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)”

  3. mirraw vestiti

    ted baker bum bag 賲賱丕亘爻 丕賱爻亘丕丨丞 丕賱爻毓乇 dreamworks trollok t枚lt枚tt h谩romemeletes tolltart贸 beurer digitalni tlakomjer za zape拧膰e beyaz kalem elbise tesett眉r grey overall vestito cute country western abiti 1940s ball attire

  4. bambini rosa flowy vestito

    sparkly vestito aderente lungo sleeve moda nova plus formal vestiti max studio nero e bianco vestito priyanka chopra western vestiti di linea svadobn茅 suit design j crew christmas maglione lonec z ro膷aji in pokrovom 賲賱丕亘爻 卮 賵賶 乇噩丕賱賶 2017 gafas visionar…

  6. bianco mermaid formal vestito

    trendy moda wear joie mahesa vestito olcs贸 t茅sztak茅sz铆t艖 谩rak 丕丨匕賷賴 賱丕毓亘賷賳 賳丕丿賷 乇賷丕賱 賲丿乇賷丿 2018 full face kacige a new day target abbigliamento line indian per donna abbigliamento abito monospalla chiffon vestito

  7. 未喂伪蟽蟿伪蟽蔚喂蟽 蟻慰蠀蠂蠅谓

    位喂谓蠈位蔚慰蠀渭 蠁伪魏慰喂 1000 lumens scholl 蟺伪蟺慰蠀蟿蟽喂伪 纬蠀谓伪喂魏蔚喂伪 伪蟽畏渭喂 蟽伪魏伪魏喂 t锚nis nike air force 1 high special basketball branco bols urban mandala petrer 蟺蟻伪蟽喂谓慰 蠁慰蟻蔚渭伪 魏慰魏魏喂谓蔚蟽 魏慰蠀蟻蟿喂谓蔚蟽 蟽伪位慰谓喂慰蠀 naketano schniedelwutz tyrkysovè°© mikina s l铆mcem luxusn铆 spol…

  8. scarpe hoka df sport

    batman arkham city robin mens super hero fancy dress costume molly goddard ss17 runway 3 fashion blah uk fashion blog full cup minimizer bra plus size cotton bra crop top women underwear floral lace brassiere femme sexy lingerie uk 2019 from uk 1 bed f…

  9. louis vuitton monogram multi color keepall 45 duffle bag. nextprev. prevnext

    澶с亶銇紩銇嶅嚭銇椼偔銉冦儊銉冲弾绱?椋熷櫒妫?骞?0cm 閫氳博 銉囥偅銉庛偣 terrengsykkel for barn ny mail er ute etter 氓 deg til 氓 sjekke pixel pyntepute 2 pack inari svart nils extreme role klizaljke i koturaljke 4u1 roze budweiser flip flops guess crossbody 膷ern谩

  10. 讟讘注转 讬讛诇讜诐 讗讜讘诇 拽专讗讟

    red turquoise embroidered crop top with palazzo 砖讬专讜转讬 讘专讬讗讜转 讻诇诇讬转 注讜诇讛 讘拽诪驻讬讬谉 讞讚砖 诇砖讬专讜转 拽讚诐 讛专讬讜谉 讘讛讬拽祝 砖诇讙讬讛 100 驻诇谞诇 讻讜转谞讛 住讟 诇诪讬讟转 讬讞讬讚 讜讞爪讬 sarenza hombre sandalias zapatos kickers 2017 chez

  11. 1870s plesov茅 拧aty

    mujeres en licra emmezeta ide korak dalje u kupnju mo啪ete i sa psom vecernje haljine cene prodaja babylux 2 r茅szes è°©gynemç–Ÿhuzat garnitç…¤ra k茅k baglyos botas the north face hombre tommy hilfiger jakna m alpargatas de hombre tommy hilfiger de color azul c…

  12. highlander rambler rugzak 20l black lime green

    trening barbati champion piele naturala impletit artisan furnituri jas geel 15181307 dockers sale met hoge kortingen zalando lounge nl travel blouse wit helena hart megan aspirator vertical 2 in 1 philips powerpro duo 02 ce tableta mai merita cumparata…

  13. converse mexican design

    sportska maxi suknja asics gel nimbus 18 bambino nere malise casaco 7 8 com pele de coelho preto capitollium p谩nske zna膷kov茅 zimn茅 bundy b谩novce nad bebravou bazo拧.sk

  14. maschere antirughe fai da te

    collana molle e perline argento 925 a messina kijiji annunci di ebay filippa k cathy blouse camicia donna bianco abbigliamento gabor damenschuhe online nike herrenschuhe schwarz knielange kleider eng heine villeroy boch angebote steppjacke mit stehkrag…

  15. dettagli su rosario collana unoaerre in argento 925

    babbo natale da torino a milano a san siro il pantapalazzo ampio in tessuto cascante con zip dietro qvc moda neri elegante primer non acido perfect silcare 9 ml castelli gonfiabili per bambini i migliori 2019 herm猫s paris cappotto loden da caccia unise…

  16. adidas zimske decje cizme

    only dress shop 氐賵乇丞 賲 噩乇 賲賱丕亘爻 丨乇賷賲賷 乇賵賲丕 vans pullover deutschland prodaja muskih majci 賲乇丕噩毓丞 卮丕賲賱丞 禺胤賮 賵 毓賱賶 賲賲丕乇爻 賴丕 貨 廿賱賰

  17. comanda online cora

    gucci leren espadrille dames slippers zwart beige partij merkkleding shirts merkkleding t shirts miss june maxi jurk grenadine miss june roze jante noi 16 inch originale vw golf 5 6 7 jetta touran r16 rochita de botez gala sau alte ocazii speciale mov…

  18. partner nie ma na seks. na seks. sen a seks

    womens off shoulder bardot dresses ebay infamous cole black and yellow leather jacket mens leather jacket blue shrug buy blue shrug online in india vintage michael jordan jersey chicago bulls 23 champion red nba youth m 10 12 girls khloe denim skirt mo…

  20. head sprint pro

    mo拧ke boksarice z dalj拧imi hla膷nicami brez 拧ivov in elastike iz bambusa jansport backpacks on sale amazon 啪enska vetrovka 拧t. 42 monture lunette a la mode

  21. baby roze tommy hilfiger jumper

    芯写械卸写邪 芯锌褌芯屑 懈 胁 褉芯蟹薪懈褑褍 锌芯 薪懈蟹泻懈屑 褑械薪邪屑 褌褟泻 屑芯褋泻胁邪 泻芯褕械谢械泻 0404 rozetka 褋械褉械斜褉褟薪褘泄 泻芯褕械谢褜泻懈 泻褍锌懈褌褜 谐懈褉谢褟薪写邪 褋 薪芯胁褘屑 谐芯写芯屑 锌芯 薪懈蟹泻芯泄 褑械薪械 49 褉. 胁 懈薪褌械褉薪械褌 屑邪谐邪蟹懈薪械 褌芯胁邪褉芯胁 写谢褟 褋泻褉邪锌斜褍泻懈薪谐邪 home quiz marine en cream bardot jurk allbirds vrouwen schoenen…

  22. zapatos cerrados elegantes

    heine frottee bettw盲sche gr眉n tischdeko pink grau verlobungsring blauer topas kapuzenpullover herren gr眉n zapato cerrado verano mujer cepillos dentales personalizados cinturones dorados para bodas pinterest bota cano curto infantil g眉nstig kindersachen…

  23. bracciale portafortuna pandora

    womens quilted barn insulated coat baby toddler girls fall winter trench coat wind hooded jacket kids outerwear 2 3 years pink 1 year old birthday baby girl dresses with hat party wear vestido 2018 toddler baby girls laser treatment of tongue and lip t…

  24. aj gouden toe

    max mara teddy dames jassen roze ishq subhan allah jurken of zara sæ°“gskyddsstæžšvlar stars stripes stars stripes pæ°“slakanset 6 delar blæ°“ ido elegant handtag knopp 2020 adidas eqt 18 2020 jordan 12 bookbag plus size marine blauwe en geel jurk h m nya kvin…

  28. mountain warehouse extreme ski giacca

    2020 jordan retro se bambini rosa abito di pizzo jamawar shalwar kameez designs fred perry shirt vestito kohls junior formal vestiti galia lahav mermaid vestito temperley london sequin vestito gota patti work rajputi vestito bec e bridge mademoiselle v…

  29. plain style black long sleeve bodysuit girls jumpsuit baby dress nb 18m in bodysuits from mother kids on alibaba group

    black see through o neck long sleeves lace dress my style balenciaga intarsia knitted sweater luxury pink wedding dress half sleeve ball gown bride dresses 10 stunning photos of hollywood brides from the golden era 50 best halloween masks ever golfs th…

  31. spel spelen gratis

    outlet zapatos de vestir hombre zapatillas travesia hombre zapatillas para vestidos largos de noche mens shoes north face jackets clearance sale 85 the best skeleton mechanical watch for men golden luxury pantalones cortos mujer decimas kleding voor 22…

  32. tea party dresses for adults

    western vestiti for per donna di linea air force one utility noir et blanche sac a main en cuir pour femme mon sac è„¿ main et moi verde aqua vestito wwf maglietta vintage parka giacche mr price winter casual outfits 2019 versace 90s vintage logo mid hee…

  33. cadeau a faire a une femme

    fresh foam cruz new balance botines color cuero mujer pisos alquiler leganes amazon shorts capas para mascotas parkas hombre marcas lentes opticos para cara ovalada mujer audifonos entel huawei y9 2019 sweat femme raging bull asics gel sight

  36. fondos de pantalla 3d iphone

    ballerine lacoste rose collier pour homme pas cher sperry bottes monos para ni帽as el corte ingles nike chaussure homme tn pull homme col roul茅 pas cher bague zag avec pierre sac de randonn茅e femme

  41. nike id air max 95

    nike zoom soldier vii grey converse shorts mens nike shower sandals sportisimo praha andel nè°©st臎n茅 hodiny emory jones puma shoes cheap nike shoes canada cell adidas dbz adidas terrex fastshell cp zapatillas nike catalogo 2016 end off white converse adi…

  43. m e s bambini vestiti

    nike free run nike air max basket de colo 茅lu meilleur joueur fran莽ais pour la 2e flocked mesh maxi vestito firstcry vestiti shein jeans per le donne sexy satin vestiti bambini boy christmas vestiti

  44. szalik 100 we艂ny kaszmirowej

    roman costume per bambini tequila e orange juice alia bhatt designer vestiti mirraw gowns bcbg draped pocket vestito ghagra pattern vestito sparkly two piece gonna e top bianco vestito for estivo bronze glitter vestito neon rosa skater vestito bambini…

  45. sujetador sin tirantes tallas grandes smoothing de fantasie

    silvego st艡铆brn媒 prsten athenais se swarovski crystals 拧perky 蟺伪喂未喂魏伪 蟺伪蟺慰蠀蟿蟽喂伪 hogan nautica 蟻慰位慰纬喂伪 granè°©t a zoisit nè°©ramek z nerez oceli zbo啪铆 prodejce spole膷ensk茅 pono啪ky krè°©sn媒 svatebn铆 venecek lo啪n铆 povle膷en铆 mat臎jovsk媒 拧umperk bavln臎n茅 diamantov…

  46. messi football shoes for kids

    mango black sandals sleeveless dressing gown nike air zoom fly sp equipment dresses nordstrom casual date dresses nike air zoom vomero 13 sale gypsy style wedding dresses for sale champagne d’oro color vestito abiti da sposa guest vestito for spring 2…

  48. bula black damkl盲der f枚rm氓ga 223653101103 handskar

    谐褉邪褑懈褟 屑懈谢邪胁懈褑邪 泻褍锌懈褌褜 写械褌褋泻懈泄 褌械锌谢褘泄 泻芯褋褌褞屑 薪邪 屑邪谢褜褔懈泻邪 邪褉屑芯褉 薪邪褔械褋 枚rebro kyokushin karate walk of shame slip jurk la petite robe di chiara boni sale adidas ultra boost 3.0 zwart vans sk8 rose

  50. cappotto grigio outfit

    chantelle nursing bra solid gold iphone case timberland kids scarpe juventus converse scarpe stivaletti estivi gambaletto elastico 1 classe prezzo kondisko til damer gucci jakke må¿™nd nordstrom gucci borse piquadro tracolla donna

Comments are closed.