Not So Stoopid

"What do indie musicians and Tupperware have in common?" That's what an article in the June 20 issue of Newsweek ponders as it suggests local O.B. reggae-rockers Slightly Stoopid have tapped into a hipper version of "Mom's Tupperware parties" to sell CDs.

The article notes the trend of small-label bands holding pre-release parties in dorm rooms and at coffee shops to get fans to pre-order CDs. The fans get T-shirts and other swag, and the band gets an improved first-week Soundscan sales figure.

Newsweek quoted Slightly Stoopid manager Matt Phillips: "If a hard-core fan will spread the word to their community of friends, that's better than radio or MTV or anything."

One insider wonders why the band didn't send a copy of their fifth album to radio stations. The band's music label released Closer to the Sun on April 19. "Stations can't play it if they don't have a copy," says the insider.

"We do things independently," says Phillips about the radio problem. "We don't have the budget to solicit radio.... This is a band the fans love but the industry doesn't give them a break." Phillips says 25,000 copies of Closer to the Sun have been sold.