Slightly Stoopid in West Des Moines 3/12

Slightly+Stoopid+press+photos

Photo credit Stephen Lashbrook

Slightly Stoopid press photos

Celeste Welshhons

Slightly Stoopid will play at 8 p.m. March 12 at the Val Air Ballroom in West Des Moines.

The band incorporates many different genres of music, including psychedelic rock, reggae, punk, blues, folk, funk and hip-hop, in order to reach its wide fan base.

The band has played for sold-out shows in numerous countries, including Germany, Japan, Australia and Denmark. The fact that Slightly Stoopid covers a variety of genres is one factor that likely contributes to its success in these countries.

“We cover a lot of stuff. We still do the punk and reggae and Ska, but we’re also kind of branching out beyond that,” said drummer Ryan “RyMo” Moran. “It keeps the listener excited because the variation keeps it interesting.”

RyMo is not an original member of the band. However, he has been with the band for a great number of years and has been playing the drums since childhood.

“I started playing drums when I was about nine or ten years old. I grew up playing piano, trumpet and violin, and all of these different instruments,” RyMo said. “Pretty much through high school, I was just practicing a lot — hours and hours every day.”

The band has its own record label, Stoopid Records. It releases its own music through its label, but it has also released works by a couple of other artists.

“We’ve released a couple of albums from some other artists: Outlaw Nation … and The Expendables,” RyMo said. “Pretty much it’s our own in-house thing.”

Slightly Stoopid’s unofficial eighth member, Karl Denson, might play the show at the Val Air Ballroom. Denson is working on numerous other projects including The Greyboy Allstars and Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, which might have something scheduled for that specific date.

“I’m not sure if he will be with us on that particular gig, but he’s with us about 80 percent of the time,” RyMo said. “He kind of has his own card. He can come and go as he pleases.”

For its show at Val Air, Slightly Stoopid will play a blend of all of its work thus far.

“We try to just do a mix. The band has been playing almost 20 years, so there’s tons of material from back in the day and the brand new stuff,” RyMo said. “We’re always playing some new stuff. We’ll probably throw in a couple of brand new tunes that nobody has heard yet.”

Slightly Stoopid has played in Des Moines previously as well as most other major cities.

The last studio album from Slightly Stoopid came out in 2012. Fans, however, can look forward to a new one coming out this summer with some guest appearances.

“We’re just working in the studio. We’ve been recording tons and tons of songs. We are hoping to get something out by July,” RyMo said. “On the next album, we’ll definitely have some collaborations. We always have some of our favorite musicians come out and play with us.”

This year will be a busy one as usual for Slightly Stoopid with a new album coming out as well as almost nonstop touring.

“We are just looking to keep things growing. We’re just going to tour as much as we can in the U.S. and overseas,” RyMo said. “We’re pretty much just working like crazy and trying to get a new album together.”

Ultimately, the band members just want to be able to keep making a true career with their music.

“I think so far we have been able to do that. We have been able to maintain a solid following for our live shows for close to twenty years now,” RyMo said. “The fact that we have been able to keep things together and keep things growing … has been amazing.”