by Jake Peterson / The Reader / July 10, 2025
Slightly Stoopid’s ties with Sublime reach all the way back to the Ocean Beach band’s beginning: they were discovered by Sublime frontman Bradley Nowell and signed to Skunk Records in 1995. Shortly after, they released their first album, Slightly $toopid. Since then, the band has consistently evolved over the past thirty years while still remaining loyal to its reggae rock roots.
“As you get older,” says founding member Miles Doughty, “your sound progresses. We mix so many different styles between the reggae, hip-hop, punk rock, blues, and acoustic. I think as you get older and more experienced in music, your style and influence changes, and you incorporate that into what you’re doing. Now we have the sound that we have today. It’s been incredible — just the fact that you could be in the same band for 30 years, still doing it on a high-level, and having fun with friends making music.”
This past May, Sublime released a 20th anniversary edition of Look At All the Love We Found: A Tribute to Sublime. And while Slightly Stoopid has tried to avoid covering their discoverer’s songs, when the opportunity presented itself to cover the track “Slow Ride” with fellow locals Stick Figure, they simply couldn’t say no.
“We thought it’d be better to do a rarity like that,” Doughty says. “You know, one of the cult classics of Sublime that wasn’t necessarily on their main records. ‘Slow Ride’ is such a dope track. It was great having the opportunity to work with Miguel [Happoldt] and the Sublime family again, and having Scott [from Stick Figure] there, too. We come from the Sublime tree. We have direct lineage with all those guys, so it was really cool just to have the opportunity to be on the album itself and just be able to give it to the fans.”
Collaborations between Slightly Stoopid and Stick Figure collaborations are not a new thing. Their reggae seasonings have melded on multiple other songs throughout recent years. “The collaborations are basically all of us jamming together on different songs that we’ve either recorded together or something we’re working on fresh. It’s something we love to do with all the friends.”
In addition to the Sublime cover, Slightly Stoopid recently released the single “Step into the Sun.” The band recorded the track at Sonic Ranch Studios outside of El Paso, Texas. “The song kind of came together with the whole band,” Doughty says, “just sitting in the engineer room and kind of messing with acoustics and beats. It was cool capturing the energy of Sonic Ranch. You’re on this 15,000-acre pecan ranch that has this insane studio at it, so you really kind of escape time. Having us all in the same room and everything coming together at once is what made the song so beautiful.”
Stepping into the sun might get you closer to Closer to the Sun, the annual concert vacation event Slightly Stoopid hosts in Riviera Maya, Mexico. Other notable acts that will be playing alongside them at the festival will be Rebelution, Dirty Heads, Pepper, and Rome. The vacation will be held early next year from January 10-14.
“We’ve done it ten years straight,” Doughty says. “It sells out every year. We handpick the lineups every year, and it’s really something special for the fans. It’s not only a vacation for ourselves, but it’s a destination vacation for fans with their favorite bands. It’s the closest experience you’re going to get with bands you love. All your friend’s bands are there, so you’re having the most insane collaborations and hangs. I can explain it, but at the same time it’s one of those things you’ve got to experience just to feel the mass energy that’s going on with it. We look forward to it every year. It’s something that’s a great thing musically for everybody and it’s a great way for all the bands to end their year on together. We’re definitely beyond blessed to be doing what we’re doing.”
The band is currently on a nationwide summer tour that will wrap up at Mission Bayfest on October 17. Between tours, consistently releasing new music, concert vacations and headlining hometown festivals, the OB faithful show no signs of slowing down. And it’s not uncommon to catch them hanging out at their Newport Avenue bar The Harp when they’re in town. Cheers to thirty years.
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