Stick Figure is an American reggae and Dub music band founded in 2005.
History
Early career
Stick Figure was founded in 2005 as a
one-man band by songwriter and producer Scott Woodruff. Woodruff, originally from his hometown of Duxbury, Massachusetts, began playing instruments at the age of 9, and was primarily drawn to
reggae.
His style of layering tracks to create songs was particularly inspired by
Keller Williams who utilized a looping method to create music.
Woodruff began writing and producing music in 2005, incorporating roots reggae with dub music, a subgenre of reggae.
Early releases
On December 11, 2007, Woodruff released his first album
The Sound of My Addiction under Ruffwood Records (a
pun on his last name).
Scott Woodruff began Ruffwood Records and it has released all of his albums to date.
The Sound of My Addiction established Stick Figure's style of self-production. Woodruff created the album by "recording instruments individually, and layering tracks on top of one another in unison", a style he used to create subsequent albums.
On January 16, 2008, Scott Woodruff released his sophomore album, Burnin' Ocean under Ruffwood Records.
Smoke Stack and Reprise Sessions (2009–2011)
In the summer of 2009, Woodruff moved
to the
San Diego area and shortly after released his album,
Smoke Stack which followed the same recording style of the previous two albums where he individually recorded and layered each track creating a song. Songs on the album include "Livin' It", "Hawaii Song" and "Vibes Alive".
Smoke Stack was well-received and peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart and No. 17 on the Heatseekers Album Chart.
Burial Ground (2012)
On June 12, 2012, two years after releasing
Reprise Sessions,
Woodruff released the fourth Stick Figure studio album,
Burial Ground.
All 14 tracks were written and produced by Woodruff, one of which features vocals by reggae singer
Half Pint, and one features vocals from Woodruff's close friend, T.J. O'Neill.
Woodruff co-wrote five of the tracks with O'Neill;
the two traveled abroad together in
Indonesia,
Australia,
Fiji,
Thailand, and
New Zealand for quite a while, beginning in 2010 and finding mutual inspiration for songwriting.
The album was No. 1 on the
iTunes and Billboard Reggae charts,
and reached #17 on the Heatseekers Albums chart in the United States.
was met with a positive critical response, with a number of critics pointing out the mixing of upbeat reggae and dub. According to
The Reggae Review, "Original, bass-heavy, one drop beats are consistent throughout the album, as are the subtle nuances...and sometimes not so subtle nuances... of dub. Stick Figure's digits remain firmly on the pulse of roots reggae/dub music."
said, "the album represents a new milestone in Stick Figure's musical growth and innovative abilities, with more layering, instrumental transcendence, and lyrical complexity than."
Live touring band
After the release of
Burial Ground in 2012, Woodruff organized a live band, adding members Kevin Bong (KBong) on keyboards, Todd Smith on drums, and Tommy Suliman on bass. The quartet toured with reggae band The Green starting in September 2012 and included eighteen stops along the East Coast of the
United States.
In August 2012, Stick Figure embarked on their first headlining tour with stops in major cities including Boston(With The Jackson Wetherbee Band), Austin, Denver and Chicago with multiple sold-out shows.
Within two years of forming a live band, Stick Figure toured with other major acts including Rebelution, Slightly Stoopid, Collie Buddz, a reggae band from Bermuda; Passafire, Tribal Seeds and The Expendables.
Move to Northern California
In 2015, Scott Woodruff moved from San Diego to a home in the woods in the outskirts of Santa Cruz. Immediately after that, he built Ruffwood Studios where he recorded the Stick Figure album,
Set in Stone. He derived inspiration for
Set in Stone from the redwood forest just outside of his studio.
Set in Stone and touring (2015–2018)
On November 13, 2015, Woodruff released his fifth studio album,
Set in Stone. The album went to No. 1 on the
Billboard Reggae Albums chart, and was on the chart for 78 weeks. It appeared on six
Billboard charts overall,
[
] including No. 101 on the Billboard 200, No. 24 on
Digital Albums, No. 1 on Heatseekers Albums, No. 7 on Independent Albums, and No. 65 on the Top Album Sales chart.
Woodruff produced it in the same way he produced the five previous albums.
The 14-track album has collaborations with Eric Rachmany of Rebelution,
Slightly Stoopid, KBong, and
Collie Buddz.
After the album's release,
World on Fire and Fire & Stone (2019–2021)
Stick Figure collaborated with long-time friend and musician T.J. O'Neill on his first solo single, the
Jimmy Buffett cover "A Pirate Looks at 40" also featuring KBong and Johnny Cosmic. The music video was shot live on location at a resort in
Mexico with thousands of fans surrounding the band while performing.
[[1] ] On August 30, 2019, Stick Figure released their sixth studio album,
World on Fire. Like previous projects, the album was written, recorded, and produced by Scott Woodruff, playing every instrument and recording each vocal himself. However, the album was created at Stick Figure-owned Great Stone Studios in Oakland, California, the former home of punk band
Green Day.
With assistance from associate producer Johnny Cosmic (Stick Figure live guitarist, keys, and back up vocals), the album included guest appearances from Slightly Stoopid,
Citizen Cope, and O'Neill; it has 15 songs.
The album debuted on a number of
Billboard charts. It was No. 34 on the Top 200 chart, held the top spot on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart, No. 4 on the Digital Albums chart, No. 5 New Albums, No. 6 Current Albums, and No. 2 on the Independent Albums chart. The highest selling debut week album of the year,
World on Fire sold more copies in week one (over 10,000) than the previous year's winner (Sting and Shaggy's "44/876").
The album remained at #1 on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart for four consecutive weeks.
The album received considerable radio play. SiriusXM's The Joint, SiriusXM's No Shoes Radio, and SiriusXM's Margaritaville played it. Stick Figure was the first artist to be named the face of Cali Reggae Countdown on Pandora Radio.[[2] ] In 2020, Stick Figure announced their first ever headline amphitheater tour. The tour was to feature support from Collie Buddz, Iya Terra, and The Movement as well as visits to 19 cities nationwide.
Stick Figure teamed up with UK producer and dub music master Prince Fatty to remix some of the band's favorite songs from albums, Set in Stone and World on Fire. The full remix album titled after the albums, Fire & Stone was released on April 30, 2021. A single from the album, "Weary Eyes (Prince Fatty Presents)" premiered on April 9.
Wisdom (2022)
After three years in the making, Stick Figure recorded their seventh full-length studio album titled,
Wisdom, which was released on September 9, 2022. The 14-track album was once again recorded and mixed at Woodruff's Great Stone Studio with TJ O'Neill assisting in the writing process. Woodruff added a full brass section with Liam Robertson on saxophone, Quinn Carson on trombone and Glenn Holdaway playing trumpet on some tracks. With cover art by Juan Manuel Orozco, the album features
Barrington Levy from
Jamaica, Collie Buddz, and Slightly Stoopid on two tracks.
Woodruff said that the album's name, "Wisdom is a journey and a search for what matters in life—a search for meaning, purpose, place and belonging. Wisdom is a code to live by where we can accept that it is okay to start over, to make mistakes, to love, and to feel pain. It is a reminder to focus on the little things that bring joy and know that all of it is a part of our individual story."[ With “Wisdom” There Is a New Number 1, Plus the Top Ten Billboard Reggae Albums This Week ]
Stick Figure was one of the many featured reggae rock artists on Crossed Heart Clothing presents Pop Punk Goes Reggae, Vol. 1, which was produced by lead singer Nathan Aurora of Iya Terra. It was released on September 15, 2023, by Ineffable Records and has 16 songs.
On April 24, 2024, Stick Figure collaborated with surf-rock artist Jack Johnson with a single titled, "Home". The proceeds from "Home" benefit the Kōkua Hawai'i Foundation, a non-profit organization which supports environmental education in the communities and schools of Hawaii.
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Other projects
Stick Figure’s song, "Burial Ground" was featured on MLB The Show 16 MVP Edition video game.
Stick Figure has collaborated with Wachusett Brewing Company to promote the new Cocoanut IPA, which is distributed in
New England.
Live lineup
Members
-
Scott Woodruff – lead vocals, lead guitar (2006–present)
-
KBong – keyboards (2012–present)
-
Kevin Offitzer – drums (2012–present)
-
Tommy Suliman – bass (2012–present)
-
Johnny Cosmic – keyboard, backup vocals, guitar (2016–present)
-
Will Phillips – percussion (2022–present)
-
Cocoa the Tour Dog – Scott's Australian Shepherd/band mascot (2012–present)
Discography
Studio albums
Other releases
|
| 2016 | Set In Stone: Instrumentals | Ruffwood Records
(April 1, 2016) |
| 2017 | Above the Storm | Ruffwood Records
(October 20, 2017) |
| 2018 | World en Fuego | Ruffwood Records
(June 8, 2018) |
| 2021 | World on Fire: Instrumentals | Ruffwood Records
(March 18, 2021) |
| | Ruffwood Records
(April 30, 2021) |
| 2025 | | SubCarbon Records
(January 17, 2025) |
Compilation appearances
-
Sense Boardwear: Amplified – An Acoustic Collective, Vol. 6 (2008), The Pier Magazine / 1 track: ("Trouble Up There")
External links
