The Three O'Clock

Infobox musical artist
Name = The Three O'Clock


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Alias = The Salvation Army
Origin = Los Angeles, United States
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Years_active = 1981-1988
Label = Frontier Records, New Alliance, Paisley Park Records, I.R.S. Records
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Current_members = Michael Quercio
John Blazing
Troy Howell
Gregg Gutierrez, later known as Louis Gutierrez
Mickey Mariano
Danny Benair
Jason Falkner
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The Three O'Clock is a defunct United States 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" [ [http://www.popmatters.com/music/features/020430-paisleyunderground.shtml PopMatters Music Feature | Tell Me When It's Over: The Paisley Underground Reconsidered ] ] to describe a subset of the 1980s L.A. music scene which included bands such as The Three O'Clock, Dream Syndicate, Rain Parade, Green on Red, and the Bangles.

History

Formation and early years as "The Salvation Army": 1981-82

The Three O'Clock originally formed under the name The Salvation Army in 1981. The original lineup was Quercio (lead vocals, bass), John Blazing (guitar), and Troy Howell (drums). They 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, and the group played mildly psychedelic pop-influenced tunes with a decidedly punk-ish energy.

By the end of the year, Blazing left and was replaced by Gregg Gutierrez, later known as Louis Gutierrez. Quercio reverted to his real name, and this lineup of The Salvation Army signed with LA independent label Frontier Records and released a self-titled debut LP in May 1982.

Name change to "The Three O'Clock" and early success: 1982-83

The band was forced to change their name from "Salvation Army" in the summer of 1982, due to legal problems with the actual Salvation Army. The new name came from the time of day the band rehearsed. Almost exactly coincident with the August 1982 name change to The Three O'Clock, Howell left the band and Mike Mariano (keyboards, ex-Great Buildings) and Danny Benair (drums, ex-The Quick) joined. Frontier would later reissue the Salvation Army LP under the group name Befour Three O'Clock in 1986, and again in 1992.

Still signed to Frontier, The Three O'Clock issued their 'debut' EP "Baroque Hoedown" in late 1982, followed by a full length LP in 1983 entitled "Sixteen Tambourines". Both the EP and LP were produced by Earle Mankey, and tracks from these releases received some airplay in certain Southern California markets (notably on LA's KROQ, which played "Jet Fighter" from "Sixteen Tambourines"). The Three O'Clock had now developed into more of a power-pop ensemble, with definite 1960s garage band influences. Quercio and Gutierrez co-wrote almost all the band's material, with occasional assists from Mariano.

The I.R.S./Paisley Park Years: 1984-88

The Three O'Clock then signed to the internationally-distributed I.R.S. Records for their next album, 1985's "Arrive Without Travelling". The band had a minor hit with "Her Head's Revolving", the video of which received regular airplay on MTV.

Gutierrez departed in 1986 and was replaced by Steven Altenberg for 1986's "Ever After", which was produced by Ian Broudie. The band were now refining their sound to a more polished version of baroque power-pop, and Quercio once again was the band's chief songwriter.

Subsequently, Jason Falkner was brought in to replace Altenberg for the Ian Ritchie-produced "Vermillion", the band's major-label debut on Prince's Paisley Park Records label in 1988. Prince himself contributed a song to "Vermillion", writing "Neon Telephone" under the pseudonym "Joey Coco".

Breakup and aftermath: 1989-present

"Vermillion" failed to make a substantial impact on the charts, and the band broke up shortly after its release.

Quercio continued to play in L.A. pop bands, briefly joining Game Theory in 1990 before founding Permanent Green Light, and later The Jupiter Affect. Gutierrez played with Louis and Clark and then became a principal member of Mary's Danish. Falkner joined Jellyfish, then The Grays, before launching a successful solo record career in the mid-1990s.

Discography

Albums

"as The Salvation Army":
*The Salvation Army (1982) Frontier Records

"as Befour Three O'Clock"
*Befour Three O'Clock (1986) "Reissue of Salvation Army LP"
*Happen Happened (1992) "CD Reissue of Salvation Army LP, plus 9 bonus tracks"

"as The Three O'Clock"
*"Baroque Hoedown" (EP) (1982) (Frontier Records)
*"Sixteen Tambourines" (1983) (Frontier Records)
*"Arrive Without Travelling" (1985) (I.R.S. Records)
*"Ever After" (1986) (I.R.S. Records)
*"Vermillion" (1988) (Paisley Park Records)

References

External links

*http://www.myspace.com/thethreeoclock Fansite
* [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:t95k8qptbtn4~T0 The Three O'Clock on Allmusic.com]