Hailing from Duxbury, Massachusetts, U.S., Scott Woodruff formed Stick Figure as an outlet for his musical talents and interest in the reggae genre. Adopting the sobriquet Stick Figure he was given during high school, during college Woodruff would enthusiastically submit instrumental tracks to the Sublime Archive website. The musician issued his debut album “The Sound of My Addiction” in 2006, crafted by layering tracks upon one another in unison. The record introduced Woodruff to a small, devoted group of listeners, however his second, “Burnin’ Ocean”, did wonders for his national exposure with the album charting impressively on the iTunes Reggae Chart. Released in 2008, the record was led by the single “So Good”, which notably borrows the melody of Gary Jules’ “Mad World”.
In 2009 Woodruff issued his most hard-hitting album to date, “Smoke Stack”, featuring more aggressive vocals, echoes of dub, and heavy bass. Following the release the multi-instrumentalist moved to San Diego, California and enlisted the help of a full band in aid of his fourth full-length album “Reprise Session” (2010).
Featuring respected reggae singer Half Pint, Stick Figure’s fifth studio album “Burial Ground” was seen to be Woodruff’s most innovative album to date and represented a growth in his musical prowess. The 2012 record topped the iTunes and Billboard Reggae charts after which Woodruff invited keyboardist Kevin Bong, drummer Kevin Offitzer, and bassist Tommy Suliman to join him on the record’s supporting tour and subsequent releases.
The Claifornian reggae group opened the show with my favourite track of theirs, Smokin’ Love, so I knew the show was going to be a hit for me. Their chilled out sound had everyone in the audience swaying along, drink in hand, from start to finish. It’s great music for creating a relaxed and friendly atmosphere, and the band encouraged that by chatting casually with us in the audience and making sure we were all enjoying the show. They’re all really talented instrumentalists, and watching the band support themselves entirely on keys, drums, guitars and additional percussion was refreshing. They each had a microphone, and were great at harmonising with each other, demonstrating their musical versatility.
With five studio albums under their belt, I was intrigued to see what songs they would select for their show, and how they would fit it into a set. I’ll say to start with that the show was actually nearly 2 hours long, which was brilliant, so they covered a lot of material. They worked almost chronologically from The Sound of My Addiction, through to Burial Ground, and it was great to hear the way that their sound has adapted over the years. They each performed great instrumental solos, further accentuating the sheer talent of the group.