One of my favorite artists since I was in high school came through town last night at The Belmont in Austin. Stick Figure is the band name for the works of Scott Woodruff. Scott made 3 of his 4 CDs entirely by himself, playing every instrument as well as mixing and mastering effects. He is also proof of just how powerful the internet can be to aspiring entertainers. When I first heard about Stick Figure it was through a blog, ThePier.org. His first music video (Walk of Life – video below) was done as a project for a college class. He was a graphic design major at the time, and now he is currently in the middle of his first national headlining tour. A band who had never once visited Texas before this week was now headlining at a beautiful downtown venue and played in front of a sold-out crowd in San Antonio the night before (while opening for Tribal Seeds).
The first song I heard from Stick Figure was entirely free and legal as part of a sampler from ThePier. Having a chance to meet an artist you’ve admired for years is always an awesome feeling and last night was no different. Scott posts his music up on YouTube, Facebook, Bandcamp and gives many songs away for free as a way to grow his audience. This technique shows the power of my last post, how artists now have all the power to grow an audience themselves. Scott’s DIY attitude has kept him completely in charge of his music from both a creative and financial standpoint.
An 8-song sampler can be streamed and downloaded for free here.