1980s Band The Inclined Returns

May 21, 2008

Michael Aushenker , Staff Writer

'After 12 years, The Inclined are returning to Southern California, blazing a trail like Sherman's March to the Sea!'

Okay, so it's not as earth-scorching as the culmination of the Civil War, but Gene Perry's hyperbole can be excused as he rounds up his Palisades High cohorts (Class of 1987) to reform their rock band, The Inclined, for two gigs this coming week.

Roughly 25 years ago, bassist Perry formed his band with drummer Steve Smart and singer/guitarist Miles Tackett (whose father, Freddy Tackett, played guitar in Little Feat).

'We met in ninth grade at Paul Revere and started making music together,' Perry told the Palisadian-Post.

The band became an amalgam of their influences, from hard-rock comfort food such as Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin, to the experimental '80s sounds of Cocteau Twins, The Police, and Echo and the Bunnymen.

Locally, the Inclined cut their teeth playing at PaliHi and at Madame Wong's West on Pico Boulevard in West Los Angeles.

'My mother drove me there and I was only permitted to let in my drums, and stay in the dressing room till showtime,' Smart recalled, referring to the club's alcohol-friendly environment. 'I was not allowed to be in any of the public areas.'

After high school, The Inclined jammed around town, headlining shows at The Roxy and Whiskey A-Go-Go on the Sunset Strip. Their longtime band photographer was Eric Nakamura, who went on to found the Sawtelle district-based Giant Robot magazine and retail pop culture enterprise.

In 1992, Chaos Records, a Columbia Records label, signed The Inclined to a record deal.

'When Columbia picked us up, most of the work was done, so we added a couple of tracks and put the album out,' Perry said. 'They were supportive but they didn't know what to do with us. So they put us out on tour.'

The Inclined spent six weeks opening for Blind Melon, and Smart became good friends with Melon's troubled singer, Shannon Hoon, who died of a drug overdose in 1995 at the age of 28.

Following the Columbia album, The Inclined self-released a pair of albums before disbanding in 1996.

Today, all three members are in their late 30s and no longer reside in the Palisades. Perry, a Web developer, married his PaliHi sweetheart, Deanne Allen, and they live in Temecula with their two girls, Joelle, 4 and Corinne, 18 months. Tackett continues as a musician out of Los Feliz, while Smart followed a woman to Pittsburgh, where he works at Netflix's corporate headquarters.

'It's been over a year since I've been to L.A.,' said Smart, who will stay in the Palisades with his sister, Alison Bihari, and her husband and two children. 'Last time I was here, Miles had his annual Christmas party and we played for the first time since we broke up. We had a blast.'

This coming week, The Inclined will play original tunes 'The Atom,' 'Might Not Know It Now,' 'Shifter' (the album version had a string section arranged by Van Dyke Parks), and the poignant 'She Won't Go,' a ballad they wrote about Michelle Friedlander, a PaliHi classmate who perished in a car accident.

'I'm looking forward to playing the songs. I still love the songs,' Smart said. 'Those are my favorite people to play with. We just click so well together. That was the first band I was ever in. I get to see my friends again and play with them. It's a true reunion on every level.'

The Inclined will play at Topanga Days County Fair on Sunday, May 25 at noon, and Temple Bar, 1026 Wilshire Blvd. on Friday, May 30 at 11 p.m. Visit www.MySpace.com/inclinedband.

CAPTION: The Inclined play PaliHi in 1988.