October 2, 2008 - Los Angeles, California

Reggae Ska Punk Equals Slightly Stoopid:  A Not-So-Stoopid Conversation with Kyle McDonald

By Bruce Moore

For more than ten years, Slightly Stoopid, the California-based reggae, ska, and punk band, has been making music their way and touring the world.  On July 22, they released their latest recorded effort, Slightly Not Stoned Enough to Eat Breakfast Yet Stoopid, a CD containing, what the band calls, a collection of “odds and ends.”  The disc includes songs that were written for the last release and a few new songs, as well as a cover of the UB40 tune, “I Would Do For You.”  Once dubbed by Spin Magazine as, "One of the top ten bands least likely to succeed based on their name,” these guys are intent on proving their critics wrong.  The bands longevity can be attributed to their rabid fan base and their constant touring.  I recently had the opportunity to interview guitarist, vocalist, and one of the group’s leaders, Kyle McDonald.  Here’s our conversation about the band, touring, and their new record.

K is for Kyle - Slightly Stoopid

You guys were on the road this summer with Pepper and Sly & Robbie. How did that go?

They were great.  They were wonderful.  The fans are out of their minds at every show just going nuts. They have a good time and show us love and we all feed off each other.  So it worked out pretty good.

Honestly, it is whatever the crowd wants to hear.  They call out a bunch of different songs and we play them. On this tour, we did a song called “No Cocaine” where we had Robbie, from Sly & Robbie, come out and play bass on it.  We always had the crowd helping us sing it.  It was unreal.

When we go on the road, and we are going to go out there for a few months, we like to have a family vibe, kind of like we are all brothers.  We try to create time every day where we can all hang out, do Jaeger Bombs, and just have fun.

Let’s switch gears a little bit.  How do you think internet sites, such as Myspace, have impacted your band and do you think downloading helps or hinders the artist?

I think the internet is pretty much the way things are going to roll, especially in the music business.  Not very many people use CDs anymore, and if they do, it is because they burned a CD from their laptop computers. People go to the shows and post them on the internet right after they have just been played.  It is so fast that I think it is a great outlet for music, and it lets people be in control of their own music.  Nowadays, you have the tools and the opportunity right in front of your face to make things happen.  Everything that you do on your own is going to be better, of course,  than [how] someone else is going to do for you.  Record companies and MTV, that shit ain't going to fly anymore.  So I guess you just go with the times.

Yeah, sure.  I am not going to lie at all; there are some things that can be a pain in the ass out there.  But, it is just like in any circumstance, I look at the brighter side of things that outweigh that shit.  There are so many dope things going on.  I mean who the hell would listen to us if we complained anyway.  Nobody.

I would say geography.  I never did really well in school so at least now I know where everything is.

You guys have done a lot of US tours, have you toured abroad?

Yeah, we like to go to Japan.  We have done Guam, Australia, London, and Amsterdam, as well.  And we are hoping to go overseas again in 2009.

Slightly Stoopid - Internet Sensations!

The USA, baby.

Honestly, I don’t even like studios.  I like to record in my pad and to just play live with the band.  Sometimes you just get too caught up in taking too long to do stuff.  If you could just go in there and [make a] hit record, it would be fun.  But when people start thinking about what they are going to do next with overdubs and all, it can sometimes become not about the music.  Look at Pro-Tools, where all you do is look at a screen.  I am not into that shit.  I would just rather hit the record button and record it.

It comes from everyday life.  Wherever and whomever we are with, we are going to make music.  Whether it is the ants in the ground or the bugs, it doesn’t matter.  Wherever we are, whomever we are with, we are musicians and we get inspiration from a lot of different things.  Sometimes we are out in the ocean and the water gives us inspiration, or someone will die, and even though it is a terrible thing, we get inspiration from that.

I just think this world is strange.  It is smaller than a lot of people think.  It is connected in all sorts of ways, pretty much every way, and a lot of people don’t even realize it.  As a musician you get to see a lot of things that people working a regular nine-to-five don’t get to see.   I consider us to be on the outside looking in, as opposed to being on the inside looking out.  You learn a lot of different things out there.

I think it is going to be a month long tour with Outlaw Nation, and then a couple of single shows here and there.  We are also playing Austin City Limits [TX] and a couple of shows in Santa Cruz [CA].  Then we will be putting together a benefit show for an organization called I Went Hungry.  It is something the Wailers came up with where they sell bracelets for two dollars to feed hungry children.  We just want to get the word out to all the people that there is something they can do.  If anyone is interested, they could log into the Wailers website and follow the links.

This is something you are heavily involved in and believe in?

They told us about it and we thought it was such an awesome idea.  We wanted to help in any way we could.  It is a really good thing.  With all the things that go wrong in this world, it is something that we all can do to help out.  Yeah, it is just a cool thing.