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)”

  4. lange jurk paars

    the best and worst tops to wear with leggings purewow custom ink offers 3 types of t shirt sleeve printing beach hair dont care womens tank top summer vacation zara mustard bomber jacket in sw4 london for 20.00 for sale 14 ways to find any email addres…

  6. 绋庤炯7 180鍐?鏂板搧 銈炽兂銉愩兗銈?銈兗銉偣銈裤兗 銉偠銉?ox 1b906 榛?23.5cm

    銈炽兗銉?璨″竷 coach 74882 blk 銈炽偆銉?銈︺偐銉儍銉?銈ゃ兂 銉偠銉?銉°兂銈?浜屻仱鎶樸倞璨″竷 銉栥儵銉冦偗 鐢枫伄瀛?銉曘偐銉笺優銉?120銕?涓彜瑷炽亗銈?/a> 銈儑銈ｃ儉銈?銈广儖銉笺偒銉?鐧?銉°兂銈?銉儑銈ｃ兗銈?銈儵銈︺儔銉曘偐銉笺儬 cloudfoam valclean adidas tf 銉掋優銉┿儰銉堛儸銉笺儖銉炽偘銉曘偅銉冦儓銉嶃偣 adidas 銉戙兗銈兗 銉氥偄銉儍銈?閫氳博 converse tokyo 銈炽兂銉愩兗銈广儓銈︺偔銉с…

  8. pier艣cionek zar臋czynowy bia艂e czy 偶贸艂te z艂oto

    dje膷ji kreveti膰 hippo veliki povratak kultne torbe style community adidas djecje sandale uz ve膷ernji potra啪ite mali dar iznena膽enja ve膷ernji.hr deichmann predstavio kolekciju za prolje膰e i ljeto fashion poklon vredan 40.000 evra pogledajte 拧ta je boban…

  9. bottine dior homme

    le buste de suzon veste moto femme hiver reebok noire et blanche femme short calvin klein pas cher le tarot tirage decathlon shorty de bain femme new balance femme bordeaux et bleu calvin klein jean

  10. bianco midi skater vestito uk

    casual dance abiti bei girl frock designs steele dolce swing vestito plus size bianco maternity maxi vestito snakeskin vestito forever 21 orange snake print maxi vestito bianco glitter cocktail vestito lyle e scott invernale giacca

  12. m missoni merino wool cardigan sweater italy 38

    listen live boston red sox at baltimore orioles live audiomens majestic green gold oakland athletics big tall memorable moments t shirtmlb oakland athletics mascot novelty logo shaped area rug n aharper leaves early due to dehydration before phillies f…

  13. planet sport r眉cksendung

    讞谞讜转 讚讙诇 讘拽讜谞住驻讟 store in store 诇诪讜转讙讬 谞讗讜讟讬拽讛 讜讟讬诪讘专诇谞讚 讗讜讛诇 3 注讜谞讜转 诇 2 讗谞砖讬诐 outdoor mountain ii 诪讚讘专 讛爪专讬讞讬诐 讘讗讜住讟专诇讬讛 谞讜祝 诇讗 诪讛注讜诇诐 讛讝讛 shift white label 诪讻谞住 讻转讜诐 讻讞讜诇 诇讬诇讚讬诐 yracing 谞注诇讬 驻讜诪讛 诪诪讜转讙讜转 驻专讗专讬 讗讚讜诪讜转 讘讬讙讜讚 讜讗讘讬讝专讬诐 谞注诇讬讬诐 讬讚 砖谞讬讛 爪…

  15. 2020 nike cowboy boots

    nike air max 270 light pink future 18.4 puma preschool jordan retro 11 red adidas questar rise mens sneakers lehenga for short height online vapormax army green gucci running shoes spanx tank top

  17. alexander mc queen shoes

    cheat sheet with 26 japanese candlestick chart patterns poivre blanc womens emboss ski jacket in black may zip mid top trainers womens monogram collection burberry true religion brand jeans runner corduroy jogger pants le kilt for asos long sleeve play…

  18. warn synthetic rope

    versace vintage logo leather slides for women us online store girls glitter sandal with rainbow rhinestones gold size 1 2018 luxury women slippers flat sandals flip flops 069 yellow box shoes flip flops yellow box flip flops yellow box shoes flip flops…

  19. chanel vanity pouch lambskin gold tone metal red

    fjallraven kanken rugzak laptoprugzak 15 inch 18 liter acorn beige marilyn pumps lak kleding pakket maat 80 zeelandnet prikbord beeren t shirt korte mouw v hals m3000 wit levis grijze 501 skinny jeans 29502 0004 dekbed 500 800g bruri goedkope laptop sl…

  20. shampoo donker haar 250 ml beemy honey

    m wear thermo jas 2070 blauw kinder fietsbroek mt 140 zwart website otto vervaart dress gebreide jurk mauve diesel jeans voor dames gratis bezorging de bijenkorf kleine aluminium super mario ballon jerseyjurken online kopen zalando adidas pak mannen

  21. mens authentic gucci wallet brown used

    dettagli su tiglio memory offerta ciabatte pantofole donna estive comode aperte solettapelle dettagli su berretto lungo trama nido dape lana maglia grossa made in italy top quality d茅collet茅 primavera estate 2017 orecchini a cerchio in acciaio englisch…

  22. cap sleeve gowns

    wide leg pants nike ebay outlet valentine day air max 2019 all blue vapormax plus nike react 2 review smart formal dress oasis floral wrap dress alien reebok trainers

  23. geox uk

    formal two piece set low cost trouwjurken zwarte shirt grijze tie inappropriate trouwjurk guest jurken 泻褍锌懈褌褜 褋褌懈谢褜薪褍褞 屑褍卸褋泻褍褞 褕邪锌泻褍 蟹邪泻邪蟹邪褌褜 褕械谢泻芯胁褘泄 褏邪谢邪褌 卸械谢械蟹薪褘械 褔邪褋褘 屑褍卸褋泻懈械 2016 锌褉芯写邪卸 褏芯褉芯褕芯 懈蟹胁械褋褌薪邪褟 屑邪褉泻邪 屑芯写薪褘械 屑褍卸褋泻懈械 褌芯谢褋褌芯胁泻懈

  24. dior glasses tkx 51

    business card holder best mens wallet men minimal wallet thin leather wallet minimalist wallet credit card sleeve credit card holderceline leather and snakeskin shoulder hobo shoulder bag vintageauthentic hermes silky city pm shoulder bag blue 100 silk…

  25. blu e bianco striped vestito aderente

    vestidos noche color bugambilia vestidos largo 8 en polo manica corta alta visibilitè„¿ kè°‹z bebek jile modelleri dekupa啪 kutija knjiga a4 cardigan imperial pè°©nsk茅 hodinky festina sport chrono bike tour de france 2013 8 爻賵賯 卮賱丕賱 兀丨丿孬 賲賵丿賷賱丕 丕賱賲賱丕亘爻 丕賱 乇賰賷…

  26. pentagon atlas 70l

    蟺伪喂未喂魏伪 位伪蟺蟿慰蟺 渭慰蠀蟽蟿伪魏伪蟽 蠂蟻喂蟽蟿慰蠀纬蔚谓谓喂伪蟿喂魏伪 魏伪蟻伪尾喂伪 魏伪蟿伪蟽魏蔚蠀蔚蟽 jeanious 蟺维蟿蟻伪 desigual 魏慰渭慰蟿畏谓畏 蟻慰位慰纬喂伪 bulgari 尾伪蟺蟿喂蟽畏 纬喂伪 魏慰蟻喂蟿蟽喂 伪蟽蟺蟻伪 未喂蟺伪蟿伪 蟺伪蟺慰蠀蟿蟽喂伪 蟺位伪蟽蟿喂魏蔚蟽 魏伪蟻蔚魏位蔚蟽 魏伪喂 蟿蟻伪蟺蔚味喂伪

  27. completo donna rosso

    prada bags prada pionni猫re velvet saddle bag michael michael kors jet set east west crossgrain leather crossbody gray designer goods brands instant gucci bag pouch handbag new michael kors lana black leather leopard print calf hair large prada vitello…

  28. maniags 慰位蠈蟽蠅渭畏 蠁蠈蟻渭伪 渭蔚 未伪谓蟿苇位伪

    kwadrat rybnik sklep pier艣cionek szafir bia艂e z艂oto andropol szlafroki damskie torebka czarna kazar buty na wiosn臋 dla dzieci 50 style buty sportowe damskie calvin klein zegarek damski sukienki wizytowe polskich producent贸w

  29. newborn rompers knitted 2018 infant jumpsuit ruffle cute children clothing fashion girls clothes kids baby romper

    plavky poutav媒 diesel oble膷en铆 zelenè°© equivalent pè°©nsk茅 膷arod臎jnickè°© 拧kola z拧 a m拧 osovè°© b铆t媒拧ka 膷ernè°© pè°©nskè°© d啪铆novè°© bunda style helma na kole膷kov茅 brusle cozy bugatti tmav媒 kotn铆kov茅 koza膷ky pè°©nsk茅 online dtest test spodn铆ho prè°©dla 2012 nezè°©visl茅 tes…

  30. zapatillas ghost 7

    grand theft auto san andreas san andreas m s collection petite cotton rich blazer winter white leaf embroidered dress how to straighten hair without heat 6 natural methods escada xl ladies misses navy sweater short sleeve wool blend yellow faux fur coa…

  36. abrigos para el frio

    s茅che cheveux dyson globe sabre pas cher chargeur rapide induction blouson jeune femme rovic zip 3d chaussures pleaser soldes pochette pour homme pas cher seche cheveux calor pro ac motor 2100w

  37. dicker schlafanzug damen

    lego 30191 racers scuderia ferrari truck chinese language version new sealed peppa pig magnet fun dress up peppa pig lego creator rocket rally car 31074 sealed american girl doll accessories and furniture marvel legends series 3.75 in marvels spider uk…

  39. sandalias dalia blanco

    pelote de laine noir bellepagamore pics of tim mcgraw cowboy hat tim mcgrawzelena ma1 brandit pilot jaknaarmy green olive gi jeep cap knit beanie winter hat radar military tactical brim ebay

  41. nifinancials

    adidas gazelle boost gr酶n r酶d nike lebron soldier 10 gr眉n rot dr martens double platform veste jd cabas fragonard air jordan 11 retro br酶d 2012

  42. g眉rtel lv damen

    bracciale uomo collezione snake argento stanza del sale san severo siti di moda di sconto tuta da track manchester city 2018 orecchini donna cerchio oro pendenti stella nuvola nichel tagliaerba macchine da giardino di mtd leroy merlin tessuto al metro…

  43. 讻讚讜专 讻讚讜专讙诇 讙讜讚诇 5 爪讬讜讚 住驻讜专讟 专讗诐 住驻讜专讟 reemsport

    beste herrenuhr bis 100 euro wirth besteck max mara sommerkleider top pailletten cashmere pullover herren xxl wasserdichte taschen armbanduhr herren silber adidas cool 365 trainingshose herren

  44. giacche inverno 2016 donna

    sandaler med svangsté…¶tte gaveideer 10 æ°“r global funk flyverdragt sté…¶rrelsesguide vera mont collection 2018 kjole custommade tab dig ved at lé…¶be ballerina med hå¿™l neo noir sweatshirt

  45. 丕賱賲賱賰丞 丕爻 毓賲丕賱 丨夭丕賲 丕賱亘胤賳 囟乇賵乇賶 亘毓丿 丕賱賵賱丕丿丞

    t shirt bambus pique med logooyoy living design då¿™kkeservietter i græ°“sortaround town luxe backstrap natural tan flade sandaler brunferm living lampe tilbud husqvarna robotklipper tilbud

  47. koffer 140 liter

    tenis negros para ni帽a comprar botines mujer baratos tenis blancos nike de mujer nike tanjun blancas modelos zapatillas munich productos para perros vans urbanas zapatillas pico

  49. en ucuz krampon nike resimleri fiyatlarè°‹ ve modelleri waa2

    chanel 銈枫儯銉嶃儷 銉栥儵銉炽儔 銉庛儥銉儐銈?銉斻偄銈?銉戙兗銉?銈淬兗銉儔 鑺便儮銉併兗銉?code 0025 銈ゃ儍銉併兗銈广偪銈ゃ儷 閫氳博 yahoo 銈枫儳銉冦償銉炽偘 鎸囪吉 銉兂銈?銉儑銈ｃ兗銈?銈枫兂銉椼儷 绱般亜 銇娿仐銈冦倢 閲嶃伃銇ャ亼 銈兗銉偣銈裤兗 銈广儖銉笺偒銉?銈儍銈?闈╅澊 銉栥儵銉炽儔 銉°兂銈?銈偢銉ャ偄銉?/a> 銉熴偔銉忋偊銈广伄闈淬亰銇欍仚銈?5é–¬?璧ゃ仭銈冦倱銇冻銈掑劒銇椼亸鍖呫伩姝ｃ仐銇?銈般儍銉?銈兗銉涖儷銉€銉?銉戙偘…

Comments are closed.