In our latest Something Else! Sitdown, we caught up with Bunnell - who is part of a modern lineup that includes Seol and Weitz, as well as Gene Gunnels and Howie Anderson …īEVERLY PATERSON: There have been several different stories surrounding the origin of the band’s name. By the 1980s, however, the group had reformed behind original members George Bunnell and Lee Freeman, and they continues today - despite the 2010 loss of Freeman to cancer. The Strawberry Alarm Clock eventually dissolved, leaving behind for a time this interesting catalog of psychedelic bubblegum music. Nevertheless, the group remained in the spotlight in other ways, as they popped up in a pair of movies: Filmed in 1968 in San Francisco, “Pysch-Out” was colored with them, as was “Beyond the Valley of the Dolls” from 1970. Although further efforts were quite likable, action on the charts amounted to practically zilch. Originally featuring lead guitarist Ed King, rhythm guitarist Lee Freeman, bassists George Bunnell and Gary Lovetro, keyboardist Mark Weitz and drummer Randy Seol (who never failed to shock audiences by playing his instrument with his hands on fire), the Strawberry Alarm Clock were eventually stripped bare of their zesty garage/psychedelic mode - against their wishes - and evolved into a perfectly polished pop act. 23 hit with the creamy, lightweight “Tomorrow.” Early 1968 witnessed the band seizing the charts again, as they notched a No.

Governed by the piercing cry of a pulsating keyboard, the single was absolutely magnificent. 1 winner with “Incense and Peppermints” during the waning months of 1967. Boasting one of the most hilarious monikers in rock ‘n’ roll history, the Strawberry Alarm Clock has returned with Wake Up Where You Are - their first new album in more than 40 years.Įmerging out of Santa Monica, California, they chalked up a No.

A strawberry alarm clock