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It takes a special band to make an audience literally stand up and pay attention. A gig at Wellington's Bodega a while back was headlined by one of the capital's better known rock bands, who had a sizeable crowd in tow. Second on the bill was Stylus77. Chatty punters fell silent, those seated around the bar got to their feet and Stylus77, the least 'rock' band of the night, had the crowd won over.
 
Most surprising of all to Stylus77 newcomers, was that the captivating singer occupying centre stage was seated.
 
The Wellington three-piece are led by slide guitar wielding singer Adrian Dick. Joining him in the charge are Matt Newdick on bass, and Anthony Davies on drums. Formed three years when the trio simultaneously left the pop band they were with, Stylus77 spent the first year jamming and settling on their style - heartfelt and passionate roots rock with a fair dose of soul. Their first gig, a year later, was opening for Dimmer.

"We had about half a dozen songs, and played acoustically. That was literally throwing us into the deep end," remembers Dick with a warm smile. It was also about this time that the trademark slide guitar sound started to develop.
 
"I had been toying around with slide guitar when we started writing songs, because I liked the different tunings and fuller sound. Also as a three-piece I found the standard guitar limited for me. With a slide I was able to play big, open chords."
 
The three have a shared pop band past, but other influences markedly differ.
 
"Matt is always groove based, as a vocalist I love Motown, soul... all the black man stuff, and Anthony is a metaller from way back, though he studied at jazz school."

There's also a sound indicator in the band's name. "Stylus was a doodle I had been doing for a while, but there were already bands by that name. The 77 came about as a reference to retro '70s funk and the visuals of '70s styles."
 
Showing a wordsmith's mentality, he then adds: "There's also that alliteration."
 
With a demo spending five weeks at number one on the Radio Active charts, Stylus77 started doing the rounds for record deals. Wellington's Capital Recordings (also home to Phoenix Foundation, Twinset, and Flash Harry among others) came knocking. The resulting self-titled mini album, recorded at Inca Studios with Mike Gibson and mastered at 301 in Sydney, will be out in October with BMG handling distribution.

With the EP imminent, Stylus77 plan to be playing "as much as we can" over the coming months. Their first international support was with the John Butler Trio yet Dick nominates "the first time I heard one of our songs on the radio," as his highlight to date.
 
With the Good Things video currently being shot, Ricki Gooch (TrinityRoots) and Mu both lining up to do remixes, and an appearance on The Strip TV show and soundtrack, highlights seem set to change regularly. Stylus77 are going to be one of the next big things to come out of Wellington. Keep an ear out for them.