YES FOR THOSE THAT MIGHT NOTICE OR CARE,MY OLD HYBRID, PROGRESSIVE POP FUNK SOUL ROCK TRIP OUT, THE INCLINED ARE PLAYIN TOGETHER AGAIN FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 11 YEARS.

FOR MY FRIENDS WHO DON'T KNOW THAT MY ROOTS ARE PLAYING GUITAR & SINGING IN INCLINED, IT WAS MY LIFE, OBSESSION & 2ND FAMILY FROM THE TIME I WAS 15 TILL JUST BEFORE I STARTED THE BREAKESTRA.BASICALLY 13 YEARS OR SO.LONGER THAN MOST BANDS YA THINK OF.MYSELF,STEVE SMART & GENE PERRY PLAYED AROUND THE WESTSIDE/SANTA MONICA/TOPANGA (WHERE I'M FROM) AREA FOR OUR HIGH SCHOOL YEARS & THEN AFTER MADE OUR WAY INTO HOLLYWOOD BARS WE WERE TOO YOUNG TO EVEN LEGALLY BE IN.AFTER MANY YEARS OF DIFFERENT 4 TRACK CASSETTE TAPES & A HANDFUL OF "GOOD" STUDIO SESSIONS WE MADE OUR FIRST SELF RELEASED CD IN 1991.SOON AFTER COLUMBIA BOUGHT THE RECORD WE RELEASED & REPACKAGED IT WITH A FEW ADDED TRACKS & THERE IT WAS "BRIGHT NEW DAY".

THE CD FEATURED 13 SONGS THAT HAD DEVELOPED FROM PLAYING & EVOLVING OVER THE 9 PREVIOUS YEARS.IN ADDITION TO ITS UNIQUE SOUNDS 7 SONGS IT ALSO IS PROBABLY THE FIRST POP/ROCK GUITAR RECORD TO HAVE USED SAMPLE PIECES FROM RECORDS, LOOPED BREAKBEATS & ALSO FEATURED DJ CUT CHEMIST 'S SCRATCHING, WHO MADE HIS CD DEBUT ON BND ON THE LAST TRACK "OUTCLINED", A SHOUT OUT TRACK,ALSO THE FIRST FOR ANY NON HIP HOP RECORD.

WE WERE AS INFLUENCED BY THE LATE 80'S EARLY 90S HIP HOP GOLDEN AGE SOUND AS WE WERE BY PROGRESSIVE OLD & NEW POP,ROCK, PSYCHEDELIC SOUNDS.

WE TOURED THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY, SPENDING SOME VERY EXCITING & FUN TIMES WITH BLIND MELON WHOM I WOULD LATER PLAY CELLO WITH ON THE 2ND CD.

WE MADE A SECOND RECORD FOR COLUMBIA CALLED "SIFTER" THAT THEY PASSED ON & THUS BEGAN OUR CHALLENGE TO STAY ON OUR PATH.WE MADE A BOOTLEG EP CD CALLED "SIFTER" & GOT SOME OUT THERE BUT CIRCUMSTANCES WITHIN & BEYOND OUR CONTROL LEAD US TO DISBAND IN 1996.

STEVE SMART THE DRUMMER & GENE PERRY THE BASS PLAYER CONTINUED TO PLAY AFTER IN A LATIN JAZZ FUNK PROJECT CALLED CUSTOM THAT IS GOING TO PLAY AT THE INCLINED REUNION SHOW AS WELL.
THE ORIGINAL CUSTOM LINE UP ACTUALLY FEATURED THEM PLUS DAN UBICK OF THE LIONS & CONNIE PRICE AS WELL AS JEREMY RUZUMNA,KEYBOARDIST AND MAIN SONGWRITER ON MACY GRAYS FIRST & 2ND CDS.

AFTER WE SPLIT, I PUT THE GUITAR DOWN IN FAVOR OF THE BASS ONCE I ORGANIZED WHAT QUICKLY BECAME THE BREAKESTRA, MAINLY DUE TO THE FACT THAT ITS HARD TO FIND BASS LAYERS WHO LOVE THE HEARTBEAT, HARMONIC FOUNDATION THAT THE BASS PLAYS IN FUNK/SOUL JAZZ MUSIC.ALSO I NEEDED A BREAK FROM ANYTHING RELATED TO THAT JOYFUL BUT SOMETIMES FRUSTRATION FILLED HISTORY I HAD KNOWN AS INCLINED FOR 13 YEARS.WHEW...

BUT I RARELY SAY NEVER...

STEVE & MYSELF STAYED IN TOUCH PERIODICALLY PLAYING TOGETHER HERE AND THERE BUT I COMPLETELY LOST TOUCH WITH THE BASS PLAYER GENE.

A FEW MONTHS AGO I RECEIVED A VERY WARM PHONE CALL FROM GENE PERRY SUGGESTING WE GET TOGETHER AND ALL PLAY AGAIN IN OUR POWER TRIO GLORY.
I WAS READY AND WELCOMED IT WITH AN OPN HEART.

CONSIDERING STEVE LIVES IN PITTSBURG,PA IT WAS A DIFFICULT MANEUVER BUT AFTER OUR OLD MANAGER CHARLES RAGGIO GOT ONTO BOOKING SOME SHOWS WE TALKED STEVE INTO FLYING OUT FOR 2 WEEKS OF GIGS IN L.A.!

ME & GENE GOT TOGETHER FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 11 YEARS & STARTED TO DUST OFF OUR GEAR & IT FELT GOOD.I JUST GOTTA KEEP PRACTICIN MY SOLOS NOT TO MENTION SINGING WHILST GUITARRING.LOL.IVE BEEN STAYING HOME THE LAST WEEK.NO LATE NIGHTS EXCEPT TO SIT HERE & WRITE THIS.

THANKS FOR CHECKIN THIS OUT AND IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN SEEING ONE OF OUR 3 SHOWS OVER THE NEXT 2 WEEKS IN MAY READ MORE BELOW...


You can catch up with Inclined here:
www.myspace.com/inclinedband

You can read about us here:
http://palisadespost.com/content/index.cfm?Story_ID=3932

also the topanga messenger has an article.google that mutha,cause i'm too lazy to...

And if you are on the westside, you can see us here:

Sunday, May 25 at noon: Topanga Days
http://topangadays.com/

THURSDAY MAY 29 10PM AT THE MINT ON PICO.

Friday, May 30: The Temple Bar in Santa Monica. Custom will also be playing that night.
http://templebarlive.com/

Need a Signed copy of the Sifter EP? Drop us a reply via the myspace site.

Take care,

Steve, Miles and Gene
The Inclined