Slightly Stoopid have played a lot of different venues since forming in San Diego in the mid-1990s. Given their near constant touring schedule, you’d probably have a harder time finding places that haven’t hosted the laid back reggae-rockers, who have also been a staple of the festival scene for years. Yet the band had never performed in a setting quite like TRI Studios, a state-of-the-art recording studio and “virtual venue” in San Rafael, CA owned by none other than Bob Weir.
On September 13, 2011 Slightly Stoopid gathered some friends for TRI’s second-ever pay-per-view concert, which featured guest appearances by Karl Denson, Dumpstaphunk’s Ian & Ivan Neville, reggae icon Don Carlos and, of course, Bob Weir. The event was also hosted, in appropriately Slightly Stoopid fashion, by celebrated comedian and marijuana enthusiast Tommy Chong. Over the course of two sets and 31 songs, Stoopid and co. dug deep into their catalog as they burned through hits like “Closer to the Sun,” “Ain’t Got A Lot of Money” and “Ocean,” as well as covers of choice tunes like “I Know You Rider” and “Cissy Strut.” While the fantastic performance was webcast live at the time, it was also recorded in crisp high definition for a future release. Now, over 18 months and a few cable broadcasts later, Slightly Stoopid and Friends: Live at Roberto’s TRI Studios is finally available on DVD, CD and digital formats. We recently spoke with one of the band’s frontmen, Miles Doughty, about the TRI experience, the band’s 4/20 show at Red Rocks, the influence of the Grateful Dead and more.
Let’s talk about your recent 4/20 show at Red Rocks. How was that?
Honestly, the 4:20 show was like heaven on earth for us as far as being in the vibe of Colorado and what you get from Red Rocks itself. You know, it was cold weather and a little bit rainy and there was snow on the ground outside the compound. But we had Cypress Hill, Tribal Seeds, Slightly Stoopid and the whole marijuana legalization movement. It really couldn’t have been better and you couldn’t have asked for a better crowd to play in front of too. The Colorado fans are ridiculous, it doesn’t matter what the weather’s like, there’s ten thousand people there going nuts. So it was pretty epic.
Could you sense a different vibe there now that the marijuana laws have changed?
The vibe still the same, it’s just now it’s more legal. I think as far as the marijuana movement, people that smoke it and use it, it’s been a culture for so long that the fact that it’s legalized just means you don’t have to worry about the law enforcement, but I don’t really think it changed the vibe. People in Colorado have always been really cool, and that’s always been a thing. For me it was more like, finally. [Laughs]
How did this TRI performance with Bob Weir come about?
Our manager got in touch with Bob Weir’s people about going up there and was able to set up the jam session. Honestly it all came together, even with Ian and Ivan Neville, Don Carlos, Karl Denson, so it was pretty much like twelve-piece arsenal going to work up there. It was really cool, just the whole experience, getting to play with Bob and we’ve worked with the Nevilles before and the other guys. But being a fan of what The Dead have done over their careers and whatnot, it was a trip. Being in the dressing room with Bob singing harmonies with him. I was just sitting there with my guitar thinking, “Holy shit I’m sitting here with Bob Weir jamming out ‘I Know You Rider’.’’ So it was pretty amazing, just a surreal moment, going “Wow.” And what was awesome about it was just the whole vibe it had. The microphones are all in the ceiling and the walls and everything, so it has a real ambient sound that’s pretty amazing. I’ve never seen anything like it as far as a recording room goes, and they let you kind of set it up with your vibe and I was really happy with the finished project. It was cool because we just left the jam open. We had a list of songs we wanted to play but we didn’t really sit there and do a big rehearsal together and go over it. We kind of just went for it and what you see is what you get, so it was pretty cool.
Has Slightly Stoopid been influenced by The Dead in any way?
I think that the biggest thing that we took from them was just the power of touring. It’s really what no band had done before, the level they took touring to. They were a band that wasn’t known commercially for their music or their CDs and whatnot, they were a touring entity that just brushed across the country. Deadheads would just travel forever and, I’m not comparing us to the Grateful Dead, but our fanbase, we like to call them Stoopid Heads, and they do the same kind of thing. They travel everywhere and watch the shows and you see the way the summer tours are and the way it always is, the fans are crazy. It’s kind of like it’s its own ship now, you just pull into port and it fills up with people. It’s pretty crazy and we’ve learned that that was kind of how we liked to model our touring life, just always being on the road and realizing the blessing you have to be able to play music and give that to your fans.
Have any elements of their musical style influenced you guys?
Well yeah. We like to improv, we like to jam with a lot of different artists and have fun. Every time we go on tour we’ll bring the other bands up with us and play. And I think the biggest thing is interaction with our fans. That’s something that Slightly Stoopid has always done. You know, we like to play music. We’re there to play music with the fans and we like to get them involved in the shows whether they’re singing along or calling out songs or just situations like that and I think that’s important. I think the Dead really appreciated that and they would jam forever. Their jam instrumentals were ten times the length ours are, but we definitely like to have the freestyle and the crowd participation.
Speaking of tours, you’ve got a big one coming up with Atmosphere.
Yeah man, every summer we do an annual tour and that package just seemed right. We’re big fans of Atmosphere and we’ve been trying to put that package together for a few years. There were kind of just scheduling conflicts so it didn’t work for both of us, but now it finally came together. We did try to bring something that’s good for the fans. People pay a lot of money to see shows in the summertime and it’s good just to give them something that’s going to be enjoyable. Between Atmosphere and the bands that are gonna be supporting, I think it’s going to be a good time for the fans and us musically. You know I can’t wait to jam with him. We’ve never personally—we’ve done a show at the same festival together but we’ve never really done shows together—so I’m looking forward to jamming together and doing some collaborations.
So how did the Nevilles, Karl Denson and Tommy Chong get involved in the TRI affair?
We’ve done a lot shows with all the artists that are on there. We’ve played a lot of music with them, and we just thought it added so much to the element. Karl Denson is one of the greatest saxophone players in the world and he happens to be from San Diego, and we’re all from San Diego, so it was cool to put that collaboration together. Over the last five or six years, we have become pretty tight with Ivan Neville, and we do a lot of stuff with them so it was kind of a no brainer. When we were playing with Bob Weir we thought “what better thing to do then bring these Neville boys and take it to the next level.” And then Don Carlos is one of the greatest reggae musicians in the world. His vocals and his lyrics are just incredible, and we’ve been touring with him the last few years. We just asked if he wanted to do it because we thought it would be a dope experience and something cool for fans. Because at the end of the day, we’re not just making it for ourselves, we’re making it for the world to see, and it’s dope when you get to bring all these guests in with you.
Prior to the TRI gig, did you have any connection with Bob Weir?
No that was the first time we had met him and it was awesome. When we were hanging out it was kind of like we had known each other for fifteen years. It was really cool. He was really open and just one of those guys that made you feel like you could do anything. It was just— all his people that were there were great. His staff and the people that were running all the rigs, it was amazing, the whole thing. When we were first there—as a musician you’re still in awe at some of the guys you’re around—you just think, “Whoa, what’s going on with all these guys right here? What did we do to deserve to be so lucky?”
Can you elaborate a bit on the technical setup at TRI Studios. I hear its pretty state of the art.
Well I’ve just never seen anything like it. It was mics all over the ceiling and walls, like ambient mics that would just pick up everything. It had some crazy blend of reverb and delays that you could actually control from the center of the room. It was just amazing. You would sing in there and your voice would sound perfectly mixed. It was nuts. I don’t understand it myself, I’d never seen it before. I was just amazed to be there and it was one of those experiences where you didn’t have to try to do anything, you just sat down and played and it sounded good. It was just one of those situations—it was just that perfect of a room. And if you were a guitar player or any musician you would understand what I’m talking about—in the studio, some rooms just sound amazing. It’s just one of those days where you’re setting up just like you would in a little coffee shop jam room, and everyone’s nice and tight together and the vibe is good. They should clone that studio across the country.
Kyle and OG stopped by the office somewhat recently to play a song called “Rolling Stone.” Was that a new one?
Yeah, that’s a brand new song. It hasn’t been released, Kyle just wrote it and just started playing it.
Will we be hearing anymore new material soon?
Yeah, as soon as the summer tour is over we’re going to get back in the studio. We’re always kind of recording. We have our own studio in San Diego and we’re always just making tracks. We’re going to start recording the next record and get something out in early 2014. It’s crazy how fast time goes by. It’s already a quarter of the way through 2013. It’s crazy. Time just goes by so quick and you lose track of it and at the same time we always stay busy on the road. I think after tour we’re going to just dig in and spend three or four months recording the record and get it done.
Is it a lot of work balancing Stoopid Records with the band? Is it ever difficult?
No, because I let my manager and people deal with kind of stuff. We stick strictly to making our own music and being on the road. We don’t really worry about Stoopid Records. Stoopid Records is always going to be there because Slightly Stoopid puts their own records out on it and we try to pick up acts that we think we can help out. But as far as that goes, we’re always going to release our records through that so we just let our guys run the label and run our business in general. It lets us do what we need to do to be on the road and bring the music to the people.
Does Slightly Stoopid have big festival stops planned for this summer?
We’re doing Hangout Festival and I’m sure we’re doing a few other festivals. We’re doing JamBase, and that’s going to be pretty sick. Robert Plant’s playing, Robert Randolph, G-Love, Michael Franti. It’s going to be pretty badass—it’s going to be up at The Gorge outside Seattle. There’s a few more but it’s hard for me to remember the schedule all the time, when you’re on the road forever.
Any festivals in particular over the years that have stood above the rest?
Honestly, we just played Hangout Festival a few years ago and it was unbelievable. I was blown away; I didn’t know what to think about it. We were doing the festival with the Foo Fighters and CeeLo. Motorhead was there, and a bunch of other bands. But we played right before CeeLo and the Foo Fighters and it was just ridiculous. There were 25,000 people and the show was right on the beach, so it looked like there was the ocean on the right and then there was the sea of people. The people were moving like the ocean almost. That festival blew me away; I had such a great time.
Another one was when we played a festival in Portugal, in the Algarve, like Sagres area. It was right on a cliff where there was an old navigators point castle. It was pretty badass.
