The Three O'Clock is an Americanalternative rock group associated with the Los Angeles 1980sPaisley Underground scene. Lead singer and bassistMichael Quercio is credited with coining the term "Paisley Underground"^[1] to describe a subset of the 1980s L.A. music scene which included bands such asthe Dream Syndicate,Rain Parade,Green on Red, theLong Ryders andthe Bangles.

The Three O'Clock originally formed under the namethe Salvation Army in 1981. The original lineup included Quercio (lead vocals, bass), John Blazing (guitar), and Troy Howell (drums). They released a single ("Mind Gardens" b/w "Happen Happened") onthe Minutemen'sNew Alliance label in November 1981. At this juncture, Quercio (then billed as "Ricky Start") was the band's sole songwriter, and the group played in apsychedelicpop-punk style.^{[citation needed]}

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 labelFrontier Records and released a self-titled debut LP in May 1982.

In the summer of 1982, legal problems with the actualSalvation Army forced the band to change their name. "The Three O'Clock" came from the time of day the band rehearsed. Almost exactly coincident with the August 1982 name change, Howell left the band and Mike Mariano (keyboards, ex-Great Buildings, ex-the Falcons) and Danny Benair (drums, ex-the Quick, ex-the Weirdos, ex-Choir Invisible, ex-the Falcons) joined.^[2] Frontier would later reissue the Salvation Army LP under the group nameBefour Three O'Clock in 1986, and again in 1992.

Still signed to Frontier, the band issued theBaroque Hoedown EP, their debut release as the Three O'Clock, in late 1982. The EP was followed by an LP in 1984 entitledSixteen Tambourines.^[2] Both Frontier releases were produced byEarle Mankey. The Three O'Clock had developed into a power-pop ensemble with 1960sgarage band influences. Quercio and Gutierrez co-wrote almost all the band's material, with occasional assists from Mariano. They received airplay in Southern California, notably on influential LA stationKROQ-FM. "Jet Fighter" fromSixteen Tambourines became a national college radio hit.

The Three O'Clock signed toI.R.S. Records for their next album, 1985'sArrive Without Travelling.^[2] ProducerMike Hedges recorded the album in Germany. The band had a minor hit with "Her Head's Revolving", whose video received regular airplay onMTV. "Half the Way There" was also released as a 12-inch single, and featured aMotown style drumbeat and rich harmonies.^{[citation needed]}

In 1986, guitarist Steven Altenberg replaced Gutierrez forEver After,^[2] produced byIan Broudie. Quercio once again was the band's chief songwriter. "Suzie's on the Ball Now" was the single, which gained minor airplay on stations like KROQ-FM in Los Angeles.

In 1988, Altenberg departed the band's ranks, and Benair placed an advertisement in the Los Angeles magazineThe Recycler, in order to find a new guitar player for the Three O'Clock.^[3] Coincidentally, that ad – which read, "Three O'Clock looking for guitarist. No metal, no country, no flakes" – ran in the same issue as one placed byJason Falkner, who was "looking for like minded people to start the best band in the world with me." Falkner, who had been playing Three O'Clock songs in his previous band, called the number in the ad, came in to audition, and according to Benair, "we hit it off right away. We auditioned two people. For one moment we considered becoming a five piece, but Jason got the gig."^{[citation needed]}

The new line-up of the Three O'Clock soon entered the studio to record theIan Ritchie-producedVermillion, on Warner Bros. Records by way ofPrince'sPaisley Park Records imprint. "Prince was aware of us fromArrive Without Travelling and the "Her Head's Revolving" video," said 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," toVermillion under the pseudonymJoey Coco. The album was a critical and commercial failure, and did not dent the charts. It was the last Three O'Clock studio album.

The Three O'Clock disbanded shortly after the release ofVermillion.

• Michael Quercio briefly joinedGame Theory in 1990. Thereafter, he founded Permanent Green Light, who released two albums, and, later, the Jupiter Affect. Quercio continues to play in L.A. pop bands.
• Louis Gutierrez played with Louis and Clark and then became a principal member ofMary's Danish.
• Danny Benair went to work for various record labels, later founding the Natural Energy Lab, a Los Angeles-based music marketing company, which specializes in film, television and commercial placement.^[4]
• Jason Falkner joinedJellyfish, thenthe Grays, before launching a successful solo record career in the mid-1990s.
• Troy Howell started the group the Eyes of Mind, who recorded onBomp Records. He also played withCee Farrow and the band OOSoul (double oh soul).

Arrive Without Travelling andEver After were released in 2002 on a single CD.

After 25 years of turning down reunion offers, the Three O'Clock reformed after being presented with a chance to play at the 2013Coachella Festival. Three quarters of the "classic" line-up – Michael Quercio (vocals/bass), Louis Gutierrez (guitars) & Danny Benair (drums) – were joined by new recruitAdam Merrin (keyboards). The group played both weekends of the Coachella Festival, and also played onConan on April 10, 2013. They later embarked on a mini-tour, and released several archival recordings that same year. The final show of the tour was at Fingerprints, a record store inLong Beach, California, on June 24, 2013.

In December 2013, the Three O'Clock played two nights with three other reunitedPaisley Underground bands –the Bangles,the Dream Syndicate, andRain Parade – at The Fillmore in San Francisco (Dec. 5) and The Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles (Dec. 6 benefit concert).^[5] The band played shows on widely scattered occasions over the next few years.

Three new recordings by the Three O'Clock were released in November 2018 as part of a compilation album called3 × 4, which also includedthe Dream Syndicate,the Bangles, andRain Parade, with each of the four bands covering songs by the other bands.^[6] Following the initialRecord Store Day First release as adouble album on "psychedelic swirl" purplevinyl,Yep Roc Records released the album on LP, CD, and digital in February 2019.^[7][8]

The reunited band remained sporadically active through early 2019, continuing to perform in and aroundSouthern California.^[9][10] The Three O'Clock have not performed since May 2019, though there has been no announcement of a group break-up. In the interim, Quercio has been active as a member of the revived band Permanent Green Light, which has played live dates and released a single.

as the Salvation Army

• The Salvation Army (1982)Frontier Records

as Befour Three O'Clock

• Befour Three O'Clock (1986) – reissue ofSalvation Army LP
• Happen Happened (1992) – CD reissue ofSalvation Army LP, plus 9 bonus tracks

as the Three O'Clock

• Baroque Hoedown (1982 EP, 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)
• Live at the Old Waldorf (2013, Burger Records)
• The Hidden World Revealed (2013 compilation,Omnivore Recordings)
• 3 × 4 (2018 compilation, Yep Roc Records) #27Billboard Independent Albums^[11]

• "Regina Caeli" – 7-inch one-sided single (fan club release, Christmas 1986)^[12]

• The Three O'Clock atIMDb
• Interview with The Three O'Clock (2013) inRocker magazine
• The Three O'Clock on Allmusic.com