Ocean Beach, CA · reggae rock · ska punk

Slightly Stoopid

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San Diego reggae-rock lifers, signed by Bradley Nowell and playing the same sunburnt groove ever since — beach-cruiser music, perfected.

Slightly Stoopid formed in Ocean Beach, San Diego, in 1995, founded by teenage friends Miles Doughty and Kyle McDonald along with an early drummer from their high school circle. Bradley Nowell of Sublime discovered them after hearing them rehearsing in a garage, and signed them to his label, Skunk Records, while they were still in school.

The band's sound has stayed rooted in that Southern California lineage: reggae and dub foundations mixed with punk, funk, blues and hip-hop, with Doughty and McDonald singing and trading off guitar and bass.

Their 1996 debut included a guest vocal from Nowell on the track 'Prophet,' later covered by Sublime. A surf-inflected follow-up came in 1998, and the group later launched its own label, Stoopid Records, before 2003's 'Everything You Need' sold more than 185,000 copies on Surfdog Records. 'Closer to the Sun' in 2005 brought in reggae figures Barrington Levy and Scientist and reached the Billboard 200, and 2007's 'Chronchitis' charted at number 55 on that same list.

Drummers changed hands several times after the band's original founding lineup broke up in 2000, before Ryan Moran settled into the role, and percussionist Oguer Ocon joined in 2002. A horn section was added in 2006, turning the band into the horn-augmented live act it remains.

The band has toured steadily for decades, often sharing bills with other reggae-rock and jam-oriented groups. Their reputation rests more on that touring life than on radio singles.

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reggae rockska punk