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)”

  9. tenis air max sequent 4 negro hombre

    calvin klein eternity for men loci贸n after shave para hombre 100 ml notino el beige perfumes hombremadera conjuntos de muebles de jard铆n muebles yzapatillas adidas 2016 para ni帽ospila bater铆a bot贸n cr 2032 de litio

  11. summit white light bone womens tennis nikecourt zoom cage 2 shoe 705260 101

    銈点偆銈儷銈︺偋銈㈠湪搴竴鎺冦偦銉笺儷 craft 2016骞存槬澶忋儮銉囥儷 銉曘偋銈躲兗銉┿偆銉堛偢銉ｃ偙銉冦儓w 1903258銉儞銉ャ兗銇ч€佹枡鐒℃枡 銉兗銈广偄銉冦儣銉栥兗銉?銈枫儳銉笺儓銉栥兗銉?銈广偍銉笺儔 銉儑銈ｃ兗銈归澊 銉忋偆銉掋兗銉?鍘氬簳銈广儶銈?銈裤偆銉欍儍銈儩銉笺儊 s 闆戣波銇濄伄浠?鏉变含銉ㄣ偓銈︺偋銈?.0闀疯 銈兗銉椼兂銉曘儹銉炽儓 銉熴儑銈ｃ偄銉犱笀 鍘氭墜 銉栥儷銉?銉儍銉?銈般儸銉?绉嬫湇 鍐湇 绉?鍐?銉儑銈ｃ兗銈?銉熴儵銉庛儸銉囥…

  12. ray ban erika rojos

    zapatos cu帽a para fiestaandrea l贸pez ortizzapatillas adidas originals para a los reyessandalias con cordones de vestir para mujer qinmm zapatos de ba帽o chanclas verano de playa fiesta casual roma beige

  14. fossil emerson medium satchel braun

    das bild wird geladen kinder geldboerse portemonaie klett schlaufe stoff pocket walletadidas sporttasche camouflagekleine schwarze handtasche mit nieten in hessen offenbachschwarze lederimitat tasche gro脽 kleiderkreisel

  21. panske hodinky guess v hnedom prevedeni

    los angeles raiders black silver two tone plastic snapback adjustable plastic snap back hat cap clothingclassic custom fisherman beanie plain beanies men winter knitted hat cuff beanie hats wholesaleskechers be light good story womens sneakersnew era c…

  23. 卸械薪褋泻懈械 褋褍屑泻懈 褉褍褔薪芯泄 褉邪斜芯褌褘. 褟褉屑邪褉泻邪 屑邪褋褌械褉芯胁 褉褍褔薪邪褟 褉邪斜芯褌邪. 泻褍锌懈褌褜 褋褍屑泻邪 懈蟹 谢褜薪邪

    2018 fashion mens summer short sleeve shirts japan magikarp sushi fish anime t shirts plussprings hottest sales on floral striped shirt dressup to 75 off nike kids clearance 16 hoodiesmens off white bart simpson t shirt medium and large

  25. k眉l枚nleges ez眉st sz铆v med谩l cirk贸ni谩val olcs贸 谩ron az 茅kszer szig

    concurso da aeron谩utica 2017 oferece 45 vagas para enfermagemchap茅us loucamente originais chap茅u girassoluniforme forca aerea brasileira no mercado livre brasilt锚nis adidas matchcourt preto branco 42 preto branco r 367

  26. czarna walizka brugi

    vittoria gotti made in italy torebka listonoszka sk贸rzana w t艂oczone wzory czarnatorebka shopper bordowam贸j racib贸rz wspomnienia uniwersytetu iii wieku teresamuszkieterki kazar lucie czerwony muszkieterki kozaki i inne damskie

  27. oversized hawaiian shirt in green excellent be worn as a depop

    泻褍锌懈褌褜 锌芯写邪褉芯泻 褉褞泻蟹邪泻 卸械薪褋泻懈泄 coswer 褔褢褉薪褘泄 胁 泻懈械胁械. 泻褍锌懈褌褜 锌芯写邪褉芯泻薪械写芯褉芯谐芯泄 泻芯卸邪薪褘泄 屑褍卸褋泻芯泄 泻芯褕械谢械泻 懈蟹 屑褟谐泻芯泄 泻芯卸懈 褋 蟹邪卸懈屑芯屑 写谢褟 写械薪械谐 swan art. b 0014褋褌懈谢褜薪褘械 屑褍卸褋泻懈械 泻芯卸邪薪褘械 褋褍屑泻懈 canada泻褍锌懈褌褜 卸械薪褋泻懈械 褋褍屑泻懈 薪邪 褉褍泻褍 褋 胁褘褕懈胁泻芯泄 胁 懈薪褌械褉薪械褌 屑邪谐邪蟹懈薪械 泻懈械…

  29. kate spade 32 watches

    fastrack wrap around sunglassesmarc jacobs tulip print iphone 6 case women lifestylewomen teen girls lightweight cat eye flat lenses mirrored51 solstice at una voz popular benefit concert with marc anthony

  30. 褔邪褋褘 alberto kavalli 泻褍锌懈褌褜 胁 泻褉邪褋薪芯写邪褉褋泻芯屑 泻褉邪械 薪邪 avito

    playera roja simple people para hombre talla s enandrea montelpare zapatos cl谩sicos con cordones negro farfetch el negro zapatos bajos ni帽oszapatos deportivos mujer con cu帽abot铆n deportivo garvalin gris ni帽a

  33. polo ralph lauren jersey performance t shirt

    褋褍屑泻邪 dionysus 谐褍褔褔懈 谐褍褔懈 gucci 泻谢邪褌褔 薪邪 褑械锌芯褔泻械 泻芯卸邪 锌褉芯写邪卸邪泻褍锌懈褌褜 carlo gattini 泻芯卸邪薪褘泄 褉褞泻蟹邪泻 black 邪褉褌. 3050 01loeffler randall 褋褍屑泻邪 褔械褉械蟹 锌谢械褔芯卸械薪褋泻邪褟 褋褍屑泻邪 prada 芯褉懈谐懈薪邪谢

  35. brocade gold blouse

    logitech g903 lightspeed gaming mouse with powerplay wireless charging compatibility computers accessoriesbose earbud replacement buy headphones online at best prices clubhyperx alloy fps mechanical gaming keyboard gamepro shoplogitech thx z 5300 5.1 s…

  37. vritikamesmer black and cream velvet and art silk readymade blouse available sizes 34

    盲kta ungdom flerf盲rgad danef忙 kornelija kl盲nning barnkl盲derbarnskor j盲mf枚r priser p氓 pricerunnersvenska kl盲der l氓ng盲rmad kn盲ppas design vinr枚d teeh枚gklackade skor versace signature sandaletter med kilklack schwarz damskor

  39. 斜芯褌懈薪泻懈 卸械薪褋泻懈械 reebok arctic sugar

    屑邪谐邪蟹懈薪褘 converse 褍胁械谢懈褔懈谢懈 褋泻懈写泻褍 屑芯褋泻胁邪 24褋泻懈写泻邪 薪邪 写械褌褋泻懈械 泻芯卸邪薪褘械 泻褉芯褋褋芯胁泻懈 adidas 泻褍锌懈褌褜 褋芯 褋泻懈写泻芯泄a closer look at nikes adapt bb auto lacing basketball shoespaige jimmy jimmy maternity jeans

  42. 斜褍褌褋褘 mizuno morelia af kr2 md japan ss13 褎褍褌斜芯谢褜薪褘械 orange

    maleta original de 谩gatha ruiz de la pradaprecio gafas rayban aviadorgafas de sol carrera carrera 5 ant 70 doradodescuento gafas de sol gafas de sol espejo del color pel铆cula rana gafas de sol polarizadas

  43. carhartt wip i006288 rugzak kickflip zwart go

    granatowe sanda艂y damskie selene sklepy obuwnicze violalouis vuitton wiosna wiosna wyprzeda偶 paris new yorkbotki sztyblety ocieplane czarne wishot wi臋cej ni偶 aukcjepaski sk贸rzane pasek sk贸rzany pierre cardin 519 torebki

  44. 泻邪褉写懈谐邪薪 泻写 002 芯锌褌 屑芯写邪

    i am a lucky mom i have a freakin awesome daughter t shirtkolkata knight riders white polo t shirts buy kolkata knight riders white polo t shirts online at low pricevans t shirt clothing mens correct blues dressfunny swimming t shirts swim hair dont ca…

  45. baleaf womens heavy weight thermal leggings tights fleece lined winter base layer underwear at amazon womens clothing store

    hermoso serraje zapatos mujer zapatos bajos para mujer negrola ç…¤ltima moda de oto帽o e invierno clè°©sico de un solo producto zapatos para mujer lautrebotas altas de plataforma dise帽o camuflaje con parches yjcpenney sheer caress control top pantyhose rose…

  47. guilty absolute pour homme

    sleeveless sweater t by alexander wang black size 36 fr in otherensnovo womens spandex bodysuit long sleeve yoga unitard for girl gymnastics dance ballet costume bodysuits forwhite sexy long sleeves turtleneck asymmetrical floor length long sleeve dres…

  48. valija carry on 53 cm r铆gida negro 4 ruedas 360

    bolsa kipling art m shapemix blvestido de festa longo. vestido de renda com p茅rolas e fenda branco kvendas online pode o beb锚 5001 do beb锚 do vestido da menina do miç…¤do arco floral princesa roupasandè°©lia royalz verniz tira nude salto baixo conforto com…

Comments are closed.