Inch (band)

Inch was an American post-hardcore band formed in San Diego, California, United States, in 1992. The group was founded by former Sub Society vocalist Michael "Stimy" Steinman, guitarist Mike Paprocki, drummer Dave Hepler, and bassist Jeff Reese.^[1]

History[]

Inch was formed in 1992 by Michael "Stimy" Steinman, Jeff Reese, Dave Hepler, and Michael Paprocki.^[2] Steinman sang lead vocals and played rhythm guitar, Hepler was on drums, Reese on bass, and Paprocki backup vocals and lead guitar. Steinman was the former lead singer of Sub Society, a band that achieved notoriety by being featured in several H-Street skateboarding videos and with the single "A Whole Lot Less." Hepler formerly was the lead vocalist for Helicopter, a nominally significant contributor to the early '90s San Diego sound.

Prior to recording the band's debut album, Stresser, for the Atlantic Records imprint Seed Records, Reese was replaced on bass by Christopher "Pippin" Spanninga. In July of 1993, Inch toured the Southwest opening for Frank Black. Stresser was released in the spring of 1994. Paprocki was fired from the band not long after. The stripped-down three-piece, with Steinman taking over lead guitar, spent the summer touring the United States as part of a "Pre-Palooza" night-before Lollapalooza package that included Failure and fellow San Diego band, rust.

Seed went out of business before the release of the band's second album DOT Class "C" in 1995; thus, the album was instead released on Atlantic Records before they were dropped shortly afterwards, and the album was deleted from the Atlantic catalog. After performing on the album and participating during a short 1995 tour, bass player Spanninga abruptly quit the band after a show at Moe's in Seattle. The band completed the remaining tour dates with Steinman performing solo acoustically. On their return home the band hired bass player Kristian Dunn. DOT Class "C" was re-released by Cargo Music/Headhunter Records on CD and on Goldenrod Records/Trademark Records on LP in 1997, limited to a run of 750, with hand-silkscreened art by Drive Like Jehu singer and artist Rick Froberg. The song "For Duty and Humanity" from the album was featured on the soundtrack of the 1996 comedy film Flirting With Disaster and was included in the Foundation Skateboards video Duty Now for the Future.

In 1997, Inch took home the Best Alternative Rock award at the San Diego Music Awards^[3] and spent the summer playing the second stage of the traveling Lollapalooza tour.^[4][5]

The band's third and final album, This Will Fall on Dead Ears, was released by Headhunter in 1998. Inch went on hiatus in 1999 and the remaining band members would go their separate ways. Hepler retired from the music industry and instead worked towards becoming a lawyer. Spanniga became an in-studio engineer for various artists. Reese later retired from the music industry and became both a mechanic and a freelance journalist. Dunn formed the band El Ten Eleven in 2002 and released numerous albums afterwards. Steinman formed Lakeside Orchestra with Dunn and Pat Hogan (formerly of Rust and Chacon). He later formed Congress of the Cow, which would later receive the Best New Artist award at the 2002 San Diego Music Awards.^[6] He also later joined the Colorado-based band Harvey Knuckles.

Steinman was found dead in his Reno, Nevada home on December 30, 2010. He was 38 years old and had died of heart disease.^[6] Inch reunited for a memorial show on February 16, 2011 at The Casbah in San Diego, with Hepler on drums, Paprocki returning on guitar, Spanninga and Dunn trading bass duties, and Steinman's school friend Matt Page on vocals. A reunion of Sub Society opened. Steinman's guitar is mounted on the wall of San Diego bar Livewire, where he used to bartend.^[6]

Members[]

• Michael "Stimy" Steinman - vocals/guitar (1992–1999)
• Dave Hepler - drums (1992–1999)
• Michael Paprocki - guitar (1992–1994)
• Jeff Reese - bass (1992–1993)
• Christopher "Pippin" Spanninga - bass (1993–1995)
• Kristian Dunn - bass (1995–1999)

Partial discography[]

Albums[]

• 1994: Stresser
• 1996: DOT Class "C"
• 1998: This Will Fall on Dead Ears

Singles[]

• 1992: "Oxidizer" b/w "Coil" 7" (Redemption Records)
• 1994: "Linger" b/w "Nope" 7" (SEED Records)
• 1996: "Eugenics" 7" (Atlantic Records)
• 1997: "For Duty And Humanity" 7" (Headhunter Records)

Soundtracks and compilations[]

• 1994: Jabberjaw Compilation (song: "Buzzers and Bells")
• 1996: Flirting With Disaster Soundtrack (song: "For Duty and Humanity")
• 1997: Fer Shure: A Tribute to the Valley Girl Soundtrack (song: "The Fanatic") Itchy Korean Records

References[]