03/21/13 Slightly Stoopid

With more than a decade of making music together, the members of Slightly Stoopid have perfected one of the rarest and most valuable skills a band can develop: the art of the stealth groove, that knack for quietly, almost innocently, sliding into a composition, and utterly lassoing anyone within earshot by mid-song. That’s where the band has come to reside, musically: deep in the pocket, that ever-elusive, funky trench where a band can entrance an audience, hypnotize it and hold on to it until the set or CD is finished. Built on a bedrock of nasty, oceanic slabs of dubby bass, meditative vocal harmonies, rock-steady guitar licks and tightly syncopated percussive rhythms, Slightly Stoopid illustrate a case study in underground success, steeped in years of hard touring, an improvisational business model, and a creative process that continues to unwind and push the envelope of a new jam-based genre the band helped to create.

Slightly Stoopid’s dual front-men Miles Doughty (Guitar, Bass, Vocals) and Kyle McDonald (Guitar, Bass, Vocals), created their own label, Stoopid Records, in the early 2000′s to avoid signing a record deal and keep their DIY work ethic and freedom away from music industry politics. The west coast sound pioneers later added musicians Ryan ‘RyMo’ Moran (Drums) and Oguer ‘OG’ Ocon (Congas, Percussion, Harp, Vocals) from the B Side Players, as well as C-Money (Trumpet, Keyboard) and Dela (Saxophone) from John Browns Body; solidifying their on stage line up. Slightly Stoopid has built a large n’ loyal fan base, and has soared to one of the most successful independent artists of this decade. The buzz surrounding the group continues to increase with each successive release; their album catalog sales have topped the 700,000 mark and the group continues to fill the most prestigious concert venues around the world, and continues to create a legion of “stoopidheads” in the process!