Drummer comes to town and gets Slightly Stoopid

Reggae-rockers Slightly Stoopid had already been around a few years before hiring drummer Ryan Moran, aka RyMo, who moved to town from Northern California in 1994. “I came to San Diego to study music at SDSU and met the guys [from Slightly Stoopid] a few years later,” he says. “I was really impressed at how hard they were touring. That looked like the best job in the world to me.” He landed that job in 2004, joining the band alongside another new recruit, John Brown’s Body player C-Money.

Though Slightly Stoopid is almost surely the city’s best known and most successful reggae-rock band (unless you want to argue Big Mountain with me, which is fine, so long as you don’t bring up Pepper), earning national ink during co-headlining tours with Snoop Dogg and others, RyMo occasionally lends his talents elsewhere. He sometimes records with Agent 22, anchored by local Chapman Stick player Tom Griesgraber. “Tom and I have been playing music together since 1995,” says RyMo. “We play instrumental rock, progressive, and fusion.” Solo projects include the 2009 album Structure and Flow, an instrumental world-fusion production.

In addition, he joined up with fellow Stoopid member C-Money for a side band called Players Inc. a few years back, though — by the time C-Money left Slightly Stoopid in 2013 — RyMo had clearly decided to focus on being Stoopid. “Things get really serious and professional once your band has its own custom-built studio,” he says, “and touring is a full-time job by itself. One of the best parts [of the job]. Sure, there are lots of things you want to do. I wish I had more time to surf, too. But there are also a lot of things you need to do, so my time ends up pretty booked.”

Slightly Stoopid’s new album Meanwhile...Back at the Lab was released June 30, preceded by the 4-20 anthem “Life Rolls On,” and they’ll appear at Kaaboo Del Mar on September 19. You can catch C-Money and Players Inc. at Winstons in O.B. on Friday, August 28.

WHAT’S IN YOUR MUSIC PLAYER

“I’ve been listening to Radiohead, Fishbone, Rancid, NOFX, and the Dead. They’re all great bands, for different reasons.”

BEST ADVICE YOU EVER GOT?

“Do your best. Don’t worry about what others are doing.”

MOST VISITED WEBSITES?

“Surfline, YouTube, Apple, and eBay.”

MAC OR PC?

“Apple. It’s the easiest to use, and it’s all I know.”

GREATEST THING YOU EVER WON?

“A purple stuffed animal at the San Diego fair.”

WHAT’S YOUR POISON?

“Dark beer.”

FIRST BOOK?

“Dr. Seuss.”

IF YOU COULD READ OUR MINDS?

“I’d find a way to earn more money by working less.”

WHAT WOULD YOU TELL THE YOUNGER YOU?

“Work harder. I know, I’m a man of contradictions.”

WORST MOVIE?

“Tron. It sucked. Cool graphics, though.”

SOMETHING YOU NEVER RUN OUT OF?

“Toilet paper. What other answer could anyone possibly give? Water? Air?”

ANYTHING STILL ON YOUR BUCKET LIST?

“Hang gliding.”

WHO SHOULD PLAY YOU IN A MOVIE?

“Arnold Schwarzenegger.”

FAVORITE WHEELS?

“A VW Vanagon.”

SOMETHING WE DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU?

“I love long-distance running.”