Slightly Stoopid is on ‘Top of the World’

Anyone  following music throughout the islands know Slightly Stoopid —the Ocean Beach, Calif. band that combines a cool, stealth groove of mixed-genres, including punk, ska, reggae, roots and psychedelic rock.

The band’s drummer Ryan ‘Rymo’ Moran took some time out of his busy schedule to answer a few questions.

See the band in concert at 7 p.m.  today at Kilohana Pavilion.

KT: What do you look forward to when you return to Hawai‘i?

Rymo: Trying to enjoy the life, you know? The way that you guys live over there is the right way, and we just want to be a part of it for a little bit — cruising, surfing, hanging out with friends, eating good food are some of the reasons. There are so many other reasons why we love playing in the islands. We just want to be out there for you guys, spreading the love.

KT: How is the crowd in Hawai‘i different from the crowd in the mainland?

Rymo: People are really friendly. Every time we’ve been to Hawai‘i, people have been really stoked, really cool and really inviting. Every time we’ve visited, people were really friendly — they would invite us to surf and provide boards, or they would treat us to food. So many times when we’re touring, we really never have a chance to slow down. We’re always going, going, going. In the islands, however, we can take a breather.

KT: The founding members were signed during high school. How much have things changed since then?

Rymo: A lot, a lot, a lot of things have changed since then. Since the band’s formation in the mid 90s, several drummers have come and gone, and we now have horn players and  keyboard players. The music has definitely evolved. We still play a lot of the songs from that era — reggae, ska, punk — but now we branched out and learned other styles as well. It’s been close to 20 years since those days, so a lot of us now are married, have kids and starting the next phase of our lives.

KT: Have you guys experimented with any new music lately? If so, what kind?

Rymo: We’ve been working on a new album (“Top of the World”) for a little while. It’s gonna be out this August. There’s all kinds of styles on this new one: Roots, reggae, ska, uptempo, retro 70s funk and hip-hop influence are some of them. This album is gonna be a little more broad than our previous albums. We got some really great stars, too. On the record, we’ll perform with G. Love, Barrington Levy, Don Carlos, Black Uhuru — a whole list of really talented guys.

KT: How much of a toll does touring take on the band?

Rymo: When you’re 20 and single, touring is a big part of you. It’s all about having fun. But now that we’ve got mortgage payments, car payments and life, touring does take its toll. I mean, when you’re in your 20s, you want to be out there partying, meeting people, meeting girls. Nowadays, it’s a little bit different. It does take its toll physically. You got to stay in shape, stay healthy. You can’t go all out every night. You got to try to find a good balance on the road.

KT: It’s known that some of you love surfing. What are some of your favorite surf spots?

Rymo: We were fortunate enough to surf some spots in Australia last month, and that was amazing. We surfed in the off-season on the North Shore of O‘ahu. That’s one of things I really love about traveling. We’ve been able to surf at Florida, Dominican Republic and all these different countries. Six months ago, I got some waves in Florianópolis, Brazil. If there’s any chance to go in the water, I’ll take it. It really clears the mind of missing home, missing the family and the hardships of traveling. There’s really quite a few of us, in the band, who loves to surf as much as possible.

KT: What can the crowd from Kaua‘i expect from Slightly Stoopid?

Rymo: They can expect a good time, a wild show and a lot of energy. We want to get the crowd going, have some fun.