eli@uw-june (Eli Messinger) (03/12/84)
Given half an opportunity... The song that Ken Shoemaker mentioned in his earlier article is in fact "Jet Fighter," from the new Three O'Clock LP, "Sixteen Tambourines" (on Frontier Records). Although lead singer/bassist Michael Quercio does have a rather, er, high vocal range, I'm fairly certain that he is not a woman. He reminds me (key-wise, though not style-wise) of Geddy Lee (of Rush) and David Surkamp (of Pavlov's Dog and (rumored) The Ju-Ju's). "Sixteen Tambourines" is the Three O'Clock's second release, the first being the "Baroque Hoedown" EP (also on Frontier). The new disc is much less psychedelic than the EP (and the Salvation Army LP, from whose ashes the Three O'Clock sprang), and almost contemporary-pop sounding. I've found that people who run into the new disc as their introduction to the Three O'Clock see it in a much different context from those who've been fans previously. A number of people feel that the Three O'Clock have "sold out" in an effort to gain commercial success (and apparently to some extent this has worked--deliberate or not--as they're rumored to have been picked up by a major label). I'll be the first to admit that some (most?) of the music on this disc is in a wimpy pop vein--but in that >classic< 60's style. Were have Every Mothers' Son gone?? ... uw-june!eli