Slightly Stoopid

From the musical imagination of Scott Woodruff emerges a vibrant sonic soundscape, revealed in the newest Stick Figure release, Set in Stone. As with his previous releases, Set in Stone was written, produced and recorded by Woodruff, a self-taught musician.

An intuitive and accomplished producer, Woodruff crafts authentic artistry from the foundation of roots-dub reggae. Cavernous grooves, sparkling electronic orchestration and thick rhythms; songs and sounds that have incubated in a studio cabin in the woods near Santa Cruz, CA, where Woodruff found solace excavating a foundation and constructing a studio, all in preparation for his most ambitious recording to date. When completed, a brotherhood of hard-jamming musicians delivers this widescreen soundtrack in concert performances of consciousness-altering emancipation.

The band’s audience of dedicated fans is expanding. The 14-song Set in Stone – three years in the making – enters at Number One on the Billboard and iTunes Reggae Charts. Built on the hypnotic rhythms and the instantly singable choruses that are Stick Figure trademarks, the newest songs navigate a complex emotional spectrum from pensive introspection to joyful celebration.

The evolution of the artist most often portrayed as a one-man band has its genesis in Duxbury, Massachusetts. An avid music fan who in high school traded bootleg CDs of his favorite artist’s unreleased demos, Scott began recording a series of albums under the moniker of Stick Figure, well before achieving worldwide acclaim or embracing the demand to play live shows.

From his debut, The Sound of My Addiction, Scott’s handcrafted music connected with a community of avid listeners who discovered him exclusively by word of mouth and social media. Selling tens of thousands of copies of each of his self-produced releases allowed him travel the world in pursuit of meaning and experience. Scott moved to San Diego, CA where his recording career continued to blossom with its DIY ethic intact. As recently as 2012, he was putting up his own posters for Burial Ground at the California Roots Festival. Two years later, Stick Figure was commanding center stage at the massive event.

Preceding Set in Stone, Stick Figure has released five albums, all recorded solo, with Woodruff laying down the tracks one by one. The current live band line-up features Kevin Bong (KBong) on keyboards, Kevin Offitzer on drums and bassist Tommy Suliman, with Scott upfront on guitar and vocals. Cutting a powerful path through the club, concert and ultimately the festival circuit, the band has toured with Slightly Stoopid, Rebelution, Dirty Heads, Collie Buddz, The Green and Tribal Seeds, and headlined their first national tour in 2014 with many of the shows selling out completely, including the band’s appearance at the iconic Roxy Theater in West Hollywood, CA where tickets were gone two weeks prior to the concert.

Set in Stone features guest artists who have inspired Woodruff. Kyle McDonald from Slightly Stoopid is featured on “Choice is Yours”; Eric Rachmany of Rebelution, a band that invited Stick Figure to open on their Amphitheatre tour, joins on “Mind Block” and Collie Buddz fires it up on “Smokin’ Love.” On the mic for “Smiles on Faces” is KBong.

Although Set in Stone’s upbeat anthems are centerpieces, darker textures are revealed on songs like the tale of incarceration, “Sentenced,” and the brooding “Weary Eyes.” Says Woodruff, “Life is a balance between struggle and contentment. That’s a part of this album.”

With the release of Set in Stone, Stick Figure is preparing to inaugurate the band’s most ambitious tour ever. “When I was recording those first albums I never saw myself touring or singing live,” Woodruff remembers. “We were offered our first tour in 2012 and I was in a period in my life where I was ready to take on new experiences. The band was formed, we hit the road and it’s been a blast ever since.”

With Woodruff as the genial on-stage figurehead, Stick Figure concerts are gatherings distinguished by extended improvisational interludes, the mind-manifesting hues of a light show, and the much-anticipated entrance of the band’s canine mascot, a rescued Australian Shepherd, Cocoa The Tour Dog. The release of Set in Stone is a culmination of a journey that has seen the producer go from a mysterious figure to becoming a major player in the scene, virtually inventing a melodic subgenre, at a time reggae is reaching new heights of popularity.

Ohana: The Hawaiian word for family, which is used to convey the sense of togetherness that transcends blood ties.

For Pepper paying homage to their roots is essential over a decade in to their celebrated career. The Southern California trio, who formed in 1997 and moved to the mainland from the three musicians’ hometown of Kailua-Kona, Hawaii in 1999, know that where they come from should always be infused in the music they create. On Ohana, the group’s seventh full-length album (4/29/16, LAW Records), Pepper embraces the feelings and sounds that encouraged them to become a band in the first place.

“Over our past few albums, we had been departing from our original sound and exploring new directions,” Bret notes. “On this album, we wanted to come back to our classic style and revisit our roots. The writing and recording process was a conscious effort to do that.”

“We wanted to strip the band down to its natural state,” Kaleo adds. “We’ve always been a three-piece band with good songs and energy and our goal was to showcase that. We’re all were really pleased with how the music came out and how it conveys the strengths of our band.”

It was important to the musicians to self-produce Ohana, which marks the first time Pepper has helmed the production of one of their albums. From their 2000 debut Give’n It to their 2006 standout album No Shame, which was recorded with 311’s Nick Hexum, No Doubt’s Tony Kanal and Butthole Surfers’ Paul Leary, Pepper has explored various methods of recording, always hoping to embody not only their signature style of music but their lifestyle in the songs. Ohana was recorded last fall in the band’s own Kona Inn Recording Studio in Redondo Beach. The building is the former home of Pennywise’s Stall #2 studio and embodies a positive vibe for Pepper, who have recently begun recording other artists in the space.

“It was time for us to take the reins,” Bret says. “We’ve been through the process with several really cool producers in the past and we’ve learned a lot from them. We have the knowledge now and it’s about not being complacent anymore. We wanted to do it ourselves, so it’s from our family to yours.”

“I really wanted to simplify everything and not overthink things,” Yesod adds. “We wanted to go jam in a room and hit record. I think we found a great balance in the studio and the end result was pure Pepper, condensed down to its purest form. It was really gratifying to be in control of the process from start to finish and know that we created every aspect of the album.”

The resulting album features Pepper’s surf rock songs, showcasing the upbeat, positive vibe elements that make the band so beloved by their fans. There is, as usual, an ever-present sense of sunshine throughout the tracks, bolstering the music’s sense of optimism. The party anthems, the beach hang melodies, the boisterous rhythms are all there, each song carefully crafted to best express sunny moments by the ocean. “Vacation,” a fun, upbeat reggae-tinged number, was co-written by Bret and production duo Diji Parq and seems, to the band, like “the Beach Boys at their goofiest.” The soulful “Never Ending Summer” is about taking full advantage of something before it ends while “Wait” evolved throughout the writing process and eventually became a propulsive crooner that feels like signature Pepper.

“Every song on this album is a great example of what we wanted to do,” Kaleo says. “That’s why there are only ten of them. We wanted to give the music our concentrated, focused attention. It’s not about the singles, but about being a whole piece. That’s why we gave it the most powerful name we know.”

“Growing up in Hawaii your Ohana defines you,” Yesod says. “It is you. And it’s not just family through blood – it’s family through spirithood, brotherhood and sisterhood. Ohana is truly the strongest bond that can ever be made. It’s how we feel about each other as friends and as a band, and we wanted that spirit to come through in the music itself. These songs come together to create their own version of Ohana.”

Over the years, Pepper have toured extensively with groups like 311, Slightly Stoopid, Flogging Molly and Sublime With Rome, and spent several summers on Warped Tour – and this live sensibility shows on the album, released on the group’s own LAW Records. The band’s music – both live and on their releases – is really about enjoying life and being grateful for each experience. They want to give their all to every performance and share their passion with their fans and with younger artists.

“We’re still growing a lot,” Bret says. “Our live show continues to improve and evolve and we always give it our all onstage. We have so much fun playing, even all these years later. And we’ve gotten to work and tour with so many different artists. We’ve learned a lot from them. Everything we do is done from love. We feel good to all be sitting at a table, laughing, twenty years later. It’s the three of us, just like when we were kids. Because we were together long before we were a band and we’re still such good friends. We can’t stop doing this and we don’t want to ever stop enjoying it.”