Guitarist Steve Phillips grew up in Ocean Beach, and entered the local music scene in the mid-1960s with his group the Inmates, one of a handful of bands that played San Diego’s large dance venues popular at that time; the War Memorial Building in Balboa Park, San Diego State College, UCSD Elliot, OB and Santa Clara Rec. Centers, and others. The band also included drummer Gale Kellogg (later of Useless Rhetoric) and bassist Tom Kruse.
Often considered a Northern Soul group, the Inmates teamed with songwriter June Jackson and recorded at Johnny Otis' studio in Burbank, CA in 1967-68. Their single “This is the Day” (written by Jackson) on the Kopit label made local top-40 charts in many outlying markets. The Vietnam draft effectively put an end to the Inmates in 1968-69. All members of the band survived the war, but never played together again.
Steve Phillips later founded his group the Pescadero Pickers.