San Diego reggae rock outfit Slightly Stoopid make a triumphant return to Tampa Bay in March when they headline Reggae Rise Up, scheduled for March 4 & 5 in St. Petersburg's Vinoy Park.
In celebration, CL has linked up with the band and Sugarshack Sessions to premiere a one-take, POV video of the band playing Vinoy on August 14, 2016. The four minute clip finds the band working through "The Prophet," a hidden song from Slightly Stoopid's 1996 self-titled debut. The original song features Bradley Nowell on bass, and you can't help but feel the late Sublime frontman's spirit as lightning flashes beyond the crowd gathered at the waterfront stage.
"Mother of Nature is a crazy beast and honestly I think it’s cool…when you’re on stage and the rain is going and there’s crazy lightning out there," frontman Miles Doughty told CL in a recent Q&A."It creates a such a madness vibe. It’s pretty awesome. That vibe elevates your energy."
Doughty is looking forward to experiencing more of that St. Pete specific energy when they arrive for Reggae Rise Up.
"The crowd down there is always just nuts. I love it. They just have so much energy. It makes us play better," he added. "Whenever the crowd is going crazy, your adrenaline kicks in and makes you wanna go nuts on stage yourself. It’s something we always appreciate about coming back here. It’s like that every time. We love it and there’s nothing like it."
Have a look at video — and read our full Q&A — below. Get more information on Reggae Rise Up on their official website.
The purpose behind these point of view videos by Sugarshack is to give fans a feel of what the performance is like from the stage. But there are some things that can never be caught on camera. Can you describe the interactions between you and the crowd?
Miles Doughty of Slightly Stoopid: First of all, you feed off the energy of the crowd. That’s the fuel for the fire. Obviously, you can see it in the video, but you can’t feel it. The feeling is just insane, there’s just so much adrenaline. It’s just really a cool experience. It doesn’t matter how tired you or what kind of day you’ve had, you hit that stage and it’s like hitting a switch and BOOM! something explodes in your head. It’s the best. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Lightning was captured off in the distance of the video. When you on stage and you see storms coming through, do you ever get scared or anxious?
No, I’ve never been anxious or scared in those scenarios. Everything we use is wireless so we feel pretty safe. When we see lightning off in the distance we don’t think “oh my god, we gotta run” (laughing). It’s all good. Mother of Nature is a crazy beast and honestly I think it’s cool…when you’re on stage and the rain is going and there’s crazy lightning out there…it creates a such a madness vibe. It’s pretty awesome. That vibe elevates your energy.
What do you look forward to when playing St. Pete?
The crowd down there is always just nuts. I love it. They just have so much energy. It makes us play better. Whenever the crowd is going crazy, your adrenaline kicks in and makes you wanna go nuts on stage yourself. It’s something we always appreciate about coming back here. It’s like that every time. We love it and there’s nothing like it.
Describe the experience of playing a festival. How is it different than playing a standard show?
I think what’s cool about doing the festivals is all of the bands coming together. You’re bringing not only your fans, but all of the other bands’ fans are going to be there too. It’s a chance to mix it all together and try to win the other fans over. So you play your ass off and try to destroy the crowd (laughing). Plus, we know most of the other bands and we are homies with most of them and we are all touring and have families so we really look forward to seeing everyone.
For those poor souls who have yet to experience Stoopid live, describe what one could expect to see, hear, feel.
If you’re ready to come down, lose your mind a little bit, dance, and have a good time, that’s what you’re going to get at a Stoopid show. There’s something for everybody, we love to interact with the crowd, and just have a good time. The fans feel it. If you don’t come down, it’s all good, but you’re definitely missing out. (laughing)
This article appears in Feb 9-16, 2017.