World change comes in many forms and in many levels. It could be a successfully funded Kickstarter project from a small business that wants to make the environment healthier, it could come from iconic legends, such as Nelson Mandela and Gandhi, which seem unfairly few and far between. World change, man, can also arise from a bout of smoking dope and talking to faux-intellectuals about the right-wing oppressive forces (who generally ignore everyone and laugh all the way to their self-created bank).
A band like Slightly Stoopid is not the arbiter for world change that many would expect. But in some ways, they do their part to make the world a better place. It comes to represent so much more about where we are as a species, and the capabilities of ‘the regular people.’ Slightly Stoopid has things to say, while emitting fun and enticing tracks about respect, love, and tolerance.
This is coming from a band named Slightly Stoopid. They named their debut album Slightly $toopid, replacing the S with a dollar sign. They wrote heartwarming and world changing tracks as ‘Fuck the Police’ and ‘Fat Spliffs, and ‘I’m So Stoned.’
But I am falling into the stereotype. Because for every ‘let’s get high’ reggae ballad the band composes, they write an equally perplexing song about the climate of the world. In some regards, Slightly Stoopid represents the lens in which we look at the big picture of the world through guys who just like to rock and don’t understand why everything has to be so unbelievably so screwed up.
So it is actually quite charming when the band asks questions such as ‘why can’t music heal?’ ‘Why is shittiness just expected?’ ‘Why can’t cultures work together to do a greater good instead of competing for relevancy?” At first brush, they seem naive, but Slightly Stoopid are doing JUST that. They are combining rock, reggae, hip-hop, and blues with ambitious and brilliantly blended results. And sure, it may just be music, but we have learned in the past, music’s incredible power to heal.
It seems dumb to ask these questions, but truthfully, WHY can’t it be this way? If it takes a competent and well-formed collective of reggae musicians known as Slightly Stoopid to dare us to think, than there truly is no hope. The group’s latest 2012 epic, ‘Top of the World,’ is a slam-dunk mixture of all the band’s previous sounds and styles. Laid back SKA rests against blues-driven riffs. Acoustic licks complacently channel rock energy. The whole thing just works so very well.
We look around and see the crap of the world, and we have no idea how to do anything about it. So we like a Facebook page. We listen to band’s that seem to proactively do something, however small. And we generally respect, share, and follow cultural changes for the better. But powerlessness is ever imposing. We feel crushed by the 1% that hold 82% of all the net money of the nation. We are disgusted by overseas conflicts that are intangible despite how easy they are to learn about from the web.
Slightly Stoopid probably began as another young stoner hardcore punk act with reggae influences. But over the last nearly 20 years they have evolved to represent the everyman- the bros and young girls who are quickly getting older and questioning why the world is so full of shit. They use Slightly Stoopid as their voice. It is music, but it holds just as much power as anything else. This I believe is because it is filled with questions- and respectful love- and that is why Slightly Stoopid is so relevant in the big wide world of everything.
THE LEVITY BALL is pleased to announce THE HOLIDAY TOUR, SLIGHTLY STOOPID’S NEW YEAR’S EVE PARTY, THE 2014 SPRING TOUR, THE JUNGLE JAM in COSTA RICA, THE TORTUGA MUSIC FESTIVAL and THE MCDOWELL MOUNTAIN MUSIC FESTIVAL!
Slightly Stoopid is consistently touring, the group is committed to live music and allowing their fans numerous opportunities to see them perform.
TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE AT:
DECEMBER 27, 2013 THE WELLMONT THEATER MONTLAIR, NJ
with Passafire, Quincy Mumford & The Reason Why
DECEMBER 28, 2013 THE PARAMOUNT HUNTINGTON, NY
with Passafire, Quincy Mumford & The Reason Why
DECEMBER 29, 2013 HOUSE OF BLUES ATLANTIC CITY, NJ
with Passafire, Quincy Mumford & The Reason Why
DECEMBER 31, 2013 THE FILLMORE SILVER SPRINGS, MD
with Passafire, Quincy Mumford & The Reason Why
JANUARY 16, 2014 JUNGLE JAM IV:1.16-1.19 JACO, COSTA RICA
with Dumpstaphunk, The Expendables, Oteil Burbridge, Max Creek, Nicki Bluhm and the Gramblers, Zach Deputy, Ryan Montbleau Band, Dopapod, Kung Fu
MARCH 12, 2014 VAL AIR BALLROOM DES MOINES, IA
MARCH 13, 2014 FIRST AVENUE MINNEAPOLIS, MN
MARCH 14, 2014 ARAGON BALLROOM CHICAGO, IL
MARCH 15, 2014 THE RAVE BAR MILWAUKEE, WI
MARCH 16, 2014 ST. ANDREWS HALL DETROIT, MI
MARCH 19, 2014 HOUSE OF BLUES CLEVELAND, OH
MARCH 20, 2014 MADISON THEATER COVINGTON, KY
MARCH 21, 2014 LC PAVILION COLUMBUS, OH
MARCH 22, 2014 STAGE AE PITTSBURGH, PA
MARCH 26, 2014 THE KLEIN BRIDGEPORT, CT
MARCH 27, 2014 STATE THEATRE PORTLAND, ME
MARCH 28, 2014 LUPO’S HEARTBREAK HOTEL PROVIDENCE, RI
MARCH 29, 2014 MCDOWELL MOUNTAIN MUSIC FESTIVAL PHOENIX, AZ PROVIDENCE, RI
with Ben Harper and Charlie Mussel White, The Disco Biscuits, STS9, Dwight Yoakam, Dispatch, Gramatik, G. Love, Lettuce, Allen Stone, Donna the Buffalo, Nicki Bluhm & The Gramblers, West Water Outlaws, decker., Sara Robinson & the Midnight Special, Jared & The Mill, The Wiley One
APRIL 12, 2014 TORTUGA MUSIC FESTIVAL: 4.12-4.13 FORT LAUDERDALE, FL
APRIL 19, 2014 RED ROCKS AMPITHEATRE MORRISON, CO
with MAC MILLER
*Featured Image Photo Credit:
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