The Three O'Clock

Recently I've been getting into any music I can from Los Angeles and with that at last the "Paisley Underground" scene which has clearly been up my alley for years. The term, used to describe a batch of musicians who reacted against the extreme violence and anger of that city's punk scene with peace and love via 60s-style music was actually coined by one Michael Quercio of the Three O'Clock. So far I have found them to be my favorite of the bunch. Their music, which I would describe as the sound of a sixties psych-pop group who had acquired a synthesizer from 15 years in the future fit as well into the mod clothing the prepubescent-looking Quercio would wear as it did in 1980s Los Angeles. It is not hard to imagine many of their songs in a movie like Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

The songwriting is phenomenal as is the production, which on the first two records was done by LA rock guru and former Sparks guitarist Earle Mankey. It is downright shocking that the group neither acheived mainstream success, nor became well-remembered. The group's music is as lovable and accessable as their more successful scenemates the Bangles (whose Susanna Hoffs was at the time dating The Three O'Clock's guitarist Louis Gutierrez), and Quercio certainly had teen idol potential. Perhaps it was his bizarre lyrics to tracks with titles such as "A Day in Erotica," "Her Head's Revolving," and "With a Canteloupe Girlfriend" that kept audiences away.

Regardless, their first three records (Baroque Hoedown, Sixteen Tambourines, and Arrive Without Traveling, and Ever After)

are superb, and as my friend Sheldon who recently downloaded this package agreed, they need to be heard to gain this great band the legacy it deserves.

In the meantime here are some of their videos: