Friday, August 10, 2018

Permanent Green Light heads back into limelight this fall with 'Hallucinations' reissue

After Michael Quercio’s ’80s renowned Paisley Underground band, The Three O’Clock, folded, he found himself seeking new musical adventures in a new decade.

Born out of Los Angeles’ Jabberjaw (the now-defunct all-ages coffeehouse/music venue) scene in 1991, Quercio partnered with local musicians — guitarist/songwriter and Big Star-acolyte Matt Devine and drummer Chris Bruckner — and ventured into a ’90s music world that had devolved into flannel uniforms and corporate grunge formulas.

Permanent Green Light’s psychedelic pop sound, Live at Leeds stage show, and colorful lyrics about drag queens, 19th-century aesthetes, and grotesque social scenes really didn’t stand a chance. Or did it?

Permanent Green Light soon found itself with a self-financed demo at the top of Rodney Bingenheimer’s request lists, as a CMJ pick, onstage with fellow travelers like Redd Kross, Teenage Fanclub, and The Muffs.

Upon the band’s disintegration, all that was left behind was a handful of independent releases and a slew of devoted fans. Now, for the first time ever, the best of Permanent Green Light’s various hot rocks and fazed cookies have been collected for release as Hallucinations. Is the world ready yet?

Ready or not, Omnivore Recordings will release Hallucinations on Oct. 19 on CD and Digital.

According to Robert Hecker of Redd Kross and It’s OK!, “Permanent Green Light was so extremely satisfying. Michael was making beautiful, personal music, bettered by the pop-rock sensibilities of his new bandmates: Matt Devine delivered well-informed ’70s arena-rock guitar heroics, and the whole kit and caboodle was pushed and propelled by Chris Bruckner’s unchained drumming.

Quercio sums it up: “We were a very unique item — a rare and fearless example of overindulgent pop melodies, heavy bass, soaring lead guitar, wild drums … all the things in our day and age that you are not allowed to mix together. We shoved it in your face.”

Remastered from the original master tapes and featuring the cult favorites “(You & I Are The) Summertime,” “We Could Just Die,” and “Portmanteau,” Hallucinations also presents three raw four-track cassette demos that reveal the band in a different light. The liners, written by reissue producer Pat Thomas, provide an oral history based on interviews with the band, peers, friends, and fans. The packaging contains rare photos and ephemera — every step produced in conjunction with the band.

Track Listing:

1. (You & I Are The) Summertime
2. We Could Just Die
3. The Goddess Bunny
4. The Truth This Time
5. Street Love
6. Wintertime’s A-Comin’, Martha Raye
7. Ballad Of Paul K.
8. Lovely To Meet Me (4-Track Demo)
9. Honestly 
10. Portmanteau 
11. Marianne Gave Up Her Hand
12. Fireman
13. (You & I Are The) Summertime (4-Track Demo)
14. Street Love (4-Track Demo)
15. All For You
16. From A Current Issue

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