Q5

In 1983, Seattle, Washington, became the birthplace of the American band Q5, assembled by guitarist Floyd Rose, the innovative mind behind the locking tremelo system—an essential mechanism that maintains tuning stability no matter how aggressively the tremelo is employed. Completing the lineup were vocalist Jonathan K, guitarist Rick Pierce, bassist and keyboardist Evan Sheeley, and drummer Gary Thompson, each drawn from the ranks of TKO. The group placed its debut album, Steel The Light, with the modest independent imprint Albatross Records in 1984, followed by a European release through Roadrunner Records in 1985. That collection of characteristically Americanized melodic hard rock slipped by largely unnoticed in a crowded field of comparable efforts. Floyd Rose later erected a home-based studio that afforded Q5 virtually unlimited tracking time for its sophomore effort, When The Mirror Cracks, which appeared on the Music For Nations label in 1986. Although packed with sturdy melodic material, the record ultimately struck listeners as somewhat over-produced. The band dissolved in 1987, and Floyd Rose’s enduring reputation rests far more on his advances in guitar technology than on the recordings he made with Q5.