Music Review: Slightly Stoopid

The mainstream music industry has a way of corrupting once artistically inclined performers with the riches, fame, and vice of the business. All too often we see artists compromising their creative flow in order to please record labels, radio charts, and adoring tweens who covet the conventionality of Britney Spears-esque persona coupled with cookie cutter beats and lyrics that run skin deep. Rarely into today’s high-risk high reward industry do we see a true message delivered in any song “worthy” of radio airplay. Of course there are some exceptions to the rule but as a general trend the music industry has forsaken the once revolutionary artists of old in favor of commercial success. Fortunately there are still performers that gather such a following off the airwaves that it is almost impossible to keep them off of it, one of these bands is an Ocean Beach, California mainstay called “Slightly Stoopid”. The self-described “fusion of acoustic rock and blues with reggae, hip-hop, and punk” sounds of Stoopid cover a large genre of music listeners and allows one of the more versatile bands going a chance to cross lines and perform essentially what they want when they want. But to understand the success behind Slightly Stoopid in turn you must understand the success of the band’s mentor, “Sublime”.
In 1995 the lead vocalists (Miles Doughty and Kyle McDonald) of the band now known as Slightly Stoopid were still in high school when the got their first big break. The band was offered a record deal by “Skunk Records”, owned and operated by Sublime lead vocalist Bradley Nowell. Shortly there after the band released their first album self-entitled “Slightly Stoopid” which carried with it an unpolished form of punk infused reggae. As the band developed under Nowell a definitive style began to emerge somehat in adherence to the renderings of their mentors and mega-success, Sublime. Stoopid released two more album under the “Skunk” label each once with progressively more reggae influence. As the band began to create their own identity the music of Stoopid also began to take on a life of its own which can be seen in their 1998 album entitled “Longest Barrel Ride” where the band can be seen shirking the punk rock inspired music of their early days in a concerted effort to take the group in another direction. The 1998 release featured acoustic creations in the mold of a toned down Sublime and carried the band to regional prominence in the surf inspired Southern California coast. After the release and moderate successes of “Longest Barrel Ride” and the unexpected death of record company president Bradley Nowell the band split ways with Sublime and defunct Skunk Records in favor of self production, however Stoopid acknowledged the experience and confidence that came along with touring with Sublime and in turn drawing off the massive crowds brought in by the front page notoriety of the band.
After splitting with Skunk the band began writing new music in anticipation of their next album set to be released in 2001 entitled “Live & Direct: Acoustic Roots”, a live album that would be compiled from various tour destinations the band had booked in the coming months. The album was immediately recognized for its creativity by critics at its release in 2001 and included several tracks with a distinct call for world peace, the most notable of these pieces called “If This World Were Mine” where front man Kyle McDonald declares “…the killin’ must come to an end my friend, and unite the nations with one flag…” world peace was not the only thing the band emulated in their third album in coherence with the “Sublime-way”, there is also a substantial call for the legalization of marijuana within the work. The most overt call for legalization takes place in the song “Officer” and coincided with a community effort in Southern California to legalize the cannabis plant. The lines “I said don't go lock me up because me smoke sensi
Yes, this is the ghetto but I live 'cross the sea” and the laid back nature of the band’s music immortalized the crew in So-Cal drug culture and essentially catapulted the group to national prominence in the emerging “reggae crossover” genre.
Just after the release of “Live & Direct: Acoustic Roots” the band picked up a new following, a new identity, and a new apprentice, a band called “The Expendables” fell into the good graces of Stoopid front man Kyle McDonald upon playing a show in Santa Cruz, California. McDonald used The Expendables to open the band’s own label in the mold of Skunk Records called “Stoopid Records”. McDonald also signed a Hawaiian based band called “Pepper” to the label in 2002. Both bands began (much like Stoopid had with Sublime) to emulate their mentors and have both since released five albums in the very “surf reggae” mold pioneered by Sublime and Stoopid. In 2003 the band released their much-anticipated fifth album, “Closer to the Sun” which included compilations with both Pepper and the Expendables. The record was the bands greatest success thus far in their career selling more than 100,000 copies throughout the nation. The record boasted a Billboard Top 100 hit in its namesake song “Closer to the Sun” and solicited major record deals from Capitol, Virgin, and Columbia Records. However the band rejected all three of the offers in order to continue a pursuit of creativity in their music. Kyle McDonald once explained in an interview with “Surfer Magazine” the following: "Everything really starts with acoustic guitars with us, I mean that's what we're jamming on when we're sitting around smokin' weed and watching T.V. and we weren’t about to sell out to the big boys just for more money”.
The band continued work on their record all while continuing their efforts to advance world peace and legalize marijuana. The band began a concert series in an effort with NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) in 2005 to raise awareness about cannabis in an attempt to pass a resolution on the 2006 ballot in California to legalize medical use of marijuana. The group also began to fundraise for several non-profit groups committed to the advancement of world peace and unity. The group released two more albums one entitled “Chronchitis” which was released in 2007 and their most recent compilation called “Slightly Not Stoned Enough To Eat Breakfast Yet Stoopid” in 2008. The band also continues to actively tour with both Pepper and the Expendables and have inspired several other upstart bands including “880 South”, “Current Swell”, “Stone Senses”, and “Burn Unit”. There is no question that the guidance provided by Sublime allowed Slightly Stoopid to evolve into what they are today, a cutting edge, multi faceted, attention-grabbing machine. But Stoopid has in turn given a path for many other bands cut into both their and Sublime’s image to come to prominence through their independent thinking and independent record label. Although often controversial the group has a proven record for standing up for what they believe and not curbing to the lure of commercial successes in favor of having their voice heard by the many who will listen.