Quarterflash -

Quarterflash was an American modern-rock band from Portland that scored a rare NW breakout with “Harden My Heart” and “Find Another Fool” from their 1981 debut album, also noted for “Cruisin’ With the Deuce” and “Valerie,” an early example of girl/girl curiosity. They scored a third hit with “Take Me to Heart” from their 1983 second album Take Another Picture.

Members: Marv Ross (guitar), Rindy Ross (vocals, alto saxophone, soprano saxophone), Jack Charles (guitar, vocals, 1980-86), Brian David Willis (percussion, 1980-86), Rick Gooch (bass, 1980-86), Rick DiGiallonardo (keyboards, 1980-86), Doug Fraser (guitar, 1990-96), Sandin Wilson (bass, 1990-96), Mel Kubik (keyboards, saxophone, 1990-96), Gregg Williams (percussion, 1990-96)

Background

Quarterflash formed in 1980 in Portland, Oregon, when singer-saxophonist Rindy Ross and guitarist Marv Ross recruited guitarist-singer Jack Charles, bassist Rich Gooch, drummer Brian David Willis, and keyboardist Rick DiGiallonardo from the Portland band Pilot.

Rindy and Marv met as juniors at Madison High School in Portland and first performed together at age eighteen as an acoustic duo. Both attended Oregon College of Education in Monmouth, where they completed teaching degrees and played in local bands. Rindy first played saxophone in fifth grade and resumed the instrument in her Portland-area bands.

The Rosses took teaching posts in Central Oregon, Rindy in fifth grade and Marv in junior-high English, while they played weekend engagements with Jones Road, which mixed cover material with early Marv Ross originals. Three years into the teaching posts, the couple moved to Portland and formed Seafood Mama in 1977 with bassist Blaine Moody, drummer Morrie Woodruff, and violinist Bruce Sweetman, who gave Marv violin lessons.

Guitarist Jack Charles performed as Jack Meussdorffer in Sand, a Portland band that included bassist Rich Gooch and released a 1973 self-titled album on Barnaby Records. Charles and Gooch next played in Pilot with drummer Brian David Willis and keyboardist Rick DiGiallonardo.

Seafood Mama built a regional audience with three-to-five-night club schedules in Portland and Seattle. Marv’s father provided a small loan for a reel-to-reel machine. The Rosses used the machine for home demos, and manager Jay Isaac used those recordings to seek television and label contacts.

In 1980, Marv wrote “Harden My Heart,” which Seafood Mama recorded in the Ross basement. Isaac secured a one-hour KOIN television concert in Portland for a June 1980 broadcast. Seafood Mama rushed 700 copies of “Harden My Heart” (b/w “City of Roses”) on Whitefire Records and distributed copies through local stores. The single reached radio across the Northwest and sold about 10,000 copies in Portland and Seattle.

Isaac took the Whitefire single and a demo that also contained “Find Another Fool” and “Right Kind of Love” to Los Angeles labels. Geffen A&R representative Carol Childs heard the material and saw Seafood Mama in Seattle. Childs offered a Geffen deal, and producer John Boylan came to Seattle to test several songs with the group. Boylan favored the Ross originals but questioned whether the Seafood Mama instrumentation matched the newer material, and the deal centered on Rindy and Marv Ross.

Seafood Mama split as the Geffen project moved toward Los Angeles sessions. The Rosses began the album with Boylan and studio players, then returned to Portland and saw Pilot. Marv and Rindy recruited Charles, Gooch, Willis, and DiGiallonardo into the new six-piece lineup. The Rosses chose Quarterflash from an Australian expression they found in a book at Boylan’s home. The new lineup took over the remaining Geffen sessions for the first Quarterflash album.

Discography: