9/19/2023 0 Comments Strawberry alarm clock members![]() He contributed the bridge, the guitar parts and helped with the arrangement. I was in a quandary on how to create a “bridge” for the tune, called him up and 45 minutes later we had the music completed. We were on the same page when it came to writing music. I worked up the music for “Incense and Peppermints” with guitarist Ed King. I had “Heart Full of Rain” and the beginnings of “Incense and Peppermints.” It didn’t have a title, but the manager dubbed it “The Happy Whistler” for some ungodly reason! The band came to the realization that the way to make it was to not do cover songs. Then we started performing farther up the coast. We played Dino’s Pizza, private school parties and teen clubs. He was responsible for local SB airplay on some of our early records. We played a lot in Santa Barbara, mainly because our manager was friends with a DJ up there, Johnny Fairchild at radio station KIST. Wrote my first original song around then, “Heart Full of Rain.” The band manager, Bill Holmes, took the credit and put his name on the 45 rpm record. I auditioned by playing my Farfisa combo compact organ and singing the Stones’ version of “Route 66” along with the band. Mike Luciano, their lead singer, was leaving the group. Set up an audition, drove out to Glendale and met with the guys in Thee Sixpence - Ed King, Lee Freeman, Gene Gunnels, Steve Rabe and Gary Lovetro. One day I was in Adler’s Music Store and saw an ad for an organ player. I bought a Hohner electric piano and played it in two or three local rock bands. Soon figured out that was not my instrument. For some reason I played drums (always wanted to, I guess). I started a little band to perform at fraternity and sorority parties. When I went back to music two years later, I was in college. I was influenced by the doo wop sound, too.Ībout age 16, I stopped playing and got into cars, hung out at drag strips and took a break from the piano. I learned by playing classical music, but later got into songs by Jerry Lee Lewis such as “Great Balls of Fire.” I liked that walking-bass, boogie-woogie piano stuff. Years later, I wrote “Incense and Peppermints,” “Tomorrow,” “Sit With the Guru” and “Barefoot in Baltimore” on that old piano at our home in North Hollywood, Calif. ![]() My folks bought a used piano and I started taking lessons at age 8. I told my mom I wanted to do what he was doing. I was about 7 years old, watching Liberace on one of those 10-inch 1950s TVs. Mark: ‘We had no idea what we were in for’
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