When Daniel “DeLa” Delacruz joined Slightly Stoopid two decades ago, he couldn’t have imagined the road that stretched ahead — a globe-spanning journey defined by relentless touring, evolving lineups, and a fanbase that grew from beachside diehards into a multigenerational movement. As he celebrates his 20th anniversary with Slightly Stoopid, DeLa still sounds slightly stunned by the longevity of it all.
“Man, it’s so crazy,” he says. “I had never had any kind of working relationship that has lasted two decades of my life.” In an industry built on short cycles and constant reinvention, that kind of permanence feels almost radical. “So we are just blessed. There’s no other way to say it.”
Those twenty years have carried DeLa to nearly every corner of the world. “We’ve played on every continent except for Antarctica,” he says with a laugh. “Which I don’t think there’s any clubs down there, so we won’t be going there anytime soon.” But geography is only part of the story. The deeper significance lies in the places where the band didn’t just pass through — they planted roots.
Few venues loom larger in DeLa’s memory than Red Rocks Amphitheatre, where Slightly Stoopid has become woven into the venue’s modern history. “Being a part of the fabric of the history of Red Rocks, having sold it out, I don’t know, seventeen or eighteen times now — you can double check my math on that — but it’s close to that,” he says. “That’s just an honor.”
Walking backstage, surrounded by the names of legends who shaped the venue before them, never gets old. “When you go in the backstage and you see the list of bands that have sold it out over the years since they opened it in the early twentieth century, it’s just an honor to be a part of the fabric of that venue now.”
Over two decades, the numbers have stacked up — albums released, miles logged, crowds counted — but DeLa is most reflective about the human side of the journey. “We’ve played so many shows all over the place and the reach that we’ve had — it’s pretty unprecedented over this long,” he says. “It’ll be twenty years for me in January, so I can’t say enough about how grateful I am to the fans and to my brothers in Slightly Stoopid for everything that we do together.”
Asked if a milestone like this comes with ceremonial rewards, DeLa laughs it off. “Maybe they’ll give me a golden saxophone reed or something like that.”
After twenty years, it’s clear he doesn’t need a trophy. The legacy is already written — in the music, the miles, and the enduring bond between a band and the community that grew up with it.
Watch the full interview with DeLa from Slightly Stoopid:
Photo credit: Nathaniel Gary, USA TODAY, USA TODAY Acoustic Series
