Accidentally, I found myself at a Strawberry Alarm Clock concert tonight.

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For one song, anyway. We went to a free concert by a local group called "Cool Fever" which performs a lot of 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s hits. It was at the Spreckles Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park, San Diego. About halfway through the concert, they introduced the drummer, Randy Seol, and said he was the original drummer for a group in the 1960s called "Strawberry Alarm Clock," and that they were going to do one of their hits, called "Incense and Peppermints" (which happens to be one of my favorite songs from the "Flower Power" era). He played on the original recording of it, and all of a sudden I am sitting just yards away from him, playing it and singing the vocals on it - and he sounded great and was full of energy. I had no idea he was part of this group. It was an amazing feeling to suddenly be sitting right there and a guy from the original recording is right there playing it and singing it. The only other time anything like that happened to me was when Robby Krieger of the Doors played a set at the Adams Avenue Street Fair in San Diego, about 10 years ago, and I went to it, being a fan of the Doors, not knowing whether they would play any Doors songs or what he would play. They played 7 or 8 Doors songs (I guess all the ones he wrote). It was like being at a mini-Doors concert, also for free. (The next year they had Mick Taylor of the Rolling Stones, but he played all blues numbers.)

[Zomby Woof]

1. Was Ed King in the lineup?

Ed King was in the Strawberry Alarm Clock when he wrote 'Incense & Peppermints' originally as an instrumental with another name. The record company forced him to add lyrics and change the name. He was never happy about that.

7 years later when he was in Lynyrd Skynyrd, he co-wrote the music to 'Sweet Home Alabama', and composed and played the guitar solo, in his words, "to get my money back" for what happened to him during his tenure with the SAC.

Anyway, glad you had fun, and pardon my infusion of trivia. :-)

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4. No, he wasn't there, but thanks for the info.

[Floogeldy]

6. That was because Ed was a moron.

I owned the album and, believe me, "Incense And Peppermints" was the only thing on the whole recording that made any sense. He should've gotten down on his knees and thanked the producer that literally had to force the band to put together an accessible, potentially popular song.

The rest of the album was bullshit stoned-out morons on acid nothingness.

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8. OK thanks - so he was sort of the Syd Barrett of S.A.C.?

[WCGreen]

2. Remember Donnie Iris.... Ah, Leah....

Well for a while, we had his drummer in our band....

[AlienGirl]

3. Holy shit!!

I envy you. I would have requested "Rainy Day Mushroom Pillow" or "Birdman of Alcatrash."

Tucker

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5. I think I will - they are playing all around town, but I don't know if

Randy Seol is in all their shows - he is pictured on their home page though so maybe he has joined the band:

http://www.coolfeverband.com/

It's either the guy in the middle or the guy on the extreme right. I am pretty sure the guy in the middle, with the red T-shirt and no jacket. At first I was sure that was him, but on looking at that picture again it could have been either. Oddly, they don't list him on their web site as a member of the group, but that's him - they introduced him, as I wrote, and he looked exactly like that tonight. Same shirt even.

[Whoa_Nelly]

7. That is so cool!

When you brought up Strawberry Alarm Clock, Incense and Peppermints immediately started playing in my head :D

Lucky You! :woohoo:

Incense and Peppermints
Strawberry Alarm Clock
(Ed King - John Carter)

Good sense, innocence, cripplin' mankind
Dead kings, many things I can't define
Occasions, persuasions clutter your mind
Incense and peppermints, the color of time

Who cares what games we choose?
Little to win but nothin' to lose

Incense and peppermints, meaningless nouns
Turn on, tune in, turn your eyes around

Look at yourself, look at yourself, yeah, yeah
Look at yourself, look at yourself, yeah, yeah, yeah!

To divide this cockeyed world in two
Throw your pride to one side, it's the least you can do
Beatniks and politics, nothing is new
A yardstick for lunatics, one point of view

Who cares what games we choose?
Little to win but nothin' to lose

------ instrumental break ------

Good sense, innocence, cripplin' mankind
Dead kings, many things I can't define
Occasions, persuasions clutter your mind
Incense and peppermints, the color of time

Who cares what games we choose?
Little to win but nothin' to lose

Incense and peppermints
Incense and peppermints

Sha la la
Sha la la
Sha la la
Sha la la
Sha la la

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9. Here's a picture of Randy Seol now, playing with "Cool Fever"

at the "International Blues Challenge" last November: