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. hajny铆r贸 szett avon web谩ruh谩z 茅s avon katal贸gus hair

    come funziona punto di ritiro amazon perle miluna bracciale szegecses n艖i t谩ska 3 r茅szes krepp 谩gynem疟garnit煤ra feh茅r no fear kab谩t arc feh茅r fashionup oakley n艖i napszem眉veg 2015 jana fekete n艖i b艖r bokacsizma bl 贸raszalon mammut

  4. nike air max 1 gs

    backup software nike air max 95 release dates 95 air max 2017 yoga flip flops puma pink fluffy lcd projector for sale womens ski clothes sale air force 1 force womencurry

  5. adidas performance speed tee white

    tinkafu myggnetting tvilling sportsklokke barn outlet lé…¶ping klå¿™r menn adidas no belteveske herre wemoto kjole bilboa heather grey dameté…¶y vinterbro æ°“s bedrifter tenna led vokslys lyseré…¶de gule runde solbriller

  10. pc revue po木nohospod谩rstvo

    reg谩l metro b茅啪ov谩opasok pre p谩nov za super ceny aliby钮 sexy ale som mechanik p谩nske tri膷ko s potla膷oufarebn茅 spolo膷ensk茅 kvetinov茅 拧aty mia dresses

  11. sada 拧perk暖 k艡铆dla

    disney princess b谩bika popolu拧ka s n谩hradn媒mi 拧atamip谩nske modr茅 ripnut茅 rifle sik silk skinny distressedlacne plavky 2016detsk茅 a kojeneck茅 body s dlh媒m ruk谩vom vtipn媒m n谩pisom a

  12. lenti a contatto speciali

    aranylè°©nc n茅vvel mè°©rkè°©s baseball sapka webshop feetje sz眉rke pl眉ss macif眉les baba overè°©l molett kokt茅lruha webè°©ruhè°©z mammut 艖szi v铆zè°©llè´¸ l茅legz艖 kabè°©t nagyon extra f茅rfi xl es pro energia tiszt铆tè´¸ karkæžšt艖 panda munkav茅delmi szandè°©l composite s1p fekete…

  13. sac amazone

    aldo talon bijoux femme mode lunette protection gaz chapeau commandant de bord blazer color茅 femme sac chanel boy occasion le prix des extensions de cheveux maillot de bain noir et fluo

  14. tenis adidas masculino skate

    讘讬讬讘讬讚讜诇 谞砖讬 讜诪诇讗 讬讜驻讬 讜讞讜砖谞讬讜转 讘讙讝专讛 诪讬讜讞讚转 诇诪讬讚讜转 讙讚讜诇讜转 砖讬砖讬讬转 讙专讘讬讬诐 诇转讬谞讜拽讜转 80 讻讜转谞讛 拽讜驻住讗讜转 拽专讟讜谉 讜专讜讚 注诐 讛注谞讬讘讛 注讘讜专 讬爪专谞讬 诇诪讻讬专讛 讜讗专讬讝讛 讘诪驻注诇 讻讬住讜讬 讙砖诐 爪讛讜讘 诇转讬拽 c bag 砖诇 讘专讜诪驻讟讜谉 住讬专 讞砖诪诇讬 benaton 讘讙讚 讙讜祝 诪注讟驻转 拽诇讗住讬拽 讘讬讬讘讬 讻诇讬 专讻讘 讜讗讜驻谉 诇转讬谞…

  15. red cortez Schuhe

    olive zelen茅 air jordan 12 v拧echny b铆l茅 chucks adidas ultra boost bape 膷ern茅 nike air force low 1 d谩msk茅 blush r暖啪ov茅 beanie 2020 ultra boost usa cheap cortez asics onitsuka tiger canada

  16. old school asics cheer Schuhe

    2020 puma enzo david beckham cleats air force 1 d谩msk茅 on feet jordan 1 chicago 2015 edgars nike roshe nike epic d谩msk茅 2020 adidas bb1240 膷ern茅 obuv with st艡铆brn茅 heels

  17. d艂uga kurtka katana jeansowa z naszywkami

    2134 绲愬寮?銉夈儸銈?銉兂銉斻兗銈?銉曘偐銉笺優銉?銉儨銉?銉兗銈?妤藉ぉ甯傚牬 涓冨垎涓?銉戙兂銉?銉°兂銈?銉曘偅銉冦儓銉嶃偣 銉堛儸銉笺儖銉炽偘 妤藉ぉ甯傚牬 銉曘偋銉炽儐銈?銉偄銉笺儕銇€氳博 xperia xz1鐢ㄣ儠銉儍銉椼偒銉愩兗 銈儑銈ｃ儉銈?銉堛儸銉笺儕銉?銉氥偄銇€氳博 au wowma 锛掞綏锝侊綑 灏忚姳鏌勩儻銉炽償銉笺偣 鍏ュ湌婧栧倷 淇濊偛鍦?骞肩鍦掋仹灞ャ亸銇倝銈炽儸 淇濊偛澹亴閬搞伓銇娿仚銇欍倎 娲楃反銇曘倢銇熴儓銉兂銉夈儛銉冦偘銇屾簚…

  20. i sex toys pi霉 venduti online radio deejay

    銈枫儶銈仹閫冦亽銈嬫瑁呭嫝鍔涖倰鍕曞摗銇椼仧鐤戙亜銇亗銈嬬背鍥?銈枫儶銈㈤⊕涔?浜烘皸銇儣銉笺優銇偟銉冦偒銉?銉堛儸銉笺儖銉炽偘銈枫儱銉笺偤銉┿兂銈兂銈?amazon amazon c princess 銈儍銈恒儔銉偣 銉併儱銉笺儷銉夈儸銈?銉併儱銉笺儷 鐢诲儚9鏋?zozotown銇按鐫€銉儑銉亴鍙剾銇勩亸銇?銈裤優銉┿兂 姘?/a> amazon coach l瀛椼儠銈°偣銉娿兗 璨″竷 浜屻仱鎶樸倞 銉欍兗銈搞儱 銉栥儷銈儶 銉斻偄銈广伄鍟嗗搧涓€瑕?銉曘偂銉冦偡銉с…

  21. reebok forever floatride energy w

    in golden knights first visit to washington capitals letmatt dumba joins wilds long list of the injured twin citiescanadiens at winnipeg jets five things you should knownew york islanders nhl molson canadian 1983 champions t shirt mens size large

  23. brudesko stort utvalg bra priser rask levering

    porta documenti donna borse e borsette da donna rosa baci abbracci acquisti dust karl lagerfeld per louis vuitton asciugamani spugna gabel elegante autunno 2018 della maglia pieghettato il vestiti estivi uomo moschino borsa a mano kim accessori neri a…

  28. tennissko sté…¶rrelse 46 skanderborg

    爻毓乇 賵賲賵丕氐賮丕 huawei nova 3 賲毓 卮乇丨 賱賲賲賷夭丕 丕賱賴丕 賮 賵毓賷賵亘賴亘丕賱丕亘丐卮 hijab photos facebook賲賳毓 賲禺丕賱賮丕 丕賱廿賴賲丕賱 賮賷 卮丐賵賳 爻賱丕賲丞 丕賱兀胤賮丕賱 賵夭丕乇賴 丕賱毓丿賱farfeshplus 賮乇賮卮 亘賱爻 丨乇賲丕賳 丕賱乇噩丕賱 賲賳 丿禺賵賱 賲毓乇囟 賱賱賲賱丕亘爻

  30. alj谩n csipkebet茅tes nadr谩g

    diva collection hè°©rom funkciè´¸s piros hè°©titè°©ska n艖i ruha due linee bordè´¸ 茅n egy horgè°©sz apuka vagyok pecè°©s pè´¸lè´¸ girls disney pè´¸lè´¸ reebok nike csuka rendel茅s vesz ç…¤j st铆lus feh茅rnemç–Ÿ ingyenes szè°©ll铆tè°©s nagykereskedelmi japan mintè°©s egyenes fazonç…¤ ruha de…

  32. kl盲nning med nordiskt baby vit

    2019骞存柊浣?瀛愪緵姘寸潃 銈儍銈烘按鐫€ 閫ｄ綋寮?鍙剾銇?濂炽伄瀛?闊撳浗銈广偪銈ゃ儷 閫氬嫟ol 绲愬寮?銈广兗銉?銉儑銈ｃ兗銈广儠銈°儍銈枫儳銉?銉戙兂銉勩偣銉笺儎 2鐐广偦銉冦儓 銈搞儯銈便儍銉?銉戙兂銉?銉曘偐銉笺優銉?銈广儓銉┿偆銉?au wowma 銉偊銉?/a> 銉涖儷銈裤兗銉嶃儍銈?澶氭鑳姐優銈躲兗銈恒儶銉ャ儍銈?銉炪偠銉笺偤銉愩儍銈?淇濇俯 淇濆喎 鎾ユ按 銈ㄣ儷銈淬儩銉冦偗 hergopoch 銉兂銈枫儳銉儉銉笺儛銉冦偘 銉溿儑銈ｃ儛銉冦偘 銉°兂銈?銉…

  37. pantalon de sport pour fille

    louis vuitton polo robe de mari茅e rock and roll kit pyjama naissance fille bibi ceremonie femme lunettes anti lumi猫re bleue prix avenir tchat voyance gratuit gabor nouvelle collection jogging adidas coton garcon

  40. reebok obuv amazon india

    air jordan 1 verdi e nero skepta 97 bw nike air max 9o nmd ts1 gtx most expensive balenciaga scarpe puma running eco ortholite asics mens frequent trail running shoes original converse high tops

  41. 2020 fuzzi turtleneck

    vapormax flyknit 2018 mid 77 nike blazer adidas yeezy 700 triple nero gucci maglione for girls melo 13 nero e gold long nero wool cappotto 990v4 reflective kyrie 2 all bianco

  44. matrimonio indiano

    pr茅mium piknik tè°©ska bordè´¸ tupperware analè´¸g è´¸rawebè°©ruhè°©z.hu 10 dekorat铆v t茅relvè°©lasztè´¸ omega pocket vintage steel 49 mm manual serviced nagym茅retç–Ÿ meleg t茅likabè°©t aukciè´¸ egysz铆nç–Ÿ push up bikini nicole m 158 piros ez眉st magassarkç…¤ patricia levis 525 w…

  46. wish bottle price

    yoga leg铆ny amazon formal vestiti short juniors purge outfit reliance abbigliamento asos occasion wear henley vestito maglietta prom vestiti amazon pastel mint verde vestito

  47. reebok aztrek grade school

    adidas cloudfoam slides Damen orange under armour hat nike safety toe Schuhe long wei脽e shirt Kleid nike janoski slip on wei脽e reebok Herren work n cushion 3.0 walking shoe ultra boost 4.0 all schwarz adidas harden vol 3 marvel

  50. 褋褌芯泻 锌褨卸邪屑懈 写谢褟 写褨胁褔邪褌芯泻 褍褋褨 195谐褉薪 蟹邪 1 褕褌

    ropa premamè°© broches y alfileres para mujer baberos paragentry portofino vestido de noche con detalles de volantesazul marino sin mangas vestido corto de mujer fiesta elaigle aplicaciones en cuero tejido abrigos galones azul

Comments are closed.