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.

[2] 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.

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.

[citation needed] 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 a self-titled debut LP in May 1982.

They received airplay in Southern California, notably on influential LA station KROQ-FM, and the song "Jet Fighter" from Sixteen Tambourines became 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 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.

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 a Face" with lead vocals by guest Danny Bonaduce.

By 1991, Quercio had left Game Theory, opting to return to Los Angeles to form the band Permanent Green Light.

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.

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).