Michael Quercio | |
|---|---|
 Michael Quercio in 1989 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | March 13, 1963 |
| Origin | California, United States |
| Genres | Paisley Underground |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Years active | 1981–present |
| Member of | The Three O'Clock |
Michael Quercio (born March 13, 1963) is an American musician. He is the founder, bassist and lead singer of The Three O'Clock, [1] and coined the term Paisley Underground as the name of a musical subgenre.
Quercio is best known as the founding member, lead vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Three O'Clock, among the most successful artists of the neo-psychedelic movement of 1980s rock music that became known as the Paisley Underground. Quercio coined the name Paisley Underground for his musical subgenre in late 1982, during an interview with the LA Weekly alternative newspaper. [2] As the event was later reported:
Quercio was close friends with Lina Sedillo who was the bass player with local punk band Peer Group, who had played on the same bill as The Salvation Army on occasion. One evening Sedillo taped Peer Group rehearsing and one of the numbers contained an improvised spoken middle section. Sedillo was wearing a red paisley dress she had bought from a thrift store and his eyes fell on the bass player and out came the line "Words from the paisley underground." Sedillo noticed the phrase while playing the tape back the next day and immediately phoned up Quercio and repeated it to him. They ran a casual 60s music listening group together and thought it a cool name for them to use. When Quercio a few weeks later spontaneously dropped the phrase into an interview when asked to describe The Bangles, Rain Parade and The Three O'Clock sharing the same bill, the interviewer highlighted it in the article as a handy label for this group of bands. And so Quercio had unwittingly came up with the name of this new movement, the Paisley Underground. [3]
The phrase later came to be "hated by the bands it described," [4] though Steve Wynn acknowledged that it was both harmless and helpful to have a "banner" over the movement. [5] At the height of The Three O'Clock's popularity, Quercio stated that he aspired foremost to be a pop band, not to represent a movement.[ citation needed ]
The Three O'Clock originally formed under the name The Salvation Army in 1981. The original lineup, which included Quercio on lead vocals and bass, released a single ("Mind Gardens" b/w "Happen Happened") on The Minutemen's New Alliance label in November, 1981. At this juncture, Quercio (then billed as "Ricky Start") was the band's sole songwriter. Quercio's first significant band, The Salvation Army played mildly psychedelic pop-influenced tunes with a decidedly punk-like energy, bridging the punk scene of the 1980s and the melodic 1960s revivalist sounds that defined the U.S. mod-revivalist movement.[ citation needed ]
By the end of the year, Quercio reverted to his real name, and a new lineup of The Salvation Army signed with LA independent label Frontier Records and released a self-titled debut LP in May 1982. By the summer of 1982, legal problems with the actual Salvation Army forced the band to change their name. Frontier would later reissue the Salvation Army's debut LP, renaming the album Befour Three O'Clock.
The band's new name, "The Three O'Clock," came from the time of day they rehearsed. Still signed to Frontier, the band issued the Baroque Hoedown EP, their debut release as The Three O'Clock, in late 1982. The EP was followed by a full-length LP in 1983 entitled Sixteen Tambourines . Both Frontier releases were produced by Earle Mankey. The Three O'Clock had developed into a power-pop ensemble with 1960s garage band influences. Quercio and Louis Gutierrez co-wrote almost all the band's material. They received airplay in Southern California, notably on influential LA station KROQ-FM, and the song "Jet Fighter" from Sixteen Tambourines became a national college radio hit.
Rainy Day was an all-star Paisley Underground band, with a floating membership that included members of Dream Syndicate, The Three O'Clock, Rain Parade and The Bangles. Rainy Day recorded and released their only album in 1984, which consisted of covers of songs by Bob Dylan, The Beach Boys, Buffalo Springfield, Big Star, The Velvet Underground, The Who and Jimi Hendrix. Quercio sang lead on a few tracks, and played on a few others.
The Three O'Clock signed to I.R.S. Records for their next album, 1985's Arrive Without Travelling . Producer Mike Hedges recorded the album in Germany. The band had a minor hit with "Her Head's Revolving", whose video received regular airplay on MTV. "Half the Way There" was also released as a 12-inch single, and featured a Motown style drumbeat and rich harmonies.[ citation needed ]
The band released the album Ever After , produced by Ian Broudie, in 1986. Quercio once again was the band's chief songwriter, and his single "Suzie's on the Ball Now" gained minor airplay on stations like KROQ-FM in Los Angeles.
In 1988, a new line-up of The Three O'Clock, featuring Jason Falkner on guitar, entered the studio to record the Ian Ritchie-produced Vermillion , on Warner Bros. Records by way of Prince's Paisley Park Records imprint. "Prince was aware of us from Arrive Without Travelling and the "Her Head's Revolving" video," according to drummer Danny Benair. "The Bangles told us he was a fan, and when we were off IRS, he sent a label person to see us live." Prince himself contributed a song, "Neon Telephone," to Vermillion under the pseudonym Joey Coco. The album was a critical and commercial failure, and did not dent the charts. It was the last Three O'Clock album, and the group disbanded shortly after its release.
Tater Totz was a side project cover band launched by members of Redd Kross along with Pat Fear of White Flag and Michael Quercio, billed as "Ricky Start". In 1988 the group released Alien Sleestaks from Brazil, which included songs originally by Queen and Yoko Ono, and featured a cover of The Beatles' "I've Just Seen a Face" with lead vocals by guest Danny Bonaduce. The second Tater Totz album, Sgt. Shonen's Exploding Plastic Eastman Band Request Mono! Stereo , was released in 1989, and included Cherie Currie of The Runaways, and Pat Smear.
In the mid-1980s, Quercio had also gained some production experience, working with Game Theory as producer of their 1984 Distortion EP. He later appeared as a guest musician on their albums Real Nighttime (1985) and Lolita Nation (1987).
In 1989, Scott Miller brought Quercio into a new lineup of his band Game Theory as a full member. This incarnation of Game Theory, which toured in 1989 and 1990, consisted of Quercio (bass, drums, backing vocals), Miller (lead vocal, guitars), Jozef Becker (drums, bass), and the group's former drummer Gil Ray on guitar and keyboards.
In late 1989, the line-up of Miller, Quercio, Ray, and Jozef Becker recorded a demo in San Francisco, co-produced by Miller and Dan Vallor, with four songs that included "Inverness" and "Idiot Son" (both later to be performed by the Loud Family) and, with Quercio taking on lead vocals, "My Free Ride." [6] : 90 The London-based tabloid Bucketfull of Brains wrote, "One listen to this latest demo... and you can't help but wonder if pop music can get any better than this." [7]
In a 1990 interview promoting the release of the compilation album Tinker to Evers to Chance, Miller laughed that Game Theory stood at "a rocky pitfall-ridden crossroad," and Quercio noted, "When a major label hears someone like Scott or me sing, they say, 'That doesn't really sound like anybody,' and don't know what market to plug it into.... Sometimes originality is your worst enemy." [7] Game Theory disbanded before releasing a new studio album with Quercio in the lineup. The group remained inactive until the 2017 release of Supercalifragile , an album on which Quercio was initially expected to appear, but ultimately did not.
By 1991, Quercio had left Game Theory, opting to return to Los Angeles to form the band Permanent Green Light. [8] [9] He later went on to be a member of Jupiter Affect. [10]
After 25 years of turning down reunion offers, The Three O'Clock reformed after being presented with a chance to play at the 2013 Coachella Festival. Quercio and two others from the band's "classic" line-up – guitarist Louis Gutierrez and drummer Danny Benair – were joined by new recruit Adam Merrin on keyboards. The group played both weekends of the Coachella festival, and also played on Conan on April 10, 2013. They later embarked on a mini-tour, and released several archival recordings that same year.
In December 2013, The Three O'Clock played two nights with three other reunited Paisley Underground bands – The Bangles, Dream Syndicate, and Rain Parade – at The Fillmore in San Francisco (Dec. 5) and The Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles (Dec. 6 benefit concert). [11] As of 2014 [update] , the reunited band remained active and continued to tour. [12]
Quercio is openly gay and currently lives in San Pedro, Los Angeles. [13]
The Bangles are an American all-female pop rock band formed in Los Angeles, in 1981. They are known for hit singles during the 1980s that made them one of the most successful pop rock groups of the decade. The band’s biggest commercial successes include "Walk Like an Egyptian" (1986), which became a worldwide phenomenon, "Manic Monday" (1986), a song written by Prince, and a cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s "Hazy Shade of Winter" (1987), which was featured in the film Less Than Zero. Their ballad "Eternal Flame" (1989) became a big hit, topping the charts in several countries and is one of their signature songs. Other hits included "In Your Room" (1988) and "If She Knew What She Wants" (1986).
The Dream Syndicate is an American alternative rock band from Los Angeles, California, originally active from 1981 to 1989, and reunited since 2012. The band is associated with neo-psychedelia and the Paisley Underground music movement; of the bands in that movement, according to the Los Angeles Times, the Dream Syndicate "rocked with the highest degree of unbridled passion and conviction." Though never commercially successful, the band met with considerable acclaim, especially for its songwriting and guitar playing. Bandleader Steve Wynn reformed the band in 2012, and four studio albums have been released since 2017.
Paisley Underground is a musical genre that originated in California. It was particularly popular in Los Angeles, reaching a peak in the mid-1980s. Paisley Underground bands incorporated psychedelia, rich vocal harmonies and guitar interplay, owing a particular debt to 1960s groups such as Love and the Byrds, but more generally referencing a wide range of pop and garage rock revival.
Game Theory was an American power pop band, founded in 1982 by singer/songwriter Scott Miller, combining melodic jangle pop with dense experimental production and hyperliterate lyrics. MTV described their sound as "still visceral and vital" in 2013, with records "full of sweetly psychedelic-tinged, appealingly idiosyncratic gems" that continued "influencing a new generation of indie artists." Between 1982 and 1990, Game Theory released five studio albums and two EPs, which had long been out of print until 2014, when Omnivore Recordings began a series of remastered reissues of the entire Game Theory catalog. Miller's posthumously completed Game Theory album, Supercalifragile, was released in August 2017 in a limited first pressing.
The Loud Family was a San Francisco-based power pop band formed in 1991 by songwriter and guitarist Scott Miller, who previously led the 1980s band Game Theory. The Loud Family released six studio LPs and one live LP from 1991 through 2006. After Miller's death in 2013, three Loud Family members participated in recording sessions for Supercalifragile (2017), Miller's posthumous Game Theory album.
The Three O'Clock is an American alternative rock group associated with the Los Angeles 1980s Paisley Underground scene. Lead singer and bassist Michael Quercio is credited with coining the term "Paisley Underground" to describe a subset of the 1980s L.A. music scene which included bands such as Dream Syndicate, Rain Parade, Green on Red, the Long Ryders and the Bangles.
The Rain Parade is a band that was originally active in the Paisley Underground scene in Los Angeles in the 1980s, and that reunited and resumed touring in 2012.
Rainy Day was an all-star Paisley Underground band, a collaborative project composed of members of Los Angeles-based bands including Dream Syndicate, The Three O'Clock, Rain Parade and The Bangles.
"Getting Out of Hand" is the debut single by American female band the Bangles, produced by the band themselves and released in 1981.
Sixteen Tambourines is the first album by the Three O'Clock, released in 1983.
Arrive Without Travelling, released in 1985, is the second album by the Three O'Clock, and their I.R.S. Records debut. The title was taken from a line from "The Inner Light", a song by George Harrison, which in turn derived the phrase from verse 47 of the Tao Te Ching, a Chinese classic text.
Vermillion is an album by the American band the Three O'Clock, released in 1988. It was the band's fourth and final album. The album was released on Paisley Park Records; label founder Prince wrote "Neon Telephone", on which Wendy and Lisa sang. Vermillion was produced by Ian Ritchie. Jason Falkner joined the band on guitar.
Paul B. Cutler is an American producer and guitarist, best known for his work with the Dream Syndicate and 45 Grave.
Real Nighttime is the second full-length album from Game Theory, a California power pop band founded by guitarist and singer-songwriter Scott Miller. Released in 1985, the album is cited as "a watershed work in '80s paisley underground pop." A 30th anniversary reissue was released in March 2015, on CD and in a limited first pressing on red vinyl, with 13 bonus tracks.
Distortion is a 1984 five-song EP by Game Theory, a California power pop band fronted by guitarist and singer-songwriter Scott Miller. A remastered reissue of Distortion was released by Omnivore Recordings in November 2014 as a 10-inch EP on green vinyl, with four of the songs released on CD as part of Omnivore's reissued Dead Center compilation.
Distortion of Glory is a 1993 compilation album from the band Game Theory, a California power pop band fronted by guitarist and singer-songwriter Scott Miller. Issued on CD by Alias Records, it anthologizes the band's debut album, most of the songs from two subsequent EPs, and one rare single.
Dead Center is a compilation album from Game Theory, a California power pop band fronted by guitarist and singer-songwriter Scott Miller. Initially released in France on Lolita Records in 1984, a newly remastered version was released on CD on November 24, 2014 on Omnivore Recordings.
George Gilbert "Gil" Ray was an American rock drummer, guitarist, and vocalist, best known for his recordings in the 1980s and 1990s as a member of the bands Game Theory and The Loud Family. In late 2012, he joined Rain Parade as drummer for a series of reunion performances.
Across the Barrier of Sound: PostScript is a 2020 compilation album consisting of material recorded in 1989 and 1990 by Game Theory, a California power pop band founded in 1982 by guitarist and singer-songwriter Scott Miller. The band's lineup during this period included Michael Quercio, who had previously fronted the Paisley Underground group The Three O'Clock.
Thomas Howard Stevens was an American bassist, guitarist, singer, and songwriter, often associated with the Paisley Underground and alternative country movements as bassist for roots rock band the Long Ryders. He was a member of Magi and Danny & Dusty, and recorded as a solo artist. In his solo work, Stevens incorporated elements of folk rock, country, psychedelia and garage rock into his music, and released what music reviewer Stewart Lee calls "fascinatingly different solo albums." Stevens was based in Los Angeles in the 1980s, but later returned to his native Indiana.
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