takes the concept to a new level. The San Diego-based ensemble blends elements of Reggae, Ska and Punk – played with Jamband improvisation – into a sound that is uniquely their own. On

Brent Thompson: Ryan, thanks for your time today. What has Slightly Stoopid been up to recently?

Ryan Moran: We are based in San Diego – everyone’s home right now. We’re kind of in-between – we just did three weeks all through the Northeast and parts of the Central U.S. Now we’re home for a little break and we go right back out. We sold out almost every single show and did about 15 shows in three weeks. We’re on a good roll.

BT: If you will, talk about your band’s latest release, Top Of The World.

RM: Almost all of the material on the new record is new. We built our own studio here in San Diego over the last two to three years – it’s been a work in progress. We were paying all this money to store all our touring gear in this storage facility. We found a place that we could actually build a recording studio, store all our gear and have a clubhouse for almost the same price. We built the studio and we have a rehearsal space in there. All of this stuff on this latest record we did at our own pace in our own studio. The album came together in a way that we we’re really happy with.

BT: If you will, talk about the current musical climate. Some artists say that the benefits of outlets such as Internet and iTunes can also foster oversaturation, making it harder for bands to get heard among the crowd.

RM: That’s a great point. There is an oversaturation of poor-quality music due to the ease of MySpace, Facebook and all that. But it’s the same flip of the coin – there are artists that are really talented and musicians that are benefitting from the instantaneous reach of the Internet. For us, it’s always been a perk. We never sold millions of records – we never really experienced that. We’re a touring act – we’ve always been on the road for months and months every year and we’ve built up a grassroots thing by our own blood, sweat and tears. Now, you have this even playing field – artists have equal footing. I think quality stuff will rise to the top like normal and lesser-quality stuff will not see the success. What sets great acts apart from decent acts are the ones getting out on the road and proving their salt in the live arena.

BT: Your band’s style incorporates a lot of elements – is that an outpouring of what the collective members have absorbed throughout the years?

RM: I think you hit it on the head. We’re all in our mid-30s now and we’ve been touring since we were 18 or 19. We’ve all grown up as professionals and we’ve not settled into one style. In the beginning, we were punky and aggressive as a three-piece. Now, we’re an eight – and sometimes nine – piece band that has a much broader perspective of music. Guys have studied Jazz, Reggae, Punk and Ska and everything in between. That’s one of the differences between Stoopid and other bands – we’re able to get up on stage and actually play these things live and it still makes sense to people.

Tickets to the 18+ show are $20 – $25 day of the show – and can be purchased at www.workplay.com

Brent Thompson: Richard, thanks for your time. You guys have spent the first part of the year touring with The Who and headlining your own shows. Now, your coming to Birmingham with Dave Matthews.

Richard Danielson: Yeah, we’re all over the map. We finished up with The Who and did our own headlining thing and we’ve got (festival) Coachella coming up. We’re going back with The Who in June to Europe and we’re doing the Leno show again.

BT: If you will, talk about the experience of touring with a legendary band like The Who.

RD: It’s like the boys’ dream come true. We all grew up listening to The Who and they’re such an iconic band, so to actually be on a tour with them is something real special. The way they treated us on tour made it all the more merrier – they really took us under their wing. The Who started off as a Rhythm & Blues band back in the day, so they really appreciated what we’re doing and they’ve been so gracious. It’s been such a blessing.

BT: Is there a way to sum up what the past year has been like for your band?

RD: It really has been a whirlwind but we really were geared up for it. Early on – about 12 months into our inception – we went to Europe and did the Jools Holland show. That set us ablaze in the U.K. After that show, we did theater shows with Brian May and arena tours with Bon Jovi. We did feel well-prepared when we stepped on to The Who stage, but every night is a new night and it’s a thrill.

BT: Your band seems to have a timeless sound that can appeal to a 16 year-old or a 60 year-old.

RD: It’s interesting that you say a 16 year-old because it’s really interesting what’s going on in music right now. A lot of kids are discovering old music, but it’s new to them and it’s speaking to them on all these levels because it’s played by real musicians in real time in a real studio. We recorded The Bomb Shelter Sessions live with no click track – what an incredible experience and a great way to record.

BT: How do you see the current musical climate in the age of Internet, satellite radio and iTunes?

RD: As a new artist today, you have tom embrace the technology. The age of the mysterious rock star is over because the world is a global market now. We can’t play a show without seeing clips showing up on YouTube the next day. You really have to embrace technology and use it to your favor. Our music is there  – you can record it and YouTube it and it’s there for anyone to see.

Tickets to the April 6 show can be purchased at www.livenation.com

Brent Thompson: Nick, thanks for your time. How is the tour going so far?

Nick Ward: It’s been really nice and it’s been really relaxing, surprisingly. It hasn’t been as strenuous as previous tours. The West Coast is beautiful and we’ve spent some time at the beach. It’s been a great start to what will hopefully be a great tour.

BT: Have you performed in Birmingham before?

NW: It’s our first time – we don’t know what to expect. I’ve never been in the Southeast ever, so it’s totally new but I’m really excited to go down there. It’s actually what I’ve been most excited to see on the whole tour.

BT: If you will, talk about the evolution of the material on Lines We Trace.

NW: There were a couple of tunes that were written that didn’t make the first record, so there’s at least one that came from that nebulous time frame of songwriting. But, more or less, the rest of the tunes have been crafted in the last two years. Some were slowly progressing and some are quite new.

BT: How do you feel about the current musical climate and the give-and-take of accessibility and over-saturation given technology’s role?

NW: That’s a really interesting question and I think if you asked seven members of the band you’d get seven different answers. It’s obviously a question that musicians are grappling with and it’s very difficult to say. On one end, we wouldn’t have had our start if it wasn’t for social media and cheap home recording. The other side of that coin is that it can cheapen your product that you’re putting out. The experience of a tactile record held in your hand had value, and now it seems such a strange, nebulous thing to buy music. It’s a challenging time but it’s an exciting time.

Tickets to the 8 p.m. show are $10 and can be purchased at www.workplay.com

Brent Thompson: Steve, thanks for your time. We are looking forward to having you guys back in Birmingham.

Steve Boyd: Birmingham’s a town where we had a ton of great shows and great memories. We played at Sloss Furnace, Louie Louie and The Nick. There are a lot of great people down there.

BT: How does the band arrange its live schedule these days?

SB: Once a quarter would be great – we’ll see if we can maintain that. We don’t get to practice a lot, so playing once a quarter helps us keep the lyrics and muscle memory fresh.

BT: Technology plays such a large role in today’s music industry – Youtube, Facebook, iTunes and satellite radio are all prevalent outlets. How does your band employ technology in this current climate?

SB: Social media, especially Facebook, has been invaluable to us as far as getting the word out. We’re kind of “off the radar” as far as the working press and radio – we’re not really part of that conversation anymore. But on social media, we’re talked about a lot. When we played Nashville in 2005, we played a smaller club and didn’t fill it up because it was hard getting the word out. Fast-forward to three years later and Facebook is up and running and we do another show in Nashville and we sold close to 800 tickets. It was really just word-of-mouth that was created through Facebook. Our videos popped up on Youtube, so the whole technology thing really helps a band like us that is not out there actually playing a great deal.

BT: How do songs stay fresh to you after you’ve played them literally hundreds of times by now?

SB: I would say that the lack of doing it night after night is a big plus for that. I haven’t played “This Girl Of Mine” since December in Atlanta and I look forward to playing the songs that Kevin wrote. If we can continue this schedule, I don’t think we’re going to have burnout anytime soon. We’ve got a new song we’re going to try to unveil in Birmingham and there are always a couple of new covers that we throw in to surprise people.

Tickets to the 18+ show are $12 and can be purchased at www.zydecobirmingham.com

Tickets to the 7 p.m show are $37.50 – $56.50 and can be purchased at www.alysstephens.uab.edu

J.D. McPherson’s

Brent Thompson: J.D., thanks for your time. I understand that you still reside in your native state of Oklahoma. It seems more artists are able to maintain careers these days without relocating to the traditional music-hub cities.

J.D. McPherson: My roots are there, I’ve got family there and I love Oklahoma. The cost of living is so low. It’s a great place for a musician to setup camp because it’s right in the middle, major highways intersect through the middle of Oklahoma and there’s an airport so I can fly anywhere I need to. It’s working so far.

BT: How has your 2012 schedule been to this point?

JDM: We have been non-stop. In April – when [record label] Rounder re-released the record – that’s when we started going full-steam.

BT: If you will, talk about the recording and release of your CD, Signs & Signifiers.

JDM: We started recording in 2009. I was a schoolteacher, so I was never intending to do it for a living. We put out it out in 2010. It started getting passed around a little bit and Rounder wanted to release it on a larger scale. I was laid-off my teaching job at the time it was cooking, so it was perfect timing.

BT: In listening to your songs, it seems that people don’t need to be familiar with your music to enjoy your live show.

JDM: What I love about Rock & Roll – especially early Rock & Roll – is that it’s short bursts of exuberance and excitement. It’s two-and-a-half, three-minute songs that are swinging. Every American has that I-IV-V Blues thing hardwired into their brain and everyone responds to that. I just keep hearing over and over that it’s refreshing. Obviously, our influences are 60 years-old  – even if someone doesn’t know that stuff, it’s danceable, good-time stuff.

BT: Your music would seem to appeal to all age groups as well.

JDM: It’s really funny because we’ll meet a 19 year-old hipster girl and she’s dragging her grandma to the show and they’re both having a good time. It’s very gratifying for us.

Tickets to the 18+ show are $10 – $12 day of the show – and can be purchased at www.workplay.com.

Tickets to the 18+ show are $10 and can be purchased at www.thebottletree.com.

Brent Thompson: Jackie, thanks for your time. It’s hard to reflect on your career without thinking of your numerous musical projects. How do you find time to fit them all in?

Jackie Greene: I guess it’s a matter of balancing all the projects. I’ve been lucky in that there’s not a lot of overlap in terms of tours. Between all the projects, I pretty much stay busy all year. The hard part is finding time to record. As of now, I will be on tour pretty much through the end of the year. I won’t have a chance to work on my record very much.

BT: Does each project somehow benefit or inspire the others?

JG: Absolutely. That’s the main high for me. It’s easy to stay inspired that way.

BT: Some artists say that this is a great time to be an artist because iTunes, Youtube and satellite radio make music so accessible for listeners. Some artists say that technology’s impact makes it harder for artists to get noticed and get heard. How do you view the balance between accessibility and possible over-saturation?

JG: It’s an incredibly complex situation. On the one hand, technology has made it easy to get your band out there. On the other hand, “out there” is really just that – out there. Doesn’t really mean anything. The other important fact is our fast-paced lifestyles. We expect everything instantly. We don’t have the time or patience to listen to a new band or album. It’s unfortunate in my opinion. I could talk for days about this topic, but let’s just say that I think it will come full-circle. The bands that will last are the ones that are able to go on the road and put on good live shows. The ones who sit behind their laptops all day trying to get friends or likes – but never play a live show – will fail. In the end, real talent should prevail.

BT: How do songs stay fresh and relevant to you after you’ve played them literally hundreds of times?

JG: Sometimes they don’t, at least for me. But it’s not about me…it’s about the listeners. Just because I’ve played a song 400 times live doesn’t mean that person has been to 400 of my concerts. Songs also have a tendency to evolve after playing them live. There’s no “correct” version. Music is a fluid thing, especially live performance.

Tickets to the 18+ show are $12 – $15 day of the show – and can be purchased at www.workplay.com.

Brent Thompson: James, thanks for your time. If you would, tell us how things are going for the band.

James Trimble: This marks the one-year anniversary that we’ve all been doing this full-time. We are playing about 100 shows a year and do a lot of Thursday-to-Sunday “weekend tours.” We are a family-first band.

BT: How do you feel about technology’s impact on the music business and its pros and cons?

JT: I think Youtube is great, but you still have to have a great live show.

BT: How do songs stay fresh to you after you’ve performed them literally hundreds of times?

JT: There are some nights when you think to yourself, “Oh, this song again.” But you have to remember that, even though it’s the sixth night of the tour for us, someone is hearing it for the first time that night.

BT: How did the material take shape for Somewhere Beneath These Southern Skies?

JT: These were mainly newer songs and we were able to do a lot of recording in our own studio.

Tickets to the 18+ show are $10 – $12 day of the show – and can be purchased at www.zydecobirmingham.com.

Photos by Brent Thompson