Between 20, the band released four studio albums- Everything You Need, Closer to the Sun, Chronchitis, and Slightly Not Stoned Enough to Eat Breakfast Yet The ensemble’s new lineup brought diversity to the repertoire and encouraged charmed collaborations in the studio, such as with reggae legend Barrington Levy, and onstage, with the Marley family, Snoop Dogg, and G. Subsequently, the band expanded, welcoming drummer Ryan Moran, as well as percussionist Oguer “OG” Ocon from The B-Side Players and a horn section from John Brown’s Body of C-Money on trumpet and Daniel “Dela” Delacruz on saxophone. A 40-minute acoustic, one-take, live-radio set captured at San Diego’s Rock 105.3, the album demonstrated a profound strength of songwriting and vocals that inspired favorable comparisons to Dave Matthews Band and Jack Johnson. “They would tell us: ‘Don’t be scared, keep grinding, and build that organic fanbase.’”Īn early breakthrough came in 2001, Doughty and McDonald issued Acoustic Roots: Live and Direct, self-released on their own newly formed indie label, Stoopid Records. “Brad and Miguel would always tell us that, to make a name for yourself, you have to get in the van 200-plusĭays a year,” said Doughty in a December 2018 interview. Persistently they ticked off the miles up and down the West Coast, venturing east to Colorado ski towns, playing a circuit of small clubs to small but enthusiastic crowds slowly increasing in size each time around. The band’s first two albums generated local buzz, and motivated the three to load up the van and hit the road. The surf-inspired follow-up, The Longest Barrel Ride, came in 1998, also on Skunk. Though Nowell had passed away shortly before the record’s release, fittingly he appeared, posthumously, on the song, “Prophet.” Punk-inflected, eponymously titled Slightly Stoopid. In 1996, they released their debut studio album, the
He endorsed them to Michael “Miguel” Happoldt, co-founder of Skunk, who agreed to record the band at Sublime’s Fake Nightclub studio in Long Beach. Nowell quickly became a champion of the group’s precocious talents, inviting them to play, and signing Slightly Stoopid to his label, Skunk Records.
In the mid-1990s they attended Point Loma High School and formed Slightly Stoopid, playing their first gig- a punky and subversive lunchtime set on the quad- that earned them a trip to the vice-principal’s office and a reprimand for the trio’s explicit lyrics.Īs ambitious high school students, they played house parties and small clubs, and met Sublime’s Bradley Nowell after attending one of his band’s shows. By age 11 they had their first acoustic guitars, bonding over Metallica, Megadeth, and Mötley Crüe. It’s the story of a duo that has not just survived, but thrived, as “brothers from other mothers”- true to their authenticity, through two decades of relentless touring, and evolving songwriting, repeatedly creating lasting artistic statements despite a music industry that too often prioritizes style over substance.ĭoughty and McDonald grew up together in the Ocean Beach neighborhood of San Diego. It’s the story of Miles Doughty and Kyle McDonald, two musicians determined to succeed on their own terms, creating a multi-genre fusion of rock, reggae and blues with hip-hop, funk, American folk, metal, and punk. The story of Slightly Stoopid, at its core, is one of brotherhood.