Stick Figure

This article is about the band. For the graphical image, see Stick figure.
Stick Figure
Origin Duxbury, Massachusetts
San Diego, California
Genres Roots reggae, dub
Years active 2006 (2006)–present
Website stickfiguremusic.com
Members
  • Scott Woodruff
  • Kevin Bong
  • Kevin Offitzer
  • Tommy Suliman
Past members
  • Brendan "Alific" Dane
  • Todd Smith

Stick Figure is an American reggae and dub band based in Southern California. The group has released six full-length albums, all of which were written and produced by frontman Scott Woodruff, a singer-songwriter who until 2009 was based in Massachusetts.[1]

In 2012 Woodruff released the fifth Stick Figure album, Burial Ground, to critical acclaim.[2] The album reached no. 1 on the iTunes and Billboard Reggae charts.[1] The band began touring with a new line up after the release of Burial Ground,[3] and has since toured throughout the United States with reggae groups such as Rebelution, The Green, Passafire, Tribal Seeds and The Expendables.[1]

History

Founding

The band Stick Figure was originally founded as a one-man band by multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and producer Scott Woodruff. Woodruff, who hails from Duxbury, Massachusetts, had first started playing instruments in his youth. According to Woodruff, his early fixation was reggae, as well as producers such as Keller Williams. His interest in playing instruments eventually turned into writing, performing, and producing his own albums.[3] Woodruff began blending upbeat roots reggae with the reggae subgenre of dub.[1]

The name Stick Figure is a take on Woodruff's high school nickname. He first officially adopted the moniker while a freshman in college when submitting instrumental tracks to the Sublime Archive website.[3]

Early releases (2006–2010)

From 2006 to 2012 Woodruff wrote, produced, recorded, and released four full-length albums.[4] The first in 2006 was The Sound of My Addiction, which like his later albums was created by "recording instruments individually, layering tracks on top of one another in unison."[1] His sophomore album Burnin’ Ocean was awarded “Top 10 Best Reggae Albums in 2008" by Apple iTunes.[5]

Woodruff's third LP as Stick Figure was titled Smoke Stack. According to Branch Out Music, Smoke Stack "captures a pure ambiance of expression with hard drum and bass intertwined with diverse echoes of dub laced, with all sorts of interesting knickknacks that keep you locked into the sound. Topped with strong, conscience lyrics that hit hard and spread like wild fire into your heart."[5] In the summer of 2009, Woodruff moved[1] to the San Diego area.[2] He then recorded the album Reprise Session with a full band,[1] and released it in 2010.[2]

Burial Ground (2012) and Set in Stone (2015)

On June 12, 2012 Woodruff released the fifth Stick Figure album, Burial Ground. It contains 14 tracks written and produced by Woodruff, one of which features vocal by reggae singer Half Pint.[2] Woodruff cowrote five of the tracks with his close friend T.J. O'Neill;[6] the two had spent time traveling abroad together in Indonesia, Australia, Fiji, Thailand, and New Zealand starting in 2010, finding mutual inspiration for songwriting.[2]

The album reached no. 1 on the iTunes and Billboard Reggae charts,[1][4] and accumulated album sales for all Stick Figure releases reached 60,000+ worldwide.[1][7]

Burial Ground received generally positive reviews, many of which focus on 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."[6] The Pier gave Burial Ground four of five stars, and stated "The album represents a new milestone in Stick Figure's musical growth and innovative abilities, with more layering, instrumental transcendence, and lyrical complexity [than their previous albums]."[2]

The group's sixth album, Set in Stone, included collaborations with Eric Rachmany, Slightly Stoopid, KBong, and Collie Buddz, and again topped the Billboard Reggae Albums Chart.[7]

Live band, touring

After the release of Burial Ground Woodruff began to put together a live band, which as of 2014 includes Kevin Bong on keyboards, Kevin Offitzer on drums, and Tommy Suliman on bass.[1]

According to Woodruff, the band started as a local group playing at different venues in the San Diego area, before deciding to tour[3] for the first time in the fall of 2012, playing gigs with The Green on the east coast.[1] They afterwards had two national tours with the reggae bands Passafire, John Brown’s Body, and Tribal Seeds, then headlined their own national tour in the spring of 2013.[1] In summer of 2013 Stick Figure again toured nationally with Passafire, hitting states such as Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida.[3] Stick Figure performed at the Lake Tahoe Reggae Festival in June 2013, alongside groups such as SOJA and Alpha Blondy,[8] and they were also a part of the Winter Blackout Tour with The Expendables and Seedless in January 2014.[1] In the summer of 2014, Stick Figure was a supporting act on the Count Me In tour featuring Rebelution, The Green, and Iration. They also headlined their own fall tour with HIRIE and Pacific Dub. Stick Figure toured with Slightly Stoopid and The Dirty Heads during the Summer and Fall 2015, playing amphitheaters across the United States. The band will embark on a headlining tour in January 2016.

The band is based in Southern California.

Lineup

Current as of 2015

Discography

Studio albums

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "About". Stick Figure Music. Retrieved 2014-02-24.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Emodi, Matt (June 11, 2012). "Review: Stick Figure – Burial Ground". The Pier. Retrieved 2014-02-24.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Krangel, Dana (July 26, 2013). "Stick Figure's Scott Woodruff on Making "Feel-Good Music": Interview". Broward Palm Beach New Times. Retrieved 2014-02-24.
  4. 1 2 Barragan, Juan (August 16, 2013). "Passafire and Stick Figure at the Belly Up Tavern". USD Radio. Retrieved 2014-02-24.
  5. 1 2 McKeldin, Ryan. "Stick Figure - "Smoke Stack" Album Review". Branch Out Music. Retrieved 2014-02-24.
  6. 1 2 Matty, Daddy (July 25, 2012). "Stick Figure 'Burial Ground' Review (Stick Figure Music)". The Reggae Review. Retrieved 2014-02-24.
  7. 1 2 Jackson, Kevin (2015) "Stick Figure tops Billboard", Jamaica Observer, 25 November 2015. Retrieved 27 November 2015
  8. ↑ "2nd Annual Lake Tahoe Reggae Festival". TheWhatitDo.com. June 29, 2013. Retrieved 2014-02-24.

External links

Interviews
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