The Three O'Clock

Since the folks over at PowerPop posted the Conchords (excellent and hilarious) lampooning of Psychedelic rock, I thought I would blog about the Three O’Clock, my favorite psychedelic revival band from the Paisley Underground scene in LA in the early-mid 80s. Led by vocalist/bassist Michael Quercio, these guys brought a pretty unique hard-driving guitar edge to the sound (which seemed to be absent from the other bands of that scene that I have been exposed to, e.g. Dream Syndicate and Green on Red). Quercio’s high, lush vocals lent a sort of hyperactive plaintiveness to the sound. In terms of pure songwriting, this band was one of the best in the 80s, in my opinion. Every one of their albums is laden with novel pop music ideas and repays virtually continual relistening. I owe my love of this band to my friend Dave, who introduced me to a ton of alternative music in Durham, NC in the early 90s. Sadly, the Three O’Clock had broken up by that time.

I’m not sure exactly how influential the neo-psychedelic sound/aesthetics have been. Prince (whose Paisley Park record label put out the last Three O’Clock album, Vermillion, in 1988), the Bangles (part of the 80s LA neo-psychedelic scene), and the Church (see their 1986 album Heydey) all had mainstream success with the meme. This was one of many undercurrents in pop/alternative music that were percolating in the 80s, which give the lie to anyone who complains that 80s music was boring or monolithic.

Happily, there is a decent Youtube footprint for the Three O’Clock (ignore the first link). Here is the video for their song Her Head’s Revolving, from their 1985 album Arrive Without Travelling.