Born in the heart of what original Southern California (So Cal) rock reggae music used to be, Slightly Stoopid has represented their culture and ideals consistently for over a decade. They do it simply and straightforward; great live shows and abstinence from pop culture influence has resulted in the birth of a music nation filled with Slightly Stoopid devotees.

Boosh Magazine had a chance to catch up with Slightly Stoopid drummer Ryan Moran (RyMo), and discuss the band’s Skunk Records roots, their passion for greens, and how it feels to be in a band that makes its living off of being on the road.

Things really got started for Slightly Stoopid when Bradley Nowell signed Miles and Kyle (beginning of Slightly Stoopid) to Skunk Records while they were still in high school.  I know that you joined the band later on and didn’t have a chance to meet Bradley Nowell, but can you tell me a little bit about him from your band mates perspectives? 

Well, I’ve heard that he was a really nice guy. He was a genuine person, the type that is very welcoming to people he didn’t know. He really represented what the whole SoCal reggae rock scene was about in the early nineties.  Kyle and Miles were both very good friends with him and when he passed it had a long lasting impact on both of them and on the direction of this band.

Let me ask you a lighter question. You guys love reggae music, so who would you rather play with live, Peter Tosh or Bob Marley?

Aw man, that is a tough question. Gotta go with Bob on that one. No disrespect to Peter, he’s awesome and is definitely one of the most underrated musicians of the genre, but I gotta go with Bob, the godfather.

Who is your favorite Marley Brother?

I’m a big Damien fan. I think that he has the best style. He puts his own spin on things instead of regurgitating his father’s stuff.  No disrespect to the other brothers, I just like Damien the most.

You are all into surfing.  Long board or short board?

I prefer short boarding. I’d rather ride a short and grind some quality turns. If the waves are small and crappy, then I’ll hop on a long board.

You guys are pretty tight with the band Pepper, right?

Yep. We’re boys.

How’d you guys meet?

We first ran into them in Hawaii around 2000. We liked them and their style and brought them out on tour to the mainland. Eventually they moved to So Cal and now we all hang. They are great guys and we love them a lot.

Do you and Yesod (from Pepper) have drumming duels?

Haha. No, well I mean we have a friendly competition going on, but other than that we don’t do any one-upping or stuff like that. Our band has done like five tours with them, so I know Yesod’s style pretty well by now.

It’s common knowledge that you guys like to smoke.  Tell me, what area has the best greens? 

Ah yes, the greens. I’m a Northern California boy by origin, so I gotta go with the Northern Cali greens. A lot of places have bomb buds, but they can’t touch the Cali Chron! Colorado is a very close second.

Tell me where the band name came from?

Back in the day the guys were chillin, smoking and doing their thing. You know, a bunch of sixteen and seventeen-year-olds just hanging out.  They were shooting around possible names for the group and someone was like “How about slightly goofy?”, and someone else was like “That is slightly stupid.” And after a big round of laughter everyone was in agreement that that was the name of our band. 

Traveling down the path that led you to this point you guys turned down three record deals from major labels? Can you tell me about that?

Labels get a little salty when you tell them no. They can’t understand why a band wouldn’t want a major contract. From our standpoint, taking the money that comes with a major label contract isn’t worth the hassle. It’s not free money. Labels want to see a return on their investment. They give you $100,000 and then they demand hits and they make you to do PR photo shoots where you are forced to wear eyeliner and sport tight pants. We didn’t want any part of that, and besides we have been able to create a scene by ourselves. 

A big part of our recipe for success is our ability to sell tickets for our tours. Slightly Stoopid makes a living off of live shows, much like how The Grateful Dead did back in the day. Record labels love bands that sell millions of records, not bands that primarily sell concert tickets. We want to be a Pink Floyd or The Who, not a bunch of platinum record pop stars like B Spears.

Lets talk about your new effort, Slightly Not Stoned Enough to Eat Breakfast Yet Stoopid. What is the story behind the name?

It was kinda like the story behind our band name. We were at the studio in Redondo Beach recording tracks for the album and we were sitting around brainstorming names for the album while eating breakfast. I can’t remember who, but some one was like “Man, I’m not stoned enough and I can’t eat or even think yet.” We all laughed, and that turned into the album name.

Tell me about your recording process.

When we record, we usually record enough material for like two or three records. A lot of the material goes back into the vaults and we pick it up and work on it more or release it in the future. That’s what happened with Slighty not Stoned Enough to Eat Breakfast Yet Stoopid. A lot of the tracks from it were actually recorded when we made Closer to the Sun.

What are Slightly Stoopid’s plans for the near future?

We are going to be on tour with Pepper. We are doing a lap around the U.S.  We’ll get home from that in September and we are gonna take a week off.  Then it’s off to the Austin City Limits Festival, which will be closely followed by a tour in October. In case you haven’t noticed, we really like to tour.

If you guys were a 70’s porn funk band, what would your group name be?

Ah man… Dirk Jam.  That’s all I got. 

What does Boosh mean to you?

A great big beautiful ass.   

Check out  Slightly Stoopid and their new album Slightly Not Stoned Enough to Eat Breakfast Yet Stoopid  now!