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By: Clyde Bradley
In many ways the ‘80s could be considered the era of “the
woman” in rock and roll. Female-fronted, powerhouse rock
outfits like Heart, Pat Benatar and Joan Jett could be found all up and down the
charts. Also, as rock music continued on its progressive path during that time,
more and more groups expanded their instrumentation with violins, saxophones and
flutes. Quarterflash stood on the cutting edge of both these trends in the form
of one performer, female vocalist/saxophonist Rindy Ross. Although not standing
the test of time as well as some of their other female-fronted counterparts like
Heart and Pat Benatar, Quarterflash has carved themselves a unique niche in the
history of female rock.
Quaterflash’s early days date back to a Portland, Oregon
band called Seafood Mama that was formed by the husband and wife team of Marv
and Rindy Ross. Seafood Mama recorded a demo tape on a Tasacam 80-8 with a
single microphone in the Rosses’ basement. That demo contained four songs
written by Marv that would later go on to help pave the way for Quaterflash’s
early success, “Valerie,” “Williams Avenue,” “Find Another Fool,” and their
blockbuster single “Harden my Heart.” Seafood Mama also originally pressed a
thousand copies of “Harden my Heart” on a 45, with a Tex-Mex/Norteno style
ballad called “City of Roses” on the B-side to distribute to radio stations and
sell at gigs. The single was met with such popularity, however, the group
couldn’t produce the discs fast enough. ”It was just one of those great, magical
things,” said Marv Ross. “Everyone who heard it said ‘I love this record’ and we
were just pressing them out as fast as we could.”
The single started getting local airplay and became so
popular on the Portland stations, it eventually hit Number 1 on local charts.
With popularity growing in Portland, Seafood Mama’s version of “Harden my
Heart,”-which Marv describes as essentially the same arrangement as
Quaterflash’s later version only recorded with crude equipment- found its way
onto the Seattle airwaves and was eventually heard as far away as New York City.
This caught the attention of Geffen Records who sent a rep out to Portland to
catch Seafood Mama. “I’ll never forget it,” said Marv. “We were warming up Dr.
Hook and the Medicine Show. They [Geffen] came up and saw us and they offered us
a record deal.”
During pre-production of the first album Seafood Mama
started tossing the idea of a name change around. The group’s producer had just
returned from Australia and pulled out a book he brought back that listed
Australian and New Zealand phrases. When the group came across the phrase
Quarterflash, which Australians used to describe newcomers to their land as
one-quarter flash and three-parts foolish, the search was over.
Quarterflash’s debut, self-titled album, rode the Pop
Albums chart all the way up to Number 8, spawning the Top 40 hit “Find Another
Fool” [12] in addition to the Number 1 “Harden My Heart.” The group’s follow up,
1983’s “Take Another Picture” hit 34 and produced another top 10 single in the
form of “Take me to Heart” [6]. The group’s third and final release on Geffen
Records, “Back in Blue” failed to even break the Billboard’s Top 100, stalling
at a disappointing 150. Shortly after this release the original Quarterflash
line-up that consisted of Marv and Rindy along with Jack Charles on guitar, Rick
Digiallonardo on keys, Rich Gooch on bass and drummer Brian David Willis, parted
ways.
Although none of the Rosses’ ex-band mates returned to the
big stage of rock and roll, all are still active in music. Rick Digiallonardo
now lives in Florida where he teaches music at a local college. Jack Charles
lives in a small Oregon town and builds specialty guitars based on the old Vox
design. Brian Willis is currently a studio musician in Nashville. And Rich Gooch
returned to the Portland area where he is still a popular bassist on the local
circuit.
Marv and Rindy went on to reform Quarterflash with all new
members. In this line-up they were joined by guitarist Doug Fraser, Sandin
Wilson on bass, Mel Kubik on keys and drummer Greg Williams. Quarterflash
returned to the studio with their new line-up in 1991 to record their fourth
release, “Girl in the Wind.” Little did anyone know at the time, but this album
would signal the beginning of the end for Quarterflash. Although “Girl in the
Wind” did see limited distribution in Europe, it never saw the light of day here
in the States. The group finished that project right around the time Geffen was
bought by Sony and “Girl in the Wind” got caught in the crossfire. “We worked so
hard on that record,” recalls Marv. “And Sony came in and made a decision not
to release it. In fact, they decided to shelf it. Which meant we couldn’t even
buy the rights to it and try to sell it ourselves or shop it to other labels.
That experience really soured me personally on the whole record business, the
whole big picture of it. And I felt like I really needed to do something
different with my life. And Rindy felt the same way.”
In addition to their disappointment with “Girl in the
Wind,” Marv and Rindy were also starting to feel the exhaustion of 10 years on
the road. “We had really been fried the last five years that we did it,” said
Marv. “The first five years were real exciting and fun. Having the Platinum and
Gold Records and touring with Elton John and all that kind of stuff. We
definitely got to live out a dream. The second five years- part of it was we
didn’t have the success we had in the first five years. So that always makes it
a little less fun. But it really wasn’t that as much that as by the time the 10
years was up it was kind of like ‘okay, we did that and we experienced this. And
it was great.’ But near the end it just wasn’t as much fun.”
Quarterflash continued on well into the ‘90s, but decided
to return to Portland in ‘91and keep their shows closer to home. “You know some
human beings thrive on that,” Marv said in reference to worldwide tours and
large scale venues. “It’s part of who they are and they love that intense
adrenalin rush from getting up in front of thousands of people. And there was a
part of me that really enjoyed it. But as the years went by, that part became
smaller and I wanted to do other things in my life.”
Quarterflash’s last official show was August 11, 1996 at
The Bite of Portland, a benefit for the Oregon Special Olympics. But even though
the group announced their official end after this show, Marv says the second
generation Quarterflash line-up still comes together three or four times a year
to play special events around the Portland area.
As Quarterflash’s success was winding down, however, Marv’s
personal music endeavors were ratcheting up. As Ross Productions, Marv has
completed several successful production projects. Marv was contracted by the
Portland Trail Blazers to revitalize their game presentation. He also created
“Radio Daze,” a show that recreated the theatre’s original opening night, for
the grand re-opening of the Granada Theater. When Cycle Oregon brought 2000
cyclists together to peddle through the state, it was Marv that organized the
music, providing a mobile entertainment stage in seven different cities in as
many days that followed the tour around the state.
But Marv’s biggest production to date was when he was
commissioned by his home state of Oregon to write and produce a musical to
commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the Oregon Trail. Marv created
“Voices from the Oregon Trail” and he and Rindy spent the majority of 1991
through 1993 performing the show around the state with a large string and brass
ensemble. This ensemble became The Trail Band and Marv and Rindy still perform
with the group to date. In addition to their original show which consisted of
primarily early Americana and Native American music, The Trail Band also
performs jazz, blues, folk and renaissance music. “Part of the music of The
Trail Band is based on a folk and acoustic element,” says Marv. “And that’s
something that precedes Seafood Mama or Quarterflash for Rindy and I. We met in
high school in the ‘60s and we were both playing folk music… It’s definitely not
pop rock, The Trail Band isn’t, but the Americana, rootsy part of it was
something that was just in us from the very beginning.”
The Trail Band has also developed an annual Christmas show
that has become quite popular around Oregon, Washington and Northern California.
“The Trail Band has an amazing collection of musicians that have roots in
classical, jazz, early American music and pop” Marv said. “And everyone is very
versatile. Everyone plays three or four instruments. So we’re able to put on a
holiday show that really has a wide scope. And people really enjoy it because it
goes all over the map but the quality is very high. Rindy is one of four really
good singers in that band so they do a ton of harmonies and a lot of acapella
work as well.”
Marv says he and Rindy have no regrets about stepping out
of the national spotlight and adopting a simpler way of life. “We love our
lives,” says Marv. “It’s still exciting and we’re just as busy as ever. We’re
very happy to have had the success we did for so many years [with Quarterflash].
And to have songs people still know. And of course, the royalty checks still
come in. So we’re very thankful for what happened to us during that decade. But
we have no regrets. We love the life we have here in Portland and it’s been a
very fluid transition in many ways. Rindy and I are still writing songs and her
voice sounds awesome.”
The Trail Band has released a total of nine CDs to date and
for old Quarterflash fans interested in giving the Rosses’ new style a listen,
Marv recommends their “Oregon Stories” CD. “That’s the one that’s most like folk
rock,” said Marv. “For anyone that liked Quarterflash, I think they would really
dig that record. Even though it’s not rock and roll, it has a lot of energy to
it. And it has a very modern sound; it’s not an old-fashioned sound. And I think
the writing on that record is some of the best I’ve ever done.”
For more information about The Trail Band, go to
www.trailband.com |
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