The Paisley Underground

Baroque Hoedown album by the Three O'Clock

As I discussed in a previous post, it wasn’t long after punk exploded on the scene that most people were asking “what’s next?”  Punk at its core was a return to the loud, fast, short songs of the pre-psychedelic era, often played sloppily (even deliberately so) but with passion and exuberance.  But most performers were not going to be content to simply blast out short sloppy anthems for long.  And its not even possible for even the least talented musician to remain permanently incompetent; simply through the act of performing, they gain experience and expertise with their instrument and become better.  That doesn’t mean that everyone is going to become a technical wizard on their instrument, but it usually means that they can’t, and don’t want to, remain at the same amateur level they started. 

The Sex Pistols supposedly set out to destroy rock music, but that was a ludicrous goal to begin with.  First of all, it seems unlikely that rock could be destroyed by ANYTHING, given that it has withstood virulent attacks by parents, educators, conservatives, and racists since its very inception.  Second of all, it seems to me to be a pretty awful way to destroy rock by using rock itself:  the Pistols signed to a major label and wrote, recorded, and released recognizable songs that could be packaged into singles and albums, which is EXACTLY what the rock establishment is there for!! 

Once it was obvious to everyone (including Johnny Rotten/Lydon himself) that rock was going to survive the Pistols and punk, the inevitable question was, “where do we take this?”  For most musicians who came up through the punk ranks (and even some who did not, including established acts like Linda Ronstadt, Billy Joel, etc.), this could be reformulated as, “How can we incorporate the best aspects of punk music into traditional rock?” 

Some took a futurist approach, trying to take the energy of punk but moving away from traditional rock musical structures, primarily by getting rid of guitars and other analog instruments and creating electronic music with synths and synth drums.   Often these artists also moved away from the short, fast approach of punk toward music that was almost closer to avant garde classical or jazz. 

But many took the opposite approach:  instead of looking to the future, they looked to the past for musical forms they could combine with the energy and passion of punk.  Nowhere was that more evident than Los Angeles.  LA had one of the earliest (after New York of course) punk scenes in America, and was one of the first to take punk into harder, faster, louder directions—hardcore was pretty much invented by first-wave LA punk bands like the Germs as well as suburban Orange County groups like the Middle Class (on songs like “Out Of Vogue” off their first EP, which at that time was a quantum leap in terms of its speedy tempo) and eventually groups like T.S.O.L., Circle One, Vicious Circle, the Blades, and so forth. 

But many LA rock musicians looked to create something more mature, something more rooted in rock traditions.  One of the first bands to do so was X.  John Doe, Exene Cervenka, Billy Zoom, and DJ Bonebrake were older, wiser, and more experienced musically than most of their first-wave LA punk peers; Zoom had played in rockabilly bands going back to the 60’s, and John and Exene both had experience as poets and musicians that had been colored by the 60’s.  X’s sound has always had elements of country, folk, rockabilly, and other traditional rock idioms.  Moreover, their first album was produced by LA rock icon Ray Manzarek of the Doors; Manzarek also played keyboards on songs like “Nausea”. 

Other LA bands similarly sought to incorporate previous rock and non-rock sounds into a post-punk approach.  The Gun Club, founded by Jeffrey Lee Pierce in 1980, also sought to bring blues, swamp blues, country, folk, and rockabilly into a punk framework.   I love the swampy blues/country feel of songs like “She’s Like Heroin To Me” off their spectacular Fire Of Love album. 

A couple of bands moved more definitively in a country or country rock direction.  X was again a pioneer here, with John and Exene joining Dave Alvin of the Blasters and Jonny Bartel of the rockabilly group the Red Devils to form the Knitters, a band more explicitly devoted to country and folk music.  Their cover of Merle Haggard’s “Silver Wings” as well as their own “Cryin’ But My Tears Are Far Away” off their album Poor Little Critter In the Road are two of my favorite country songs of all time.  Similarly, brothers Chip and Tony Kinman of the Dils, quickly disillusioned with the punk scene, formed the band Rank and File along with Alejandro Escovedo of the Zeroes in 1981; their best known song was “Rank and File”, which was very country influenced. 

Another band with a country twinge to their sound were the spectacular Long Ryders. Instead of taking a traditional country approach, the Long Ryders incorporated the country rock sounds of 60’s bands like the Byrds, Flying Burrito Brothers and Buffalo Springfield.  Their debut album, Native Sons, even featured former Byrd Gene Clark singing on the song “Ivory Tower”, and was produced by Henry Lewy, who produced the first two Flying Burrito Brothers albums.  Their opus is the magnificent “I Had a Dream”, a driving, jangly fusion of the sound and influence of the Byrds with a punkish passion.  This song, in my opinion, is a high water mark for the LA post-punk scene as a whole; it still sounds as fresh and exciting today as it did 30 years ago.  I can remember seeing this video on MV3, which was one of the first I could remember that featured a story independent of the band; I still consider this to be one of the higher quality music videos of the early 80’s.  Happily, eight different Long Ryder albums are available on iTunes, including Native Sons.

The Long Ryders were far from alone in exploring the music of the 60’s from a punk point of view.  LA had a vibrant, thriving post-punk musical scene that looked directly to the garage rock and psychedelia of the 60’s; this movement became known as the Paisley Underground due to an off the cuff remark by scene leader Michael Quercio of the seminal group the Three O’Clock.  Originally known as the Salvation Army when they first formed in 1981, they changed their name after legalistic run-ins with the charity of the same name; however, most of the early demos recorded by the band during this early phase are available on iTunes under the band name Befour Three O’Clock.  Not surprisingly, these songs have a rougher, more punkish edge to them, but even at this early date Quercio’s fascination with psychedelic themes, and his expertise in crafting songs with them, is evident.  “Happen Happened” is one example, with its buzzsaw bass and guitar evoking the Ramones but Quercio’s fey voice and semi-nonsensical lyrics about Doris Day melting away show the two main inspirations for this band.  “Mind Gardens” is even faster and sloppier and doesn’t yet capture Quercio’s magnificent ability to craft canny pop hooks.  “Going Home” has elements of country twang, British Invasion, and American 60’s garage rock, while “The Seventeen Forever” features a swirling, Farfisa organ sound. 

It was with the release of their first album, Baroque Hoedown, in 1983 that the Three O’Clock truly hit their stride.  This album was massively popular with my friends in junior high and high school friends, who were mods looking for a local band of their own like the Jam or Purple Hearts around which they could rally.  “With a Cantaloupe Girlfriend” is one of the standout tracks on this album, starting with a driving beat then launching into waves of jangly Byrds-esque guitar seasoned with organ flourishes and Quercio’s high pitched vocals and sweet choral harmonies.  This, to me, is another top-shelf track from the LA Paisley Underground scene.  The song “When I Go Wild” is slower and has a more pronounced backbeat and a lurching rhythm; the chorus is big and catchy and this song features a terrific organ solo replacing the usual guitar solo.   “What Marjorie Tells Me” starts with a quavery string/keyboard builds to a galloping guitar-and-vocal interplay in the chorus.  “Sorry” is a wild rave-up with a dominant organ element; it reminds me of the Who’s early work.  “As Real As Real” is slow and introspective; it almost sounds like Quercio’s attempt to recreate the sound and feel of “Lucy In the Sky with Diamonds” by the Beatles.    It’s the trippiest and most psychedelic of their songs.   “Around the World” is another sweet pop song in the 60’s vein.

On their second album, Sixteen Tambourines (both this album and Baroque Hoedown are available as one combined album in iTunes), the heavy 60’s organ is downplayed and the production has become smoother and more complex, with strings, piano, horns (such as on their cover of the Bee Gees song “In My Own Time”) and other studio touches.  This entire album is one long sweet, well-crafted pop song.  My favorite song off this album though is “Jet Fighter”; I love its propulsive beat, swirling synths, and the raw sound of the guitar; this is one of the Three O’Clock’s most rocking song and the associated music video, featuring mods swarming on their scooters, was a major influence on the Southern California mod scene.  I saw the Three O’Clock in concert at around this time (they opened for General Public at Irvine Meadows) and they were a great live band (even in a large, crappy venue like this).

The Three O’Clock released three more albums after this but each was less well received (none of these are available on iTunes), with the exception of the song “Her Head’s Revolving” off their third album Arrive Without Traveling; this song was their biggest hit thanks to the music video being played on MTV.   After the breakup of the Three O’Clock, Michael Quercio formed Permanent Green Light (named after a song by the obscure 60’s proto-punk/garage band the Godz), which continued to make punky psychedelica like the Three O’Clock; none of their albums is currently available on iTunes but over a dozen songs are posted on YouTube.  I particularly like “We Could Just Die”, which has the driving feel of Baroque Hoedown era Three O’Clock, and “Bright Light”.  In the later 90’s Quercio formed Jupiter Affect (with former Celebrity Skin guitarist Jason Shapiro).    My favorite songs by them are the shimmery “Angela Davis hair” off their first EP and “Attack of the Hair People” off the concept album The Restoration of Culture After Genghis Khan (which is curiously available on iTunes). 

The Three O’Clock were undisputed leaders of the LA paisley underground scene, but the band that achieved the greatest success was the Bangles.  The group formed in 1981 and went through several name changes before settling on the Bangles.  By the mid/late 80’s they were one of the biggest acts in pop music, with hits like “Walk Like an Egyptian”, “Eternal Flame”, and “Manic Monday” (written for vocalist Susanna Hoffs by Prince).  But in their earliest incarnation they were  a very mod 60’s garage punk band.  Their first EP, “The Real World” which is almost vanishingly rare, captures this band at this pre-superstardom point, when their sound was heavily influenced by the LA paisley underground scene.  The title track is my favorite Bangles song of all time; I can still remember seeing the music video, and the group itself performing the song on MV3, for the first time and being blown away by the energy and the hip and authentic 60’s feel of this song (which happily is uploaded on YouTube).  This is catchy garage mod pop rock—not as sweet and slickly produced as their later work but possessing an exuberant 60’s energy.  The clanging, chiming Rickenbacker guitar and Hoffs’ sweet voice give this song a real flair.  The other songs on this EP are equally charming; “Mary Street” has a jaunty rhythm and reminds me of “Penny Lane” by the Beatles.   “I’m In Line”(with Debbi Peterson taking over vocals from Hoffs on this cut) reminds me of some of the stuff Suzi Quatro’s first group the Pleasure Seekers released in the 60’s, a lurching, groovy finger poppin’ type of song and a bass line that sounds like “Taxman” by the Beatles.   “Want You” is fast and peppy, with vocal harmonies by all the women and a plaintive chorus by Vicki Peterson.  The notoriously tall Vicki also handles vocals on the equally rocking “How Is the Air Up There?”, which again has a very authentic Revolver-era Beatles feel to it.  These songs are all on YouTube and to me represent the acme of the Bangles’ output.

But I also like a few songs from the subsequent album, All Over the Place, (which is available on iTunes) most notably “Here Takes a Fall”, which continues in the same chiming, rocking 60’s vibe as their initial EP.   On the sweeter and even more harmonic side is “Going Down to Liverpool”, written by Kimberly Rew of the Soft Boys (and more famously the lead singer of Katrina and the Waves of “Walking on Sunshine” fame).   I also love two Bangles covers:  Simon and Garfunkel’s “Hazy Shade of Winter”, off the “Less Than Zero” soundtrack, and Big Star’s “September Gurls”, which is on the “Super Hits” compilation on iTunes.  I like their cover of “Gurls” almost more than I like the original.

Several other Paisley Underground bands didn’t hit it quite as big as the Bangles but nevertheless managed to produce songs and albums that were critically acclaimed.  Foremost among these are the Dream Syndicate, who combined the jangly feel of the Byrds and the pop feel of the Byrds and the Beatles with the harder edge of the Velvet Underground to produce some truly timeless music during this era.  Their most celebrated album, 1983’s Days of Wine and Roses, contains several outstanding tracks, including the jangly but rough edged “Tell Me When Its Over” and the faster-paced “Then She Remembers”.  “That’s What You Always Say” starts with an ominous, plodding bass line before lurching into a meandering guitar line that reminds me of early Cure.    The Syndicate’s subsequent albums (which are available on iTunes along with Days) never really captured the raw feel of this band, unfortunately.  There was a brief period in the mid-80’s when it seemed possible that the Dream Syndicate was going to be a leader of the music scene like R.E.M. but somehow they never managed to build on the promise of their debut. 

On the sweeter end of things was Rain Parade, who made music that melded the jangle pop of the Byrds with the harmonies of the Beach Boys.  “What’s She Done To Your Mind” off their first album Emergency Third Rail Power Trip (available on iTunes) sounds like “Bells of Rhymney” crossed with something off Pet Sounds.  “You Are My Friend” has a hazier feel that evokes the Velvet Underground.  Guitarist Dave Roback continued to build on this hazy, introspective type of music in his subsequent projects, Opal and Mazzy Star.  Opal, formed by Roback with former Rain Parade bassist Kendra Smith in 1984, produced somnolent pop that is almost eerily predictive of the indie shoegazer movement of the 90’s.  I saw Opal free at UCLA around 1987 or so and they were ethereal live. 

Roback’s next group, Mazzy Star, took this even further; they received some airplay for their song “Fade Into You”, which is characterized by new vocalist Hope Sandoval’s sweet, soft vocals.  I also love the shimmering clarity and simplicity of “Into Dust” and the raunchy lurch of “Wasted” off So Tonight That I Might See, and finally their cover of “Heroin” off their Live album.

Also making hazy, introspective pop at this time was Downy Mildew.  One of my favorite songs of all time is “Six Months Is A Long Time” off 1992’s An Oncoming Train; Jenny Homer belts this song out in her clear ringing tones.  Excellent stuff. 

Finally, no survey of Paisley Underground bands would be complete without Green On Red.  The organ-heavy “Gravity Talks” sounds like ? and the Mysterians; on “That’s What Dreams Were Made For” the vocals sound a lot like Tom Verlaine’s on Television but the backing music evokes a slightly pumped up “Pale Blue Eyes by the Velvets. 

The Paisley Underground movement was huge in Southern California; bands like the Three O’Clock and Bangles were favorites of most of my friends, and I have many fond memories of listening to Baroque Hoedown or the Real World while driving around in my friends’ cars.  I even bought “Gravity Talks” back in the day though I didn’t really get into it as much as I wish I had.  I didn’t get into the Dream Syndicate or Mazzy Star until the late 90’s, but still these are some of my favorite songs.