Of course they took acid. You know when you hear a song about love’s world of blueberry blue, you’re probably hearing something influenced by the wide world of pleasure-enhancing, mood-altering, hallucination-enducing psychedelic drugs. And though they are pegged as a bubblegum band (hell, they’re on Buddah Records), in many ways the Lemon Pipers fall into the Syd Barrett/Lewis Carroll side of sixties rock, with music that sounds almost sinister in its sweetness and childlike lyricism.
But few bands in the sixties actually appeared on television clearly zonked out of their minds on LSD! The way these guys attack the set they’re on, bashing stuffed animals with guitars and growling for the camera, proves they’re true flower punks in a way the Jefferson Airplane never were. Check out this footage, and make sure to watch the interview at the end where the singer keeps talking even when he doesn’t have the microphone.