Inch (band)

Inch
Company type	Band
Industry	Music
Founded	1992
Founder	Michael "Stimy" Steinman, Mike Paprocki, Dave Hepler, Jeff Reese
Defunct	1999
Headquarters	San Diego, United States
Products	Albums, singles

Adapted from the English Wikipedia article Inch (band), available under CC BY-SA 4.0Updated 29 November 2025

Inch was a post-hardcore band originating from San Diego, California, established in 1992. The group was formed by Michael "Stimy" Steinman, formerly the vocalist for Sub Society, along with guitarist Mike Paprocki, drummer Dave Hepler, and bassist Jeff Reese. Throughout the 1990s, Inch produced three albums before disbanding in 1999. Frontman Steinman passed away in 2010.

History

The band Inch came together in 1992 with Michael "Stimy" Steinman on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Jeff Reese handling bass duties, Dave Hepler on drums, and Mike Paprocki playing lead guitar and providing backing vocals. Steinman had previously fronted Sub Society, a band noted for its association with H-Street skateboarding videos. Hepler had been the vocalist for Helicopter before joining Inch. Initially called "Grinch," the group shortened their name to "Inch" after discovering another band already used the original moniker.

In 1992, the band independently released a demo cassette featuring five songs. Around this period, Christopher "Pippin" Spanninga replaced Reese as bassist. Their debut single, "Oxidizer," came out early in 1993 via independent label Redemption Records. That July, Inch supported Frank Black on a U.S. West Coast tour. Following this exposure, they secured a deal with Atlantic Records and were placed under its Seed Records division. Their first album, Stresser, appeared in spring 1994 through Seed and included the single "Linger," which was accompanied by a music video. Shortly after the album's release, Paprocki was dismissed from the band; Steinman assumed lead guitar duties as the trio embarked on a national tour that summer, including performing at a "Pre-Palooza" event alongside Failure and Sponge.

In 1995, Seed Records ceased operations while Inch was finalizing their second album. This follow-up, titled DOT Class "C", was released by Atlantic in 1996. The song "For Duty and Humanity" from this album featured on both the Flirting With Disaster film soundtrack and a Foundation Skateboards video. Soon after its release, Atlantic dropped Inch and removed the album from their catalog. During the subsequent tour, bassist Spanninga left mid-way; Steinman completed the remaining shows solo with an acoustic setup until Kristian Dunn joined as bassist. In 1997, DOT Class "C" was reissued by Cargo Music/Headhunter Records on CD and Goldenrod/Trademark Records on vinyl, limited to 750 copies with cover art by Rick Froberg.

Inch earned the Best Alternative Rock award at the 1997 San Diego Music Awards and performed on Lollapalooza’s second stage that summer. Their third and final album, This Will Fall on Dead Ears, was released in 1998 through Headhunter Records. The record conveyed frustrations related to label support and Steinman’s personal challenges. The group entered hiatus in 1999 as members embarked on different endeavors.

Hepler transitioned from music to law; Spanninga pursued a career in engineering; Reese retired from performing to work as a mechanic and journalist; Dunn went on to establish El Ten Eleven in 2002; Steinman created Lakeside Orchestra and later Congress of the Cow, which won Best New Artist at the 2002 San Diego Music Awards. Additionally, he collaborated with Colorado-based Harvey Knuckles.

Michael "Stimy" Steinman died of heart disease at age 38 at his residence in Reno on December 30, 2010. To honor his memory, Inch reunited for a tribute concert held on February 16, 2011, at The Casbah in San Diego featuring original members along with guest musicians. Steinman’s guitar is exhibited at Livewire bar in San Diego, where he once worked as a bartender.

Members

Michael "Stimy" Steinman – lead vocals, guitar (1992–1999)
Dave Hepler – drums (1992–1999)
Michael Paprocki – guitar (1992–1994)
Jeff Reese – bass guitar (1992)
Christopher "Pippin" Spanninga – bass guitar (1992–1996)
Kristian Dunn – bass guitar (1996–1999)

Timeline

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Colors =

 id:Vocals  value:red       legend:Vocals
 id:Guitar  value:green     legend:Guitar
 id:Bass    value:blue      legend:Bass
 id:Drums   value:lightorange    legend:Drums
 id:album   value:black     legend:Studio_album
 id:bars    value:gray(0.95)

BackgroundColors = bars:bars

Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom

ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:01/01/1994 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:01/01/1993

LineData =

layer:back
color:album
 at:03/21/1994
 at:04/07/1996
 at:05/12/1998

BarData =

 bar:Stimy text:"Michael Steinman"
 bar:Paprocki text:"Michael Paprocki"
 bar:Reese text:"Jeff Reese"
 bar:Spanninga text:"Chris Spanninga"
 bar:Dunn text:"Kristian Dunn"
 bar:Hepler text:"Dave Hepler"

PlotData=

 width:11 textcolor:green align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4)
 bar:Stimy     from:02/01/1992  till:02/01/1999  color:Vocals
 bar:Stimy     from:02/01/1992  till:02/01/1999  color:Guitar width:3
 bar:Paprocki     from:02/01/1992  till:06/20/1994  color:Guitar
 bar:Reese     from:02/01/1992  till:08/01/1992  color:Bass
 bar:Spanninga    from:08/01/1992  till:05/07/1996  color:Bass
 bar:Dunn    from:05/07/1996  till:02/01/1999  color:Bass
 bar:Hepler     from:02/01/1992  till:02/01/1999  color:Drums

</timeline>

Albums

Album	Year	Label
Stresser	1994	Seed Records
DOT Class "C"	1996	Atlantic Records
This Will Fall on Dead Ears	1998	Headhunter Records

Singles

Title	Year	Album
"Oxidizer"	1993	Stresser
"Kermit the Hostage (Live)"	1993
"Linger"	1994
"Total Access"	1995	DOT Class "C"
"Eugenics"	1996
"Chicharrones"	1997
"For Duty and Humanity"	1997
"Happiness"	1998	This Will Fall on Dead Ears

Soundtracks and compilations

1994: Jabberjaw Compilation ("Buzzers and Bells")
1994: 91X - San Diego Local Music Soundtrack Sampler ("Linger")
1995: Kamikaze - Music to Push You Over the Edge Compilation ("I'm the Cat")
1995: Homage (Lots of Bands Doing Descendents' Songs) Compilation ("Kids")
1996: Flirting With Disaster Soundtrack ("For Duty and Humanity")
1997: The Thing Magazine: Hell City Race 666 Sampler ("Shaking")
1998: Fer Shure: A Tribute to the Valley Girl Soundtrack ("The Fanatic")

References