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)”

  8. string mila aper莽u rapide nouveau

    chuteira society nike mercurial x victory 6 cr7 tfplus size 34 48 sapatos femininos sand谩lias plataforma sand谩lias sapato feminino ver茫o estilo ver茫o sapatoscamisa paris woment锚nis asics gel rocket 8a n41 roupas e cal莽ados s茫o pedro

  9. jimmy choo metallic slingback sandals shoes

    schæžšner schwarzer gro脽er schal tuch mit rosen blumenmuster und fransen im russischen stildamen winterjacke gr 36absolut gute qualit盲t betty flutter badeanzug damen bekleidung bademode beachwearrick cardona by heine damen maxikleid brautkleid kurzgr枚脽e…

  10. 锌谢邪褌褜械 写谢褟 写械胁芯褔泻懈 baby steen b 褑械薪邪 4800 褉褍斜

    new balance girls bras grey gray heather seamless racer back sports bra girlslightweight workout shorts new balancemita sneakers x new balance 990 v4 bouncing frog release datenew balance turf shoes new balance sneakers made in usa red procesal

  11. 丿賷賰賵乇丕 丨賲丕賲丕 乇禺丕賲 賲賵丿乇賳 2015 賱賵賰卮賷賳 丿賷夭賷賳 . 賳

    foto 1 è´¸culos de sol ray ban infantil aviador rj9506s 211 7e 50lentes transitions signature de vii generaciè´¸n montura kit de limpieza examen en tu è´¸pticaè´¸culos sol mormaii ventura m0010a1449 preto fosco è´¸culos de solarma莽茫o de è´¸culos guess mod gu2686 0…

  13. baç…¤ com curvo verniz capuccino cores

    decora莽茫o de loja de roupas 7 dicas infal铆veis para atrair maiscamisa social infantil menino flè´¸rida 铆ndigo trend camisa socialnetshoes bota infantil cano curto kurz velcro tratorada masculina masculinobola futsal penalty max 200 termotec viii 1461 fut…

  15. camisa banho aqua manga curta fps 50 no

    triumph reggiseno pushup deep water zalando marroni poliammide reggiseni online store le dadidas gazelle scarpe da running bambino uk junior 28 epriceuomo cotone lino pantaloni larghi vita elasticizzata kung fu arti marzialicalzedonia costume nero

  17. vestido jany pim midi plissado animal print p铆ton qvestido moda

    懈薪褌械褉薪械褌 屑邪谐邪蟹懈薪 屑芯写薪芯泄 卸械薪褋泻芯泄 芯写械卸写褘 写谢褟 写械胁褍褕械泻kifa 屑卸褎 016 7 屑邪泄泻邪 褋锌芯褉褌懈胁薪邪褟 褋 锌芯写写械褉卸泻芯泄 卸械薪褋泻邪褟 泻褍锌懈褌褜 kifa 屑卸褎褋芯褋褌邪胁 褌泻邪薪懈 懈 褋锌芯褋芯斜 锌谢械褌械薪懈褟 薪懈褌懈泻芯褋褌褞屑 斜械谢褘泄 da sogno

  20. clyde jacket in cotton canvas elizabeth

    san francisco de as铆stoalhas com bico de croch锚 coloridos combinando com a cor das pe as foto de artes dabeautiful flower girl dress royal blue渭慰谓蟿 蟻谓伪 魏伪位慰魏伪喂蟻喂谓 蠂伪位喂

  22. 38 13 賲爻賱爻賱 卮賵 丕賱賯氐丞 丕賱丨賱賯丞 28 hd 丕賵賳 賱丕賷賳

    賴賱 爻亘亘 丕賱毓丿爻丕 丕賱賱丕氐賯丞 丕賱毓賲賶責兀夭賷丕亍 爻賴乇丞 2012丕賱夭賵丕噩 丕賱爻毓賷丿 賷購胤賷賱 丕賱丨賷丕丞丕賮囟賱 賲賵賯毓 丨賲賷賱 丕賱毓丕亘 賰賲亘賷賵 乇 2018 games pc

  26. selected sneaker noos white

    flower print heels forever 21lk bennett nellie platform sandals gold pale gold women shoeschampagne stiletto heels closed toe wedding shoesmichael michael kors dorothy flex dorsay classic heels black

  32. ropa interior hombre sexy beikoard ventas altas calzoncillos para hombre de hielo sexy raya algodè´¸n suave

    jetzt gratis bio produkte testenzna ka adidas prodala loni milion pè°©r tenisek vyroben ch z odpaduoudh khalifa perfume with oud wood inside by anfar 100ml arb oriental fragrance unisex edp amazon.co.uk beauty&id=11my own chanel pearl drop earrings the b…

  35. black mink long fur coat i the real mink fur coat by haute acorn

    buty popielate cz贸艂enka skè´¸rzane na niskim obcasie casu 2320piast salon sukien 艣lubnychbuty m臋skie jesie艅 zima lacoste ampthill terra put 3 tenisè´¸wki i trampki br膮zowy ma艂e rozmiarysklep vices kozaki damskie be偶owe kozaki za kolano olivia be偶owy sprzed…

  37. 賲丕 爻亘亘 丕乇 丿丕亍 丕賱毓匕乇丕亍 丕賱兀夭乇賯 毓賱賶 丕賱丿賵丕賲責

    durable nike air jordan 15 laptop jumpman backpack bag blackonline air jordan 2 white metallic silver neutral greyair jordan 9 retro white french blue grey 302370 141 authenticair jordan 14 low

  38. sudadera mujer puma fusion cropped crew sweat

    bancos y taburetes leroy merlindesigual vestido de mujer desigual con rayas y escote en la espalda 97 viscosa 3faldas largas de mezclilla mayoreo amor saleselegdream marca oversized ropa grande mè°©s tama帽o mujer blusa camisa casual tops 2019 primavera t…

  50. jordan retro 12

    My wife and i have been quite ecstatic Ervin could conclude his reports using the precious recommendations he came across from your weblog. It’s not at all simplistic just to find yourself handing out steps other folks might have been trying to sell.…

Comments are closed.