2012 concerts

Love Ride: SAC goes whole hog

The Strawberry Alarm Clock woke up the SoCal motorcycling elite with a “short but sweet” set at the charity event Love Ride 29.

This time out, the band kicked off with “The World’s on Fire” (opening track of their first album) and closed with “Mr. Farmer” (opening track on their latest album).

The early-morning charity show was produced by Walter Roland Moore and his wife, Annet Peairs. “They are longtime friends of the band — great people!” bassist/singer George Bunnell said. SAC performed at Harley Davidson of Glendale.

Love Ride is billed as the longest-running motorcycle fundraiser in the world. It benefits the USO.

Bunnell says the potential for the band to put on its best show ever was there Oct. 21 — but the tech gremlins had other plans.

(Text continues after concert photo gallery)

Motorcycle charity event

The Strawberry Alarm Clock performs at Love Ride 29 in Glendale on Oct. 21, 2012

Of the 30 or so microphones on stage, none actually worked in the wake of a digital board synchronization snafu. One thing led to another, and the band ended up with only two microphones. The show that was supposed to start at 7:15 didn’t get going until 8:15 or so.

Here’s the set list:

“The World’s on Fire”
“Sit With the Guru”
“Lose to Live”
“Incense and Peppermints”
“Tomorrow”
“Mr. Farmer”

The show was “short but sweet,” Bunnell says.

Longtime band associate Steve Bartek (Oingo Boingo) performed, as did Robert Cowan of the Neville Bros. band on harmonica.

L.A. Councilman Tom LaBonge presented the Valley rockers with certificates marking the 45th anniversary of “Incense and Peppermints” hitting No. 1. Jay Leno and the mayor of Glendale were on hand as well.

The band accepted the L.A. honors for Lee Freeman, who died several years ago, and for Ed King, who now lives in Nashville.

After the show, the band headed north to ride destination Lake Castaic, where they were part of the celebrity introductions. An emotional Randy Seol, the band’s drummer/singer, told the crowd of how the musicians grew up together and were lucky to still be performing as friends.

Also performing at Love Ride were Canned Heat, and George Thorogood and the Destroyers. Leno and Peter Fonda were event “grand marshals.”

The Strawberry Alarm Clock have been performing in support of their new CD, “Wake Up Where You Are.” The album is a mix of new SAC songs and reinterpretations of their classic psychedelic hits.

More new Strawberry Alarm Clock songs are in the works, keyboardist/singer Mark Weitz says.

Photos by Claire Bunnell and MacMac

Other band performances in 2012:

View more Strawberry Alarm Clock photo galleries

SAC in SD: Adams Street Fair video

Highlights, Recent shows

The Strawberry Alarm Clock fired up the crowd at the Adams Street Fair in San Diego on Sept. 29. They were joined by go-go dancers and … a young Dick Clark?

Video: A ThomasEpicJourney production

View the San Diego show photo gallery and read about the show.

SAC lights up San Diego: photo gallery

home, Recent shows

The Strawberry Alarm Clock’s show in San Diego kicked off in dramatic fashion:

A young Dick Clark introduced the even-younger band — the time travel courtesy of vintage video projected behind the band. For a few seconds, the Strawberry Alarm Clocks of 1967 and 2012 played together. The song, of course, was “Incense & Peppermints.” (View the video.)

The Adams Avenue Street Fair crowd roared its approval of the psychedelic light show and the dazzling go-go dancers from La Bella Danza Burlesque.

The Sept. 29 event continued the psychedelic vibe with a performance by Kofi Baker’s Cream Experience (Ginger Baker’s son). Text continues.

SAC in concert -- San Diego 2012

The Strawberry Alarm Clock performs at the Adams Avenue Street Fair in San Diego on Sept. 29, 2012

Adams Avenue is one of the largest free music festivals in California. The event also included a reunion of local crazies Mojo Nixon & Skid Roper, blues guitarist Coco Montoya and a reunion of rockabilly specialists the Paladins.

More Strawberry Alarm Clock photo galleries!

Still ticking: SAC set for 3 fall gigs

News/blog, Upcoming shows

The Strawberry Alarm Clock continues its 2012 revival with a trio of fall shows in Southern California.

The band returns to Silver Lake on Sept. 8 for Echoes West, “a psych music fest” featuring a dozen bands. SAC, no doubt, intends to show the new wave of psychedelic music rockers how it’s done.

Then it’s down to San Diego on Sept. 29 for the sprawling Adams Avenue Street Fair.

And the Strawberry Alarm Clock revs up for an appearance at Love Ride 29, billed as “the longest-running motorcycle fundraising event in the world.” Almost two dozen Harley-Davidson dealerships combined for the Castaic Lake-based event.

At the Love Ride, SAC will perform on the same Oct. 21 bill with Canned Heat — both L.A. bands with rich histories beginning in the mid-1960s. Like SAC, Canned Heat is no oldies act — both bands continue to evolve in the new century, performing songs both classic and new.

George Thorogood and the Destroyers headline, with Jay Leno and Peter Fonda as the event’s “grand marshals.” The show and ride benefit the USO.

Also getting top billing at Echoes West are hard rockers Dead Meadow and road-tested garage band Lords of Altamont.

Other bands at the psych music festival include Sleep ∞ Over, Spindrift, Sterling Roswell (Spaceman 3, “The Psychedelic Ubik”), Gram Rabbit, Silver Chords and the Electric Flower Group.

View the Echoes West lineup of bands.

Other acts confirmed for the Adams Avenue Street Fair include local crazies Mojo Nixon & Skid Roper, blues guitarist Coco Montoya and rockabilly specialists the Paladins.

The Strawberry Alarm Clock expects to play about 8 p.m., Sept. 29, at the 33rd Street Rock Stage.

SAC performed at the Satellite in Silver Lake on April 25, rocking a youthful and appreciative audience, with longtime band collaborator and new album producer Steve Bartek sitting in.

The Strawberry Alarm Clock are performing in support of their new CD, “Wake Up Where You Are.” The album is a mix of new SAC songs and reinterpretations of their psychedelic rock hits.

They also played the Whisky a Go Go in July. They also performed live and unplugged on K-EARTH radio.

(Updated Aug. 18 with the Adams Avenue info.)

Rocking the Whisky with SAC: photo gallery

Highlights, Recent shows

The Strawberry Alarm Clock played its second gig since the release of the new CD, this time at the Whisky a Go Go.

Surprisingly, the July 19 concert was the first time the veteran L.A. band played the rock club.

As with the April Silver Lake concert, the show kicked off with a long driving “Mr. Farmer.” The band played fan favorites such as “Strawberries Mean Love,” “Rainy Day Pillow” and of course “I&P.”

The encore was a unique instrumental take on the Beatles’ “Day Tripper” (in 6/8 time), cooked up by singer-bassist George Bunnell.

The new songs from “Wake Up Where You Are” are well integrated into the show at this point. Highlights included “World Citizen” (Randy Seol) “Drifting Away” (Mark Weitz) and the CD title song, “Wake Up” (Howie Anderson). (Get a copy of the new Strawberry Alarm Clock CD.)

Harmonica ace Robert Cowan sat in with the band, as well as Kevin Dippold on flute.

Top left photo: The band during rehearsals for the Sunset Strip show.

Below is the photographic evidence of SAC at the Whisky! (Most photos by Janet Anderson).