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43-521: The term "Paisley Underground" originated in late 1982, and took root with a comment made by Michael Quercio of the band The Three O'Clock , during an interview with the LA Weekly alternative newspaper. 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

86-429: 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." Game Theory disbanded before releasing

129-574: A Davis-based predecessor to Dream Syndicate, formed in 1979 by guitarist Steve Wynn and bassist Kendra Smith (who were both disc jockeys at college radio station KDVS at the time), with Russ Tolman on rhythm guitar and Gavin Blair on drums. They released one single in 1979, and performed in the Davis area through 1981. When Wynn and Smith left for Los Angeles in 1981 and formed Dream Syndicate, Tolman and Blair remained in Davis and started up True West . During

172-404: 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

215-532: A brief period in 1981 between leaving the Suspects and forming Dream Syndicate, Wynn also formed the short-lived band 15 Minutes in Davis, with members of Alternate Learning . Their only single, "That's What You Always Say", was later re-recorded by Dream Syndicate for their 1982 album The Days of Wine and Roses . Game Theory and Thin White Rope , which were both formed in Davis in 1981–82, also "fit in well with

258-542: A chance to play at the 2013 Coachella Festival . Michael Quercio (vocals/bass), Louis Gutierrez (guitars), and Danny Benair (drums) were joined by new recruit Adam Merrin (keyboards). The group played both weekends of Coachella, appeared on the late-night talk show Conan , embarked on a brief concert tour, and released several archival recordings. In December 2013, four reunited Paisley Underground bands – The Bangles, The Three O'Clock, Dream Syndicate, and Rain Parade – played

301-865: 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). As of 2014 ,

344-426: A concert together at The Fillmore in San Francisco, followed by a benefit concert at The Fonda Theatre the next evening in Los Angeles. In late 2018 the four bands collaborated on a Yep Roc Records album, 3 x 4, where each of the four bands performed one song each that had been originated by each of the three other bands. Michael Quercio Michael Quercio (born March 13, 1963) is an American musician. He

387-463: 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. This

430-548: 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. The band released

473-460: 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. The phrase later came to be "hated by the bands it described," though Steve Wynn acknowledged that it

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516-449: 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,

559-453: 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

602-476: 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. He later went on to be a member of Jupiter Affect. After 25 years of turning down reunion offers, The Three O'Clock reformed after being presented with

645-627: 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

688-474: Is largely described by most people as the most superfluous use of words since the Bible was written. The phrase later came to be "hated by the bands it described," though Steve Wynn acknowledged that it was both harmless and helpful to have a "banner" over the movement. Pat Thomas has described the Paisley Underground sound as a "marriage of classic rock and punk." Although there were accomplished musicians among

731-469: Is named jangle pop after the ringing, light guitar sounds, such as those of R.E.M. , that also often featured in Paisley Underground music. Although many of the Paisley Underground groups released at least one album on a major label, by far the most commercially successful band to emerge from the movement was The Bangles, who had several mainstream hits in the 1980s, reaching #1 in the United States with

774-548: Is one of the most powerful freeform university-based radio stations in the United States. The idea for starting KDVS was conceived by students in the former Beckett-Hughes dormitories in late 1963. Using the call letters KCD and 880 AM as the frequency, the students "broadcast" their first program on February 1, 1964, from a laundry room in Beckett Hall. The station's signal, which was transmitted by telephone lines, could only reach certain dorms. Two years later, in 1966, KCD and

817-465: Is the founder, bassist and lead singer of The Three O'Clock , 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

860-641: The Guitar (Says Oh Yeah)", a Paisley song described as timeless and poignant, which first appeared on The Three O'Clock's Arrive Without Travelling . Live and studio performances of the Game Theory version, titled " Girl w/ a Guitar ", appeared as CD bonus tracks on the 1993 reissue of Game Theory's The Big Shot Chronicles and the 2014 reissue of Real Nighttime . The band 28th Day , formed in 1982 in Chico, California (a small college town about one hour north of Davis),

903-764: The Paisley Underground bands to break up, followed by the Long Ryders in 1987, the Three O'Clock in 1988, the Dream Syndicate and the Bangles in 1989, and Green on Red in 1992. Even before the Los Angeles-based Paisley Underground took shape, the Sacramento / Davis area of Northern California was an early focus of Paisley Underground bands and musicians, some of whom later moved to Los Angeles. The Suspects were

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946-624: The Second Psychedelic Era, 1976–1995 , a four-CD box set which anthologized many Paisley Underground and related bands. The title referred to the original 1972 compilation Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968 , whose music influenced the bands featured on Children of Nuggets . 2013 saw a series of reunions among the original Paisley Underground bands. After 25 years of turning down reunion offers, The Three O'Clock reformed after being presented with

989-563: 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

1032-481: The groups, the scene was also rooted—as was the punk rock that preceded it—in an inspired amateurism described as "a punk D.I.Y. ethic." The Dream Syndicate , for example, combined influences from the Velvet Underground , Quicksilver Messenger Service , Crazy Horse , and Creedence Clearwater Revival with the energy of punk, influencing other musicians who "wanted to move on from pro forma p‑rock but keep

1075-683: The intensity." Green on Red came on as a cousin to the Doors , Rain Parade a melodic melding of Love , The Beatles , Big Star , and The Velvet Underground , the Long Ryders honored Gram Parsons and Buffalo Springfield , The Three O'Clock owed debt to the Bee Gees and the Monkees , the Bangles recalled the Mamas & the Papas , and so on. The 1970s Memphis-based cult band Big Star , whose " September Gurls "

1118-518: 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." 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." In

1161-630: The movement, wrote " Manic Monday " for the Bangles, and signed The Three O'Clock to his label. As the Paisley Underground bands of the 1980s broke up, some of their members came together in new combinations which continued to record through the 1990s and later: Other currently active recording artists who are cited as influenced by the Paisley Underground include the Allah-Las , Exploding Flowers, Mercury Rev , The Gentle Cycle (led by latter Rain Parade member Derek See ), and Grandaddy . In 2005, Rhino released Children of Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from

1204-463: The name Paisley Underground for his musical subgenre in late 1982, during an interview with the LA Weekly alternative newspaper. 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

1247-426: 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

1290-421: The other Paisley Underground bands that started up around the same time." For example, the Three O'Clock's Michael Quercio produced Game Theory's 1984 Distortion EP, also contributing backup vocals. Quercio appeared as a guest on several more Game Theory albums, ultimately joining as a member in 1989, after the breakup of the Three O'Clock. Quercio and Game Theory frontman Scott Miller co-wrote "The Girl with

1333-554: The reunited band remained active and continued to tour. Quercio is openly gay and currently lives in San Pedro, Los Angeles . KDVS KDVS (90.3 FM ) is a student-run college and community radio station based in Davis, California . Featuring a freeform programming format, the station is owned by Regents of the University of California . Broadcasting at 13,000 watts, it

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1376-603: The single " Walk Like an Egyptian " in 1986. The movement's influence on 1980s contemporaries, such as English bands The Teardrop Explodes and Echo & the Bunnymen , and Seattle's The Green Pajamas , has been noted. In the mid-1980s, Prince was notably influenced by the Paisley Underground sound: not only did his 1985 album Around the World in a Day have a more psychedelic sound than any of his previous or future work, but he also named his record label ( Paisley Park Records ) after

1419-560: The station to cover most of Sacramento , as well as portions of Placer , El Dorado , and Solano counties. A free newsletter entitled KDViationS , written and composed by the volunteer staff of the radio station, is published quarterly. The station also produces This Week in Science , which is broadcast live but is known primarily in podcast form. KDVS is also the home of the public affairs programs Radio Parallax and Dr. Andy's Poetry and Technology Hour . In summer 2006, KDVS started

1462-492: The station's signal was upgraded to stereo, but a far more significant development occurred six years later. In 1977, during a period when the FCC was forcing Class D stations to either upgrade or go silent, KDVS received a power increase to 5,000 watts and moved to its current frequency 90.3 FM. Two additional power increases were approved by the FCC over the years: 9,200 watts in 1983 and 13,000 watts in 2013. The latter increase enabled

1505-438: The university's student government, Associated Students of UC Davis, joined in applying for a Class D noncommercial broadcast license. The FCC awarded the license to the university on October 18, 1967. By then, the station had moved to the newly constructed Memorial Union, where its inaugural broadcast was aired on January 2, 1968, under the call letters KDVS. Initially, KDVS had 10 watts and broadcast on 91.5 FM in mono. In 1971,

1548-511: Was also part of the Paisley Underground. 28th Day consisted of Barbara Manning (bass, vocals), Cole Marquis (guitar, vocals), and Mike Cloward (drums). Their first EP was produced by True West's Russ Tolman. The Paisley Underground movement was paralleled in other parts of the world by genres such as New Zealand's Dunedin sound , whose chief exponents (such as The Chills and Sneaky Feelings ) were often cited as directly comparable to Paisley Underground bands. A related genre of 1980s guitar rock

1591-410: 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

1634-582: Was both harmless and helpful to have a "banner" over the movement. 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. 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")

1677-460: Was covered by the Bangles , was also influential, as were Britain's Soft Boys . John Hoffs, best friend of David Roback and brother of Susanna Hoffs was an idea contributor to starting a unique new sound, a Paisley Underground all girl band. Paisley Underground bands frequently shared bills, socialized, and collaborated on side projects. For example: In 1986, the Rain Parade were the first of

1720-509: 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

1763-458: 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. 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

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1806-423: 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

1849-400: 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

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