July 27, 2010, 11:37 pm : An Interview with Slightly Stoopid Drummer, Ryan Moran (aka RyMo)

Filed Under: Interviews, Music, Upcoming Shows
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In the thick of summertime, one thing you can always count on is great shows coming to town. And the staple band of great summer shows, especially on the East Coast, is Slightly Stoopid. Last summer brought Stoopid to town with Snoop Dogg and Stephen Marley, and this Summer, Stoopid is treating Baltimore fans to another must-see lineup, including Cypress Hill and Collie Buddz.

I interviewed Stoopid drummer and surfer, RyMo, to get the deets on the upcoming show, forthcoming material and catching water time between tours.

Jeff Schad: Is Legalize It a revival of the last tour of Sublime with Brad, the High Times Benefit? Was that a motivation for this tour?

RyMo: I don’t think so. Miles and Kyle came up with the name a few months back. We were gearing the tour name towards the marijuana legalization movement in California. They were saying we should call it Legalize It, and Kyle has been using the vaporizer a lot, so it came up ‘yeah, hey let’s call it Legalize it.’ So I think it was really the California legalization movement behind naming the tour.

JS: Slightly Stoopid always lines up incredible acts to play with them on tours. How do you guys score such talented supporting acts?

RyMo: We have been pretty fortunate that we have had a consistently growing fan base for the last ten years that we’ve built by being on the road all the time. I think we’ve been able to get strong supporting acts by selling a lot of tickets. You know, a lot of top album selling bands can’t sell out a 300-500 person venue, whereas we may sell 100,000 or 200,000 albums but we can sell out a big venue. Also, we are on the road between 5-7 months a year, so I think a lot of acts, when they consider going on the road, they know we’re able to sell tickets, so that sells them on touring with us.

JS: There are lots of Pier 6 Pavilion pics on your Flickr page. How does that venue, and Baltimore in general rank among the cities you play?

RyMo: Honestly, we have been lucky, we have a consistent following in most cities now, so Baltimore is just like every other city where we have a good following. You know, it’s always nice to play the West Coast, our home, but the East Coast is great for us too. On the East Coast, Baltimore is right up there with Boston, New York, Philly, North Carolina and Florida. They are more or less even in terms of drawing. We like being there, having some good food and a good show, and it’s all good.

JS: You guys have been going at it nonstop for years. Where other bands take breaks or break up, you keep on keepin on. How do you keep things fresh and stay motivated?

RyMo: It’s a good question. We’re always doing something musical in terms of our own development and the band’s development. We do make some changes at the live show. We don’t always stick to our set list, we’ll throw in some improv, and that’s one way. We like to challenge ourselves instead of being inflexible in the creative process. We always try to play different tunes; we have some that we play every night, but then some that we play once every now and then. At times we’ll say “let’s not play this or beat it into the ground and keep [things] fresh.

JS: Some of your live shows are mostly jammy, others you play clear cut songs. What can fans expect in Baltimore this Thursday?

RyMo: A mixture of both. There’s always some spontaneity going on, we have some songs with open ended sections, but we’re going to approach [Thursday’s show] like any other with balance; with some jams, [lots of] spontaneity and some clear cut tunes.

JS: Can you give fans an idea of any upcoming new material, albums or collaborations?

RyMo: We’re looking to put something together for next spring. We just built a studio in San Diego, and we’ve been taking some time to do some writing and pre-production. There has been some really big collaborations, but I don’t want to let out who just yet. [We do have] a couple repeat offenders, but also some guys we haven’t done anything with yet. We have some reggae guys, some hip hop guys and some rock [artists]. We’re looking to get something going after this touring cycle, working on the next album. Up to now we’ve just been working on the pre-production thing, so we’re looking at spring of 2011 at the latest.

JS: Finally, how have the waves been out in San Diego? Have you gotten any water time?

RyMo: This spring was really fun, we had a lot of west, northwest, southwest and south swells; we definitely got some really fun days. Fortunately we haven’t done really long tours, we’ve mostly been flying out to do one-offs, so we’ve all had time to get out in the water. It depends on the schedule, obviously, but when we’re home I’ll usually be in the water 5-6 days a week.

August 5, 2009, 10:35 am : Getting Blazed and Confused in Columbia

Filed Under: Music, Uncategorized, Upcoming Shows
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Merriweather is turning it out again tonight with the fusion of Slightly Stoopid and Snoop Dogg known as the Blazed and Confused tour. First time for me seeing Snoop live. I should have seen him when Squeezetoy opened for him and

Chili Peppers a bunch of years ago. Problems of not having an official pass for the show and the possibly nebulous issues that would arise from a gate that would be left open so I could park backstage and hang with them all left me deciding to not press luck and get kicked out.

Since then I’ve seen Stoopid five times, three of them with all access accompanying their opening acts. What I appreciate most about seeing them up close is the focus and ethic that is evident in their live music. They’re down to earth, to boot. Products of O.B., CA; they’ve intertwined their musical talents with so many different people and acts from that area (try making a family tree of who they have worked and played with, it will probably blanket a vast area of the SoCal music scene, at the very least), it just seemed natural that they teamed up with Snoop Dogg for this huge summer tour.

It will be interesting to see the mix in the crowd of who is there to see Snoop and who is there to really see Stoopid. They have been touring hard for years and really earned the followings they’ve established. Baltimore is definitely one of those places. Check this gallery of Stoopid and Half Pint playing Baltimore’s Pier Six. They respect the fans and put forth all their energy, every single night.

Check back here later for photos from the show, plus exclusive coverage over at Examiner.

May 21, 2009, 9:26 am : Preview: The Cheaters Forthcoming Release – Midnight Run

Filed Under: Album Reviews, Genres and Styles, Interviews, Music, Upcoming Shows
Discussion: C[0]mments

Are The Cheaters poised to stretch their wings far beyond their Baltimore stomping grounds? With the upcoming release of Midnight Run, this writer thinks that is a distinct possibility.

I interviewed drummer Kevin Shook and lead singer/guitarist Jason Morton for Baltimore Examiner recently to get their firsthand take on Midnight Run and the music life. Here’s what Shook had to say about Midnight Run:

Examiner: Can you give fans some insight about the new CD? What can we expect from your new music?

Shook: The new album is definitely a lot more straight-forward rock ‘n roll than the first disc. We have a couple of tracks that hint back to the southern-influenced material from the first record, but on the whole, this is really just a solid rock record. We also worked really hard on the songwriting this time around. We’ve added a lot more dynamics, like dueling leader guitars, key changes, and different song structures to help keep things fresh. We also brought in some guest musicians this time around, and added some harmonica, back-up singers, and organ on some tunes. We’re all really excited about the new disc, and feel that this is definitely our best effort yet.

Since then I received an advance copy of the album and got the chance to listen to it a few times. Slicing guitar, impressive arrays of drum beats that are finely varied and creatively timed, and vocals that are developed way beyond the typical abilities of a young singer are the elements in what makes Midnight Run the release of the year. The songwriting shows strong development and diversity, with a few amazing surprises for listeners.

To say it more succinctly, in rock terms, this album FREAKING RIPS! Ask yourself the last time you were blown away by a new rock release; real, authentic rock? Thank The Cheaters, because once Midnight Run hits the streets we’ll all have a reason to “Grab the whiskey (and) grab our friends.” Their CD release party is June 5th at the 8×10 in Baltimore. Be there. I will, there’s no chance I’m missing this.

Coming soon – I’ll post a couple of tracks off Midnight Run for an exclusive sneak peak.

April 23, 2009, 11:03 am : New Gig – Baltimore Band Examiner

Filed Under: Album Reviews, Band Reviews, Genres and Styles, Music, Show Reviews and Stories, Upcoming Shows
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As if one blog isn’t enough, I recently signed on to cover Baltimore bands for Examiner.com. Head on over and have a read of my first collection of posts. I suppose I shouldn’t call it an official blog; the editors were clear that we were to be “examiners,” self-proclaimed subject matter experts in our given areas. So yup, I’m your new Baltimore Band Expert. Actually, it is a natural fit. The Eds also let us know (when I say “us” I refer to all Examiners) not to post like its a blog, meaning no “I’s” or “me’s”. Fine. Newsworthy items with a news-coverage angle. There is one confusing aspect: having more than one band examiner for Baltimore. She seems like she’s off to a good start, but comon; following my post on free shows in and around the area with this? Oh well, this town can handle a duck and a martian. I suppose that is my welcome to the Baltimore Beehive. Ok. Well I just wanted to announce the new assignment and get that off my chest. Now back to regular programming.

Remember this episode? Duck diplomacy or get off my rock?

November 26, 2008, 11:57 am : Urban Sophisticates Up Front on PLAYLIST – December

Filed Under: Band Reviews, Imagery, Interviews, Music, Upcoming Shows
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Check out my interview with Benton of Urban Sophisticates in the new issue of PLAYLIST Magazine. Urban Sophisticates will be playing with Who’s Bad at Santa Fe Cafe in College Park, MD on December 13th. Catch them at this small setting this time around, because they’re poised to do big things, as evidenced by their latest release Classic Material.