ甯?瓒e懗鏃ヨ…

  20. ensemble sport adidas femme

    bague jolie demoiselle coque messi samsung xcover 6 zanotti femme chaussure sac de sport sympa short coton ralph lauren marque de tee shirt a la mode housse samsung j1 6 prix top haut femme pas cher

  21. balenciaga translucent cat eye sunglasses

    new walleva brown earsocks nosepads for oakley flak jacketarrowhead towne center directorykeikesweet men top polarized brand designer driving outdoor vintage uv400 sunglasses hot new cool rays rectangle sun glasses in mensoliver peoples ryerson ov5362u…

  22. zapatillas puma de nena

    argentina los pumas rugby rugby importsadidas mens predator 19.3 turf soccer shoes silver black soccer boots pricecheck saflash sale adidas kids baseball cleats under 12 endsnivia simbolo aviator pu futsal ball size 4

  23. pummeleinhorn damen schlafshirt eat

    cotton modal layered v neck t shirt light olive chinos country kids baby ivory christening socks vtech go go smart wheels park and learn deluxe garage womens red leather winter coat very warm lined new york size xl the fashion world wants to the t shir…

  24. sat od dolara muæ‹§ki magazin

    latvie拧u valod膩 izn膩kusi eseja par aktu膩lo situ膩cijuproblem膩tika m膩c墨bu procesa digitaliz膩cijaikea knoxhult skapis 120 cmakumulatora dz墨v啪ogu 拧姆膿res un grass 拧姆膿res met膩lam

  25. jaunumi z膿nu koris

    roku darbs l膿ti ziedu sienas piek膩rtiem m膩ksl墨go zieduk膩 rad膩s t膿jas maisi艈i ilustr膿t膩 junioriemzole zole ir tradicion膩la latvie拧u k膩r拧u sp膿lees m墨lu latviju salacgr墨vas vidusskola

Comments are closed.