Early career

Vocalist Robert Reid, guitarist Dan McLintock, bassist John Comee and drummer Scott Shad formed The Abominable Snowmen of the Himalayas 12 in 1994 while in junior high school, influenced by the first wave of southern Californian punk rock/skate punk bands such as Lagwagon and NOFX.^[1] The band was renamed Inspection 12, inspired by a fictional band on the Nickelodeon TV show The Adventures of Pete & Pete named Inspector 12.^[2] After recording a cassette in 1995, titled Eponymous EP, the band recruited a second guitarist, Peter Mosely. Their first show for a crowd was at a friend's backyard birthday party, playing only cover by bands such as Nirvana and Green Day, with newcomer Pete joining in on the NOFX and Weezer songs.^[3]

Their first full-length album, Come, Hefe, Come! was recorded on cassette tape in 1996 and sold independently. Few copies are known to exist, but a digital copy made by a fan was uploaded to the official messageboard in 2003.^[4][5] Recorded live and consisting mostly of songs later re-recorded with vastly improved production values, such as "Secure" and "Bad Mentality", it could be considered a demo. Their first big show was opening for Less Than Jake.

Incorporating vocal harmonies beyond that which is considered gratuitous for most typical skate punk bands, while also sharing vocal duties on their recording, their second album Inspection 12 would be the last for founder Robert Reid as he graduated and left the band to enter college, and with bassist John Comee also leaving, guitarist Dan McLintock soon took up the bass and lead vocalist roles. Released in 1997 on compact disc, it was their first recording with sound quality on the level of a professional demo. Another album, You're A Nation, was released in 1998, and James Trimble, cousin to Scott Shad, was added as second guitarist to replace the departed founder Robert Reid. Their fourth full-length album, Step Into The Fire, was released in 1999 with the new lineup. On this recording, drummer Scott Shad's best friend Ryan Key performed additional vocals on the song "Nothing to Lose". While still in high school, they sold more than 2,500 copies of their independently recorded and produced CDs locally and opened for bands such as Strung Out, Millencolin and Bigwig.^[6] Although being a relatively successful local band, Mosely recalls feeling like outcasts because of their preppy clothes and unorthodox style of punk rock, explaining that "Whenever we'd play a show like Good Riddance or AFI, it would always be a real tough crowd. I used to hear it all the time about us being rich kids."

On March 6, 2001, awaiting the release of Inspection 12's debut album, eighteen-year-old drummer Scott Shad was killed in a car accident.^[7] His death devastated the members of the band, who for a while considered disbanding. Scott's best friend Ryan playing with Yellowcard was also traumatized by this experience, and both bands would keep writing songs and paying tribute to Scott's memory throughout their careers.^[8] Instead of auditioning for a new drummer, Dan's best friend since pre-school Tim Grisnik was signed on as the new drummer, and in May, In Recovery was released on Honest Don's, in memory of Scott Shad.

James left the band after their 2002 In Recovery U.S. tour and returned to college, and the band returned to the studio as a three-piece to record their second album for Honest Don's, Get Rad. However, after eight months of recording songs, which were distinctly less typical for punk rock than their previous recordings, more slowly paced and prominently featuring many other instruments than the core bass, guitar and drums, Honest Don's president reportedly told them "My label doesn't put out this kind of music. And I don't even know what to call it."^[9] They were dropped from the record label and bought their recorded material back to finish the album themselves. Pete Mosely was simultaneously assisting Yellowcard with writing and recording bass guitar for their Capitol Records debut Ocean Avenue, and shortly after left Inspection 12 to join them as their permanent bassist. After closing a new recording deal with European label Floppy Cow Records, the album was finished, with guest vocals performed by Ryan Key as well as Ted Bond, lead singer of recently disbanded Craig's Brother. It was released by Floppy Cow in 2004 in Europe and Japan, along a distribution deal with Suburban Home Records to sell it in the U.S. The distribution rights for the album were later transferred to Yellowcard guitarist Ben Harper's label Takeover Records when the band was signed to the label in 2005.^[10]

Recent history

After the release of Get Rad, Dan McLintock also decided to return to school. Not breaking up or going on hiatus, Inspection 12 remained, although only playing sporadic shows in the member's home area of Jacksonville as they focused on their lives outside of music. James would later rejoin the band in July 2006 after finishing his studies, and after Yellowcard's 2007 release Paper Walls, Pete Mosely would also return. He describes the current situation of the band as "We just toned it down and it's more of just a hobby for us". In November 2012 Dan McLintock announced on the band's official Facebook page that he had decided to leave the band.^[11] Rob Reid, founding member and original singer rejoined soon thereafter.^[12]

Inspection 12 announced on their Facebook page on May 20 of 2013 that they are in the process of recording a new record,^[13] the first single of which "Ole You" was released on Amplified Vol. 1, a compilation CD of local Jacksonville artists.^[14] The band would go on to release its latest album, Redefine, in December 2014.

Albums

• Come, Hefe, Come! (1996)
• Inspection 12 (1997)
• You're A Nation (1998)
• Step Into the Fire (1999)
• In Recovery (2001)
• Get Rad (2003)
• Redefine (2014)

EPs

• Home (2000)

Demos

• Eponymous EP (1995)

Compilation appearances

• Floyd ...And Out Come The Teeth, Fat Wreck Chords, contributed "Red Letter Day" (2001)
• The Beginning of the End, End Records, contributed "Secret Identity" (2001)
• Honest Don's Dirty Dishes, Honest Don's Records, contributed "Secret Identity" (2001)
• A Different Shade of Green: A Green Day Tribute, Skunk-Ape Records, contributed "F.O.D." (2003)