Mark Stephen Weitz (born 1945) is an American musician. A keyboard player for the 1960s psychedelic rock group Strawberry Alarm Clock, Weitz was the principal composing member of the band.
Weitz was born Mark Stephen Weitz in Brooklyn, New York, in 1945 and at 6 months old moved to California. He took up playing piano and organ at age 8 and at age 20 joined a rock group called Thee Sixpence as one of the singers and the organist. Three or four years older than everyone else, he had more definite musical ideas than his bandmates, as well as a more mature and professional outlook on music, which served them well the next four years.
Weitz was an able composer, and for the group's 1967 single on the all American label he submitted three songs: "The Birdman of Alkatrash", "Heart full of Rain", and "Incense and Peppermints". The latter, turned over to another composer by the record's producer to write the lyrics, became a #1 national hit for the group, newly christened Strawberry Alarm Clock.
Weitz played keyboards for Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan's side project Spirits in the Sky, [1] which toured for several weeks in 2009. Weitz first played with the band at a memorial concert for Sky Saxon, the late singer for the Seeds. In 2010, the Strawberry Alarm Clock was working on material for Corgan's new record label. [2]
Mark Weitz and Ed King wrote the melody for Incense and Peppermints, with John Carter composing the Lyrics. When the hit single was pressed, SAC Manager Bill Holmes left Weitz and King off the credits. The band's main composers were never able to recover those lost royalties.
The Smashing Pumpkins are an American alternative rock band from Chicago, Illinois. Formed in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, bassist D'arcy Wretzky, guitarist James Iha, and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, the band has undergone several line-up changes since their reunion in 2006, with Corgan being the sole constant member since its inception. The current lineup features Corgan, Chamberlin, and Iha.
William Patrick Corgan Jr. is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and professional wrestling promoter. He is best known as the co-founder, lead singer, primary songwriter, guitarist, and only constant member of the rock band The Smashing Pumpkins. He has also been the owner and promoter of the National Wrestling Alliance since 2017.
James Yoshinobu Iha is an American rock musician. He is best known as a guitarist and co-founder of the alternative rock band the Smashing Pumpkins. He was a member until the initial breakup in 2000, and performed on the band's first six albums until rejoining the Smashing Pumpkins in 2018, and performing on the band's three most recent albums since then. Among his musical projects of recent years, Iha has been a permanent fixture of A Perfect Circle. He was most recently a member of Tinted Windows, a 1960s/1970s inspired group with members of Cheap Trick, Fountains of Wayne, and Hanson.
The Seeds were an American psychedelic garage rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1965, best known for their highest-charting single "Pushin' Too Hard". The band's classic line-up featured frontman Sky Saxon, guitarist Jan Savage, keyboardist Daryl Hooper and drummer Rick Andridge. In 1968, the band changed their name to Sky Saxon and the Seeds, with Savage and Andridge departing the band. They went on to release a handful of additional singles, with Hooper also departing at some point before splitting up in circa 1972.
Strawberry Alarm Clock is a psychedelic rock band formed in 1967 with origins in Glendale, California, a city about ten miles north of downtown Los Angeles. They are best known for their 1967 hit single "Incense and Peppermints". Categorized as acid rock, psychedelic pop and sunshine pop, they charted five songs, including two Top 40 hits.
Edward Calhoun King was an American musician. He was a guitarist for the psychedelic rock band Strawberry Alarm Clock and guitarist and bassist for the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd from 1972 to 1975 and again from 1987 to 1996.
Incense and Peppermints is the debut album by psychedelic rock band Strawberry Alarm Clock. Released in October 1967, it reached No. 11 on the Billboard 200 album charts during a 24-week run and included the band's No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hit "Incense and Peppermints".
Linda Strawberry is an American artist, director, production designer, editor and musician, best known for her work on tours and music videos.
The Adult Net were a British indie pop band formed by British-based American singer and guitarist Brix Smith in 1984, while she was a member of The Fall.
A Band Called David was a group of musicians who provided the instrumental support from 1974 until 1988 for the 2nd Chapter of Acts, a contemporary Christian music group.
Mark Shalom Tulin was an American bass guitarist who played with the psychedelic rock band The Electric Prunes.
"Incense and Peppermints" is a song by the Los Angeles–based psychedelic rock band Strawberry Alarm Clock. The song is officially credited as having been written by John S. Carter and Tim Gilbert, although it was based on an instrumental idea by band members Mark Weitz and Ed King. It was released as the A-side of a single in May 1967 by Uni Records and reached the number one position on the Billboard Hot 100, where it stayed for one week before beginning its fall down the charts. Although the single was released in the United Kingdom it failed to break into the UK Singles Chart. The song was featured in the film Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery and the fictional biopic Daisy Jones and the Six.
Wake Up...It's Tomorrow is the second album by the American psychedelic rock band Strawberry Alarm Clock, released by Uni Records in 1968. It came as the group was challenged with continuing the success of their debut single, the psychedelic classic and number one hit, "Incense and Peppermints" and the LP that followed. Their second effort would expand upon the arrangements of its predecessor's unique blend of vocal harmonies, psychedelia, and pop music. In addition, the band's atypical lineup, which featured two bassists, would be altered to address studio and performing issues.
Teargarden by Kaleidyscope is a music project by alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins that was started in late 2009 by frontman Billy Corgan following the second departure of original drummer Jimmy Chamberlin. The project initially was conceived as a 44-song concept album loosely inspired by the Tarot, with each song being released individually as a free download. By August 2018, after 34 tracks had been released, Corgan announced via Instagram that the project had been abandoned.
Michael William Byrne is an American drummer who was a member of the band The Smashing Pumpkins. When Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan called for rehearsals to replace Jimmy Chamberlin, Byrne auditioned and was chosen out of thousands of applicants. He played drums in Sky Saxon tribute band Spirits in the Sky for six shows in August 2009, along with Corgan, Kerry Brown, Kevin Dippold, Mark Tulin, Linda Strawberry, Ysanne Spevack, Mark Weitz, and Dave Navarro, and also performs drums on the Pumpkins project, Teargarden by Kaleidyscope. As a part of Teargarden, Byrne contributed drumming duties on Oceania, the Pumpkins' eighth full-length album. On April 17, 2010, Byrne played his first show under the Smashing Pumpkins moniker in celebration of Record Store Day.
Kerry Paul Brown is a record producer, movie soundtrack producer, music editor, composer, artist manager, and a musician. He was the drummer in Chicago alternative rock band Catherine in the 1990s. He also played drums for the Smashing Pumpkins on the song "Blew Away" and produced "Starla" and "Plume" for the album Pisces Iscariot during his marriage to Smashing Pumpkins bass player, D'arcy Wretzky.
The World in a Sea Shell is the third album by Strawberry Alarm Clock, released in November 1968 on the Uni label. The album was not a chart success, and was the final LP to include the classic Strawberry Alarm Clock lineup.
"Mr. Farmer" is a song by American garage rock group The Seeds, written by vocalist Sky Saxon and produced by Marcus Tybalt. It was released as a single in 1967 and peaked at number 86 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song was banned on many radio stations during the time of its release because of its drug references.
Frank Conley Slay Jr. was an American songwriter, A&R director, record producer, and record label owner. He wrote with Bob Crewe in the late 1950s and early 1960s, the partnership's most successful songs including "Silhouettes", a hit for several artists including The Rays and Herman's Hermits, "Daddy Cool", and "Tallahassee Lassie". As a producer, his biggest hit was "Incense and Peppermints" by the Strawberry Alarm Clock.
Good Morning Starshine is the fourth album by American psychedelic rock band Strawberry Alarm Clock, released in 1969 on Uni Records. It featured a considerably altered lineup and a departure from the sound on the group's past psychedelic pop works, toward blues rock. The album itself failed to chart, but a single, "Good Morning Starshine", peaked in the lower reaches of the Billboard Hot 100.