BAND: Slightly Stoopid
INTERVIEWER: Matt Hagarty (matth@bandvibe.com)
DATE OF INTERVIEW: 07.24.09

BAND MEMBERS:
Miles Doughty - Guitar, Bass, Vocals
Kyle McDonald - Guitar, Bass, Vocals
Ryan (RyMo) Moran- Drums
Oguer (O.G.) Ocon - Congas, Percussion, Harp, Vocals
Dan (DeLa) Delacruz - Saxophone
Chris (C-Money) Welter - Trumpet, Keyboard

Matt: When starting Slightly Stoopid, did you ever have the idea in mind that you would one day become what you are today?

RyMo: I mean everyone hopes for it and dreams for it but you know it only really happens with a ton of hard work, and I feel like we have been really hitting the road hard for ten years now, so we are happy that it’s happening now.

Matt: What do you attribute to your success?

RyMo: Well, we have been on the road like the majority of the last ten years. So out of the last 10 years you can kind of say realistically that half that time, like 5 solid years, we have been traveling. Not doing shows every night obviously but definitely on route to a show for a day then playing 3 to 6 shows straight then take a day off and a couple more. A lot of traveling, a lot of hard work, just building it up slowly is what has worked for us.

Matt: With 6 studio albums released, you guys are obviously doing something right. How does the writing process ensue within Slightly Stoopid?

RyMo: The writing process is pretty open man. We kind of are writing all the time because a lot of times we don’t really rehearse a ton. We obviously did for this tour but like most of the time we are touring every other month, you don’t want to see each other on the down time, you want to enjoy it and stuff, and everyone has their own personal life so a lot of the time we do a lot of writing on the road. Sometimes if it’s our own show, we will have a longer sound check and they will press record and will just go over some ideas and then preserve them via the recording and try to record them that way. Generally someone, like one of the two main songwriters, the two founding members of the band, Miles and Kyle essentially have a lyric, a bass line, a groove, or an idea, or a concept and we kind of all put the pieces together and make it a tune.

Matt: Should we be expecting something new in the near future?

RyMo: Yea, we released Slightly Not Stoned Enough last summer and Chronchitis the previous so we decided not to release anything this year on purpose because we have just been banging out a lot of albums. So this year we are going to chill, focus on this tour, we are going to Europe next month and next summer to fall time we will be dropping another thing.

Matt: Is it going to be the same sound we are use to or are you going to shift to one genre more?

RyMo: I’d say it’s going to have a familiarity because it’s all of us performing the music so it will have elements of similarity there, but I think we are always open to experimenting and working different things out. We have been talking to Snoop and some of Snoop’s people about doing some collaborations. So there might be a little bit more of a hip hop or rap element on the next record. But you know we control our own stuff, we don’t have a record label telling us what song to do or what not to do. So it’s really up to our own creative process to determine what makes it to the next record.

Matt: A collaboration with Snoop Dogg would be so dope.

RyMo: Oh my god, I would love that.

Matt: When I heard you guys were going on tour with Snoop Dogg a couple months ago I couldn’t believe it. How did the idea of this tour come about? And how has it been so far?

RyMo: Ah man, we were tossing ideas around at the beginning of the year and basically how it works, acts have availability lists, like print outs with hundreds of bands saying hey we are looking for a tour to be on as support or as headliner and those kind of things circulate. And so obviously we were available and Snoop was available and when we heard he was interested in doing something with us, we were like ‘yea let’s do it that would be amazing.’ And it just so happens in the past couple years, I feel like Stoopid has proven itself with ticket sales, and we were able to come to the whole agreement as a co-headliner and so far it’s great. All the band guys have been getting along really well. You know, Snoop and Stephen, you can’t say enough about them, they are superstars. For us to be sharing the bill with those two is a jewel. Mickey Avalon’s been doing a great job too, he is performing right now. You know man; it’s just been a really great package, really cool people out here.

Matt: Has there been any crazy things that have happened thus far this tour?

RyMo: You know what, not really, it’s been pretty mellow. We have had some pretty great barbeques like every night, or at least almost every single night unless we have a long drive like we do tonight unfortunately. Many nights we have been barbequing, it’s been a lot of fun and it’s a way for everyone to let some steam off. It’s a lot of pressure with a big show like this. When the shows over, what better way to hang out to just throw a couple of cold beers back and some stuff on the grill? So that’s been a lot of fun. Nothing to crazy, over all it’s been pretty mellow. You know, there have been some good kick back parties after the shows.

Matt: What was the best or worst meal you have ever had on tour?

RyMo: Oh, I got a great one for that. About a week and a half ago, we got some pizzas after our show in Albuquerque, and I got fucking food poisoning dude. I am the only person who ate a slice out of this particular pie that didn’t even look good, but I was so fucking hungry and a little buzzed that I ate a slice out of it, and needless to say I was up all night chucking. The bus had to pull over like three times. It was pretty surreal man, driving through New Mexico and it’s pitch dark and I am up in the front lobby like talking to the bus driver saying, “dude, you got to pull over as soon as possible”. We get off at some random exit and as soon as I open the door I just let it fly, so that was shitty. And of course, it was right before Red Rock which was one of the biggest days on the tour. So yea, needless to say that whole night was brutal and the whole next day was also. We got through the show and that was cool, but it was tough being up on stage after you haven’t eaten and you have taken like twelve craps, and you have been vomiting all day.

Matt: Yea, I know what you mean. I had food poisoning once. You have to throw up and then dump so you do not throw up in your own shit.

RyMo: Yea and then you can’t drink water or else you will throw up again.

Matt: And then you just lay there sweating and hoping to die. I know how you felt man.

RyMo: Yea, needless to say pizza hut fucked me a couple weeks ago.

Matt: Alright, here are a couple of questions I got from fans before the show.

RyMo: Cool.

Matt: How did you get the idea to incorporate trumpets and trombones into reggae music?

RyMo: I mean horns have always been a part of reggae, that is a good question, but if you know anything about roots reggae or rock steady or even ska, it’s all horn based. For us, it was a no brainer. We met Chris and Dela, our trumpet and saxophone player while they were playing with a great reggae band out of Boston called John Brown’s Body. So we did a tour with those guys, John Browns Body was supporting Slightly Stoopid about three years ago. It just kind of happened, towards the middle of the tour they were coming up and playing one or two songs and by the end they were playing like four or five songs with us. And then after the tour was over, a couple months later, Miles and Kyle were like, “hey, do you guys want to just move out to California and join our band?” And they were like, “yea, totally”, so it worked out really well for them.

Matt: When people think of Slightly Stoopid or just your genre in general, people tend to associate weed with it. What is its role in your band?

RyMo: Ah man, it’s a part of our everyday life, you know what I mean? Almost every guy in the band and crew burn; so it’s like we sing a lot about it but its only because we do it. You know what I mean? It’s not like we are trying to make these big claims, and then we don’t even smoke. There are a few guys out of the whole organization who don’t smoke, and that’s fine. It’s not a big deal, but yea, the majority I would say about 98% of the guys are total heads. Even the guys who don’t smoke now, smoked tons before, so it’s not a big deal, but yea it’s just part of the way we live. We sing a lot about it because it is the way we live.

Matt: Is there anything else you would like to say to the fans that are coming out and supporting you guys on this tour?

RyMo: I would just like to say thanks man. You know at tours of these magnitudes it’s not like you can just get back here and hang out if you are the typical fan. You know, I have been to shows at this very venue, Shoreline, when I was a kid and it was my biggest dream to get backstage and now I am in those shoes and so I understand. I just want to say thanks for coming out and supporting us and allowing us this continued growth that we have been able to sustain this past decade. Keep coming to the shows, and we appreciate the support.

For more official information on Slightly Stoopid, please log onto:
http://www.slightlystoopid.com/
http://www.myspace.com/stoopid

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