A View of OB’s “Slightly Stoopid” From the Mid-West

Ocean Beach fusion band Slightly Stoopid.

By Jennifer Halliday / Columbus Examiner / August 24, 2011

In 1995 in Ocean Beach, California, childhood friends Miles Doughty and Kyle McDonald formed a band that created a fusion of music between acoustic rock and blues and reggae, hip-hip, and punk. Soon after, the late Sublime frontman Bradley Nowell discovered the duo and asked them to perform a set at the Foot Hill Tavern in Long Beach, California. Nowell immediately signed them to his label, Skunk Records, while the band was still in high school. Sixteen years later, Doughty and McDonald, known as Slightly Stoopid, have released eight albums and have been compared to bands such as Sublime, Operation Ivy, Rancid, and Streetwise.

Soon after first being signed to Skunk Records, the American fusion band released their first album, Slightly $toopid. The 1996 release featured a guest appearance by Nowell on the song “Prophet,” which he later covered with his band Sublime and released on their box set Everything Under the Sun. Slightly Stoopid’s next release was 1998’s The Longest Barrel Ride, which became a surf-inspired cult classic.

The group self-released Acoustic Roots: Live and Direct, a 40-minute acoustic set, captured live at San Diego’s Rock 105.3 station in 2001. This was their first release for their own label, Stoopid Records, before issuing 2003’s Everything You Need on Surfdog, a musical departure for the band that sold more than 130,000 copies. After solidifying a new line-up with the additions of Ryan “RyMo” Moran (drums), Oguer “OG” Ocon (congas, percussion, harp, vocals) from the B Side Players, and C-Money (trumpet, keyboard) and Dela (saxophone) from John Brown’s Body, the band began to mix even more different musical styles on 2005’s Closer to the Sun. The album featured collaborations with well-known reggae names such as Barrington Levy and Scientist.

Closer to the Sun impressively debuted in the Billboard Top 200 and sold nearly 25,000 copies in its first two months of release. A year later, Slightly Stoopid issued their first-ever electric live album, Winter Tour ’05-’06 Live CD/DVD, as well as their first ever DVD, ‘Live in San Diego,’ while 2007 saw the release of the group’s fifth studio effort, Chronchitis. It debuted at #55 on the Billboard 200, and #2 on the indie charts.

The group has toured frequently since its inception, including appearances at arts festivals such as Coachella, Harmony, Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits, and New Orleans Jazz Fest. Additionally, Slightly Stoopid has played sold-out shows in Australia, Japan, Guam, Portugal, Denmark, the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, and the Dominican Republic. “Without the fans, we’d just be playing at the bar,” said McDonald in an interview with Skratch Magazine. “They make it worth our while – when we go out and people are having that good of a time, the energy goes back and forth. Just a good time – we rely on each other’s energy.”

Slightly Stoopid has played with the Dave Matthew’s Band, Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley and the Marley Brothers, Sublime, the Roots, The Expendables, Snoop Dogg, G. Love & Special Sauce, Ozomatli, Toots and the Maytals, and Pennywise, among others, as well as their first-ever sole headlining tour of amphitheaters in 2008, joined by their friends Pepper and Sly & Robbie featuring Cherine Anderson.

2008 saw the band issuing their first-ever “odds and ends” collection, Slightly Not Stoned Enough to Eat Breakfast Yet Stoopid – the group’s newest release for their growing label, Stoopid Records, which will also feature releases by other group’s, including the label’s first signed act, The Expendables. Included on Slightly Not Stoned Enough to Eat Breakfast Yet Stoopid are outtakes from both the Closer to the Sun and Chronchitis sessions, as well as a bevy of new material recorded at the famed Circle House Studios in Miami. The album also includes cover songs such as UB40’s “I Would Do For You” and the traditional “I Know You Rider,” most notably covered by The Grateful Dead. Also making their first appearance on a Slightly Stoopid studio album are newly recorded renditions of the long-time live standards “False Rhythms” and “Sensimilla.”

Slightly Stoopid is now touring with Don Carlos, Rebelution, Shwayze, and Cisco Adler as a part of the Seedless Summer Tour. They will be performing live on Friday, August 26th at the Lifestyle Communities Pavilion in Columbus. Tickets are on sale now for $25 or can be purchased at the door the day of the show for $30. The show will be held outdoors rain or shine and gates open for admission at 6 pm.

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