Quarterflash

All Music Guide:

The sax-heavy pop/rock band known as Quarterflash formed in early 1980, joining together two of the city's more popular acts: Seafood Mama, which contributed Rindy and Marv Ross; and Pilot, which added Jack Charles, Rick DiGiallonardo, Rich Gooch, and Brian Willis. The band would release four albums together, starting with their 1981 self-titled debut, which sold over two million copies and spawned two of their biggest songs, "Harden My Heart," which went to number three on the charts, and the Top 20 hit "Find Another Fool." Subsequent albums would not reach the blockbuster commercial success of their debut, but they continued to sell albums steadily throughout the mid-'80s. Another notable song was "Night Shift," which was the theme for the movie of the same name. They followed up their debut with 1983's Take Another Picture, which produced another Top 20 hit, "Take Me to Heart," as the band continued forward with their trademark rock sound. By Girl in the Wind in 1984, the band began to run out of clever hooks and they issued just one more album, Back into Blue, in 1985. After recording an unreleased album in 1995, a modified version of the band anchored by the Rosses continued to perform live.

Wikipedia:

Quarterflash was an American rock group formed in 1980 in Portland, Oregon. The band was made up of Rindy Ross (lead vocals and saxophone), her husband Marv Ross (guitars), Jack Charles (guitars), Rick DiGiallonardo (keyboards/synthesizers), Rich Gooch (electric bass), and Brian David Willis (drums and percussion). Having a lead singer who also played the saxophone is one thing which made Quarterflash notable. In a 1982 interview, Rindy Ross said that she viewed the saxophone as an extension of her voice, enabling her to express things she could not express with her voice alone.

Recording history

The group was formed by merging two popular Oregon bands, Seafood Mama and Pilot (not to be confused with the Scottish band of "Magic" fame). Continuing under the name Seafood Mama, the band originally released the picture-sleeved single "Harden My Heart" on a local private label, Whitefire Records, in the spring of 1980 (with the B-side track being "City of Roses"). "Harden My Heart" was a big hit on Portland radio stations and got the band a one-hour TV special, Seafood Mama In Concert, on KOIN on June 5, 1980. "Harden My Heart" would later be rerecorded by the band after they renamed themselves Quarterflash. The name came from an Australian slang description of new immigrants as "one quarter flash and three parts foolish", which the Rosses found in a book at producer John Boylan's house.

Quarterflash signed to Geffen Records and released their self-titled debut album Quarterflash in 1981. It reached #8 on Billboard's Top LPs & Tapes list, and sold over a million copies, earning RIAA gold certification on February 5, 1982, and platinum status on June 29, 1982. The album contained the new version of "Harden My Heart", which became their biggest single. It reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 (it also reached the Top 20 in France). Their follow-up single off the album, "Find Another Fool", reached #16. A second one-hour Portland television special, Quarterflash In Concert, was broadcast on KOIN on October 22, 1981, and simulcast on KGON. This concert was taped at the Paramount Theatre on October 15, 1981.

Quarterflash released their second album, Take Another Picture, in 1983. It reached #34 in Billboard, and scored the single "Take Me to Heart", which reached #14. The group released their final album, Back Into Blue, in 1985. It peaked at #150 in Billboard. The group later disbanded after getting dropped from their record label.

In 1990, Quarterflash reunited, hiring session musicians, including bassist–vocalist Sandin Wilson, drummer Greg Williams, guitarist Doug Fraser, and Mel Kubik on saxophone and keyboards. The group released Girl in the Wind on Epic Records. In 1991, Rindy and Marv Ross founded the historic music ensemble, The Trail Band, which was formed at the request of the Oregon Trail Advisory Council to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Oregon Trail.

In June 2008, Marv and Rindy Ross released a new Quarterflash CD, Goodbye Uncle Buzz.