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. 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.
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. Also in 2012, they went on three national tours alongside reggae bands
Passafire,
John Brown's Body, and
Tribal Seeds. In 2014, they headlined their first national tour, with numerous sold-out shows including a performance at
West Hollywood, California's renowned
Roxy Theater which sold out two weeks before the show date. 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. They performed at various internationally recognized festivals including
Reggae on the River, Cali Roots Festival,
Life is Beautiful, Closer to the Sun, Levitate, and
Bonnaroo, amongst others.
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. 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 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. 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. However, the tour was canceled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. On March 18, 2021, Stick Figure released their second instrumental album,
World on Fire: Instrumentals. 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. The new tracks have all new instrumentation.
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." It debuted at No. 51 on the Billboard 200 chart, No. 1 on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart and No. 6 on the Billboard Independent Albums chart with 13,900 units sold from traditional sales and streaming during its first week of release making it the fourth consecutive Stick Figure album to debut at No. 1 on Billboard's Reggae Albums chart. By September 23, the album's total sales, including pre-released tracks, totaled over 41,000 units. Wisdom was the first album to debut No. 1 On the Reggae chart In over two years. 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. The band put a reggae spin on their cover of "
Boulevard of Broken Dreams" by
Green Day. 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. In 2025, Stick Figure played 15 dates across the United States as the headliner for the Island Holiday Summer Tour. They were supported by Stephen Marley and The Hip Abduction on the highly celebrated tour. The tour was met by fantastic reviews from fans in the Stick Figure Family. ==Other projects==