The band has a new studio album in the works for 2026, in addition to a consistently heavy touring schedule of the sort that has made the group a mainstay of the genre.
With the Padres at work pursuing another postseason berth, Doughty — a lifelong fan — finds himself glued to the action on a daily basis. He took a few minutes out of his day recently to share some of his takes on the ’25 Padres, the Petco Park experience, baseball in general and beyond.
“It’s a surreal experience, first of all, because it’s my childhood team. I’ve lived in San Diego my whole life, been going to Padres games forever. My dad first started taking me when I was young. Tony Gwynn was my favorite player growing up, and still is.
“As a young boy who played baseball, to be on that mound, that field. You’re literally crying inside, tears of joy. And what was cool is in the lead-up to it, I went and threw with my dad.
“And I’ve actually been blessed to throw first pitches a few times. San Diego and the Padres have been so supportive of Slightly Stoopid. We got to play in the stadium, that was our biggest show that we sold on our own. We sold out the whole field and the whole 100 level, like 22,000 tickets. It felt like it was one of the greatest shows ever for us.
“The Padres have really embraced the culture of San Diego. Whether you’re a surfer, an artist, some sort of other extreme athlete, or a musician, they’ve really brought that into light. And I think that shows in their love of the community, community-building, trying to bring us all together like that.”
“It’s an exciting team right now. I like a lot of the trades they made at the Trade Deadline, the players that came in. I’m a big [Ryan] O’Hearn fan, I’m a [Ramón] Laureano fan. Those guys they’ve added, great.
“Getting [Michael] King back is huge. Losing [Joe] Musgrove for the year. … Yes, he’s still a leader, but you’re losing a general, a guy who commands the dugout, commands the field, that’s something special.
“He’s a great human being as well, from San Diego – which makes it even more special to throw the first no-hitter in Padres history, someone that grew up in San Diego. His parents have a coffee shop here. It’s just really cool.”
“I love the 1998 jerseys with the blue pinstripes, with the gray San Diego that was very Yankees-like, the away jersey. I felt like that was the classic sick look for San Diego.”
“I coach youth softball. I have three daughters who play, and I was a high school wrestling coach for almost 10 years. So it’s been great. My dad was a coach for 45 years.
“It’s something I grew up with, it’s been in my genes, pretty much. I have a lot of fun giving back to the community. I try to take off about six months a year to coach kids. It’s great, man, you meet so many people that you wouldn’t even think you would be hanging with, you know?
“It’s rad and it brings the community together, and also gives the kids [something to do]. And I feel like it fosters accountability in life. I feel like what you do affects everyone around you, and that’s something that organized sports does the best.
“Baseball, since we’re on the subject, is still one of the hardest games to ever play. To get that little ball coming at you 100 miles an hour, it’s just crazy, you know? And when you think about it, when we celebrate a .300 hitter, where anywhere else in life would you be celebrating someone only succeeding 30% of the time?”
“That goes to show how rad and exhilarating that game is like that hit. That home run, that strikeout, everything is such a … it sends shock waves to your body. When the Padres made the playoffs a few years ago and when we took out the Dodgers and we lost to the Phillies before the World Series, that stadium was electric. You could feel the energy inside there.
“That’s something that’s so special about San Diego. I think every town has that, but man, when San Diego has all the pieces of the puzzle working, the town is a force. It’s so cool to see. And that’s what I love about pro sports, just the energy in the stadium when you get 40,000 people going bonkers.”