RELIX: Slightly Stoopid on Weir, Reggae and Wrestling
by John Patrick Gatta on September 17, 2015
Childhood friends Miles Doughty and Kyle McDonald formed Slightly Stoopid while they were still in high school. After catching the ear of Sublime’s Brad Nowell, they signed to his indie label Skunk Records, which released their self-titled debut in 1996. With a DIY approach firmly rooted in punk rock and the Grateful Dead’s ethos, the Ocean Beach, Calif., band has developed a business model that includes their own record label, recording studio and destination festival. Their eighth studio release, Meanwhile… Back at the Lab, is a career-defining moment that perfectly exhibits Stoopid’s trademark fusion of reggae, punk, hiphop, blues, folk and funk.
I saw a Facebook meme that mocked how people will pay $5 for a coffee, yet they won’t pay $1 for music. Does that attitude make it difficult to get excited about going into the recording studio?
MILES DOUGHTY: Music is just good for the soul. As a musician, that’s our release. Getting our music out there is the most important thing. How it sells is tough to say with streaming and everything else, but as long as you’re getting your music out there, that’s all that matters. We make our living playing live shows and traveling through this country and the world, and bringing our music to different towns.
To what extent has Brad Nowell’s DIY approach stuck with you?
That process of doing it yourself is better for all musicians because you can do what you want musically. When you go to a label, they’re going to have their opinion about your songs, but they’re also going to have their machine behind you. That’s a blessing and a curse because you lose your opinion. We’ve had Stoopid Records since 1999, and we were fortunate enough to be with Skunk Records out of the gate. They pretty much laid the map as far as a do-it-yourself attitude, along with guys like Fat Mike [of NOFX] with Fat Wreck Chords. We looked up to guys like that. Brad and Miguel [Happoldt, Skunk co-founder] told us, “You can’t be lazy. You gotta get your ass on the road and tour.” That’s what it was really all about. Having that control from the start really helped us and allowed us to be who we are.
Slightly Stoopid covered “I Know You Rider” and recorded with Bob Weir at TRI Studios. How did the Grateful Dead’s approach influence you?
I appreciated the opportunity Bobby Weir gave us to record at TRI. That was pretty incredible. The chance to do vocal harmonies in his dressing room before we started recording was one of those bucket-list scratch-offs. The way they toured and brought the live show to people [was an influence on us]. They had the Deadheads and we have our Stoopidheads, who travel from show to show. We have had the same people over the last 10-15 years of our career. They grow up with you. We took a lot of the Dead’s ideas about touring and crushing the live show, bringing something fun to the people every year and being out there on the road.
When I originally heard the name Slightly Stoopid, I thought, “Here comes some punk-ska, weed-loving band.” Then, I listened to the music and realized that there’s much more there.
That was a name we chose when we were punk-rock kids, but it sticks in your head. When people ask me on an airplane or something, “What do you do?” I tell them I’m a musician. When they say, “What’s the name of your band?” and I tell ‘em “Slightly Stoopid,” sometimes they almost spit out their drink. It’s pretty funny.
Did you listen to a lot of classic reggae artists during the band’s formative years?
Brad and Miguel used to make us these tapes called the “Holy Homework.” It was old-school reggae, dancehall, rocksteady…I love Bob Marley, but this was the stuff like Half Pint, Sugar Minott, Yellowman, Don Carlos. Growing up with that music and getting to tour with these legends influenced us so much. We toured with Barrington Levy, the Marleys and Toots & The Maytals. We pinch ourselves every day that we get to hang
out with people like Don Carlos. He’s been touring with us for the last five years. It’s incredible that we’re getting respect from those guys. Some of those people are the most humble musicians that there are, but they created such beautiful music.
You also work as a high school wrestling coach. Do you put Slightly Stoopid on hold during the season?
We usually don’t tour when I’m coaching, which is from November to February. We’ll only do a few one-off shows because the wrestling takes up six days a week. The guys are cool about taking time off. I like to volunteer—you’ve got to give back to your community and that’s the school I went to. I wrestled there. My dad coached there. In fact, my dad’s coaching there with me now. One of my best friends growing up is coaching with me, and
my youngest brother wrestles there. He’s a senior in high school. You affect kids’ lives. I come out with a lot of stuff I get from sponsors and hook the kids up and work really hard. They appreciate it. I love the sport. It’s one of the most mentally challenging things you could ever do in your life and it prepares you for anything.
At the end of 2015, you’ll host the second Closer to the Sun destination festival in Cancún, Mexico. What did you take away from last year’s event?
We did it at Sapphire Resort. It was a great experience. We ended up playing 77 songs over the three shows. The fans had a great time and it was such a personal experience. It was a really intimate thing. Basically, you’re all hanging out together, no matter what, because you see everybody every day.