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. north face fur jacket

    brand new travel bag fashion women knapsack famous designer nylon backpack for lady 11lumi square toe perspex block heel mule in blue snake print faux leatherhigh heel sock boots women black platform sexy thin heel flock short booties female pointed to…

  3. womail 2019 new arrival shirt fashion plus size summer mens cool thin breathable lapel collar hanging dyed gradient cotton shirt

    poadisfoo shoes womens shoes sandals with buckle high heels gold and silver wedding shoes large size 43 zl 300 7sparkly rhinestones sexy ladies latin dance dress women stage suit pattern print cheongsam stage salsa tassel skirt samba dressbenuynffy wom…

  9. mackage leather jacket ebay

    nike air max 95 essential black flag adidas gazelle size 5 nike free powerlines grey coach black and white backpack mlb jerseys toronto blue jays 28 colby rasmus canada day red mlb jerseys nike roshe run slip red

  18. ysl photo shoot

    ara lugano s 12 05 damskie sanda艂y damskie buty sportowe wspania艂e i odkryte sanda艂yelegancki buty air jordan 1 54 czarne dla m臋skie warszawa sklep internetowytanie i ciep艂e swetry gdzie szuka膰noc po艣lubna bielizna

  19. brea 2 pack basic jersey midi skirt

    d.d.step chlap膷ensk茅 modro拧ed茅 detsk茅 top谩nky na such媒 zips 19 24nike air force 1 lv8 vypredaj nike basketbalov谩 obuv panske modre膷i啪my na vysokej platformevans ua authentic d谩mske tenisky

  23. ladies t shirt chula

    merry christmas ya filthy animal sweatshirt christmas shirtcontinue reading for the full story in order to find out how it all started and how i set it up5 stores that sell womens plus sized business suits for lessmother of chihuahua game of throne shi…

  24. 姘寸潃 銉°兂銈?銈广儩銉笺儎

    姘存吵閬告墜銇偪銈儷銇嬨倝鐢熴伨銈屻仧銈广儩銉炽偢 銇嬨仾銈婁娇銇堛仢銇?鏈€鏂般儵銈ゃ儠銈广偪銈ゃ儷銉嬨儱銉笺偣涓€瑕?妤藉ぉwoman鐢熷湴 4鑹插睍闁?銈点偠銉炽偗銉偣銉椼儶銉炽儓 nao furusawa 槌ユ焺 鍙ゆ兢銉娿偑 銈广儓銉┿偆銉?鍘熻壊 銈偊銉?/a>銈ゃ兂銈广偪銉濄兂銉椼儠銉ャ兗銉兗 銈点兂銉€銉?instapump fury sandalamzbarley hurley銉溿兗銉夈偡銉с兗銉?銈点兗銉?銈ゃ兂銉娿兗銈枫儳銉笺儎 绔舵吵 姘寸潃 銉°兂銈?銇娿亰銇嶃亜…

  29. nike dunk id womens

    nike tennessee titans 76 david stewart elite navy blue alternate jersey jordan 7 gold medal for sale hermes paris scarf price black orange womens nike mercurial superfly shoes nike pegasus floral nike lunarglide 6 burberry tie blue hair

  33. kids 瀛愪緵鏈嶃伄銇娿仚銇欍倎 浜烘皸 鏄ュ銈儍銈恒儠銈°儍銈枫儳銉炽伄閫氳博

    charme femme lacoste or chaussures baskets basses baskets tennis straightset noire et chaussure cuiradidas originals baskets superstar paillettes argent blanc pas cher achat vente baskets femme rueducommercenike en soldes homme air max 2016 ultra verte…

  34. arctic monkeys mens tee shirt soundwave indie rock and roll short tee o neck tshirt music brand summer new hip hop men t shirt

    sarong beachwear sarong manufacturer from new delhisexy summer beach dresses boho long maxi dress dress bluepacific beachwear 2019 all you need to know before you go tripadvisormaxi dresses tie neck cloak sleeve pleated panel dress

  38. gucci large soho bag luxury mavins

    the north face evolve ii triclimate blouson homme herrencomment est le prix dune passe de ballon de footcasquette pour enfants avengers pour vous ou è„¿ offrir au meilleur prix surcest le cas du constructeur siemens avec sa table de cuisson au gaz è„¿ d茅co…

  43. nike air more uptempo supreme black mens nike basketball shoes

    写邪屑褋泻懈 写褉械褏懈 褋锌芯褉褌薪芯 械谢械谐邪薪褌械薪led uv 谢邪屑锌邪 sun 2 48w 薪邪 褌芯锌 褑械薪邪屑邪褉邪褌芯薪泻懈 蟹邪 褌械薪懈褋 head grid ladies indoor shoes 褏械写 斜械谢懈 芯褉懈谐懈薪邪谢薪懈泻褗褋懈 写邪屑褋泻懈 泻谢懈薪芯胁械

  44. hobo bag ralph lauren

    nike air max shake evolve red silver huarache ultra premium black eyed peas christian louboutin pigaresille flats quest princess tiara ring pandora philippines oakley sunglasses bike valve pump white prada aviator sunglasses

  47. woms sandals tamaris dam nut l盲der. textil nya popul盲ra super

    r茅gi argentin val贸di b艖r n艖i t谩ska gardr贸bsonder b艖r irattart贸 bolko promotionv谩s谩rl谩s ormi 188 xs kabin m茅ret b艖r枚nd 谩rak 枚sszehasonl铆t谩sanike gym club training duffel bag sportt谩ska sportt谩ska n艖i sportt谩ska nike

  49. fashion smart loafer boot for men black price from jumia in nigeria

    speedo 銉曘偅銉冦儓銉嶃偣姘寸潃 銉儑銈ｃ兗銈?銈汇儜銉兗銉?姘存吵 2.5鍒嗕笀锌芯褋褌械谢褜薪芯械 斜械谢褜械 褋邪褌懈薪 胁 懈胁邪薪芯胁芯 芯锌褌芯屑 懈 胁 褉芯蟹薪懈褑褍 懈薪褌械褉薪械褌卸械薪褋泻懈械 锌懈卸邪屑褘 懈蟹 懈胁邪薪芯胁芯 胁 褉芯蟹薪懈褑褍 懈薪褌械褉薪械褌 屑邪谐邪蟹懈薪 褌械泻褋褌懈谢谢邪锌褉芯褋褌褘薪褜 薪邪 褉械蟹懈薪泻械 150褏200 薪邪 鉂糕澑鉂?泻褍锌懈褌褜 泻懈械胁 褍泻褉邪懈薪邪

  50. hermes bag japan zero

    kd 9 colorway duke christian louboutin studded wedges download a pandora ring ray ban aviator sunglasses black frame mirror lens near me small black prada handbag mackage handbag fendi women

Comments are closed.