Lead singer and bassist Michael 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 as Dream Syndicate, Rain Parade, Green on Red, the Long Ryders and the Bangles.
The original lineup included Quercio (lead vocals, bass), John Blazing (guitar), and Troy Howell (drums).
At this juncture, Quercio (then billed as "Ricky Start") was the band's sole songwriter, and the group played in a psychedelic pop-punk style.
Quercio reverted to his real name, and this lineup of The Salvation Army signed with LA independent label Frontier Records and released a self-titled debut LP in May 1982.
In 1988, Altenberg departed the band's ranks, and Benair placed an advertisement in the Los Angeles magazine The Recycler, in order to find a new guitar player for The Three O'Clock.
No metal, no country, no flakes" – ran in the same issue as one placed by Jason 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.
Three quarters of the "classic" line-up – Michael Quercio (vocals/bass), Louis Gutierrez (guitars) & Danny Benair (drums) – were joined by new recruit Adam Merrin (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).
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.