You guys have been together for over 10 years, let’s go way back, how did you get started?
Ryan RymoMoran: The band started in the early nineties, so it’s more like, the band’s been functioning for 15, 16 years. Basically the two co-founders of the band, Miles Doughty and Kevin McDonald, were childhood friends, and they grew up together, went to high school together, loved music and surfing and skating and stuff. They started playing music together, like punk rock, and ska and reggae and stuff, and ended up meeting Brad Nowell from Sublime, and have pretty much been a tight unit ever since that. SO that’s how things started. When Brad signed the band, they recorded an album, and shortly after, he passed away unfortunately, and the band continued on with a few member changes, but has never really stopped touring since then.You’re last album came out in 2008, what have you been up to since then?
RM: We tour so much that recording, I wouldn’t say its secondary, I’d say recording is a way to keep us on the road. You record a record then you tour and you tour and you tour, then you record a record and you tour. Basically, we recorded and released 5 albums in a row, after that we just decided we were going to take a couple years, tour, and focus on recording a record. In that time we built a studio here in San Diego, and we’ve been working down there a good part of the last 6-8 months, and were looking to get something completed and out by the end of this year. It’s been a purposely delayed approach at recording. You go into the studio and its $1000 dollars a day, whether you get something done or not, it’s expensive. Now that we have our own place, it’s much more affordable. We go in and write, hang out, do some work if we’re motivated or just kind of hang out and have a couple beers if we’re not feeling that motivated. So it’s kind of a nice luxury to have now. We do work quite a bit when we’re off the road, but we tour a good amount of the year, every year, so it’s definitely a different focus when you’re in the studio vs. being on the road.
And you’re touring right now, right?
RM: Pretty much. I’m home right now, but tomorrow I’m grabbing a flight and we’re going out to Columbus to do the “Hookah Fest,” and then we’re doing “Summer Camp” in Illinois. After this weekend we’re basically home for a month.
You spoke about the studio, is it one member specifically who created the label, or did you guys as a group create the label, “Stoopid Records?”
RM: Basically as a group, with our management, we created “Stoopid Records.” We have a couple bands as well as ourselves on that label. SO we’ve been able to release acts that we like, and help them with their records. When we started doing that, we were still sort of without our own place. About a year and a half ago, we started looking around for places, and we found a perfect place. Now that place houses all of our touring gear, and there’s an office front for our manager to take calls and make travel arrangements, then the recording studio. And there’s actually a skate ramp in there, a big screen TV with an Xbox, you know, the whole 9. So it’s pretty fun. Pretty fun little club house.
Was the idea for creating the label more so to help out other artists, or was it so you guys had full control over your own music?
RM: It’s kind of for both really. We definitely were helped out in the early years by Brad, when he was just forming Skunk records. That was on e of the things that the band needed, and now that we have, I guess, pretty well-established touring regimen, and a pretty solid fan base, we’re able to sort of expand that to bands we like, that we can help along. It’s definitely come full circle for us, and we feel, any bands that we like, we definitely try to help them out in any way we can. SO it’s been a lot of fun.
You guys by no means fit into one genre of music. You mesh so many different types of music, where does your inspiration come from?
RM: All the guys in the band listen to a really broad variety of music, I mean obviously reggae and punk and rock, those would kind of be the most consistent elements you’d find on a Stoopid album, but we also listen to a lot of hip-hop, and also classical and jazz, and everything in between. Were getting a little older we’re all pretty much in our mid thirties now, we’ve basically have listened to all kinds of different stuff, so when we sit down to write some music we can g in all different directions. We could say, okay lets kind of go in a hip-hop direction with this one, or let’s keep this one more straight reggae, or let’s try this one like an upbeat ska rhythm. Everyone knows sort of what it should sound like, I guess, so we try to play right in a way that’s, I guess respectful of that style.
What is the writing process like? Is it totally collaborative?
RM: Yeah, I would say so. It’s definitely different with each song. Some songs it’s kind of one guy. Other times, just an idea will pop up, and someone will join in and sort of play on that idea, and then someone else, and so on, and it’ll just start to take shape in a way. So there are a lot of different processes. Some are sort of collaborative in their own way.
So, I know you’re really busy today, we can start finishing up, is there anything else you’d like to add? Any messages to fans?
RM: To the fans, we appreciate the fans, without the fans we wouldn’t be able to sustain, we wouldn’t be able to do this the way we’re able to do this now, so a big thank you to fans. And hopefully future fans, we just want to keep touring and making music that people enjoy, so just come to the show, leave your worries at the door and have a good time. That’s sort of the vibe we try to bring to each show. Let’s just all have a good time together, have a drink, maybe have a smoke, it’s just whatever, have fun. Just kind of enjoy the moment.
-Kacy NormanTheconcertscene.com
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