The 77s are proud to present the highly anticipated release of their new studio recording, "Holy Ghost Building." Recorded over a 2-year stretch, the initial sessions were done quickly, much like Johnny Cash or Elvis recorded their early records at Sun Studios in Memphis. Mike Roe comments, "Those guys would choose a song, play through it to get the feel and arrangement, and while it was all fresh they would just roll the tape. Drawing from literally the same sources they did, we did the same thing.... choosing old gospel, blues and bluegrass tunes that said something to us as a band, and then recording them on the spot with no rehearsal....the only difference was we spent a couple years putting the finishing touches on the songs!"

While "Holy Ghost Building" could be called a "return to form" for the band, saying so would also sell short the new depth the band has found in playing these songs. The record has The 77's touchstones of rock and blues, but they have also included folk, slide guitar, Byrds-era jangle electric 12-strings, and vocal harmonies previously unheard on any 77's record. Mike says "When folks ask me what this record sounds like, I like to say 'Elvis, Scotty, Bill & D.J.' because we did it exactly the way those guys did the early Elvis recordings. It even sounds like them sonically here and there, but thankfully none of that was planned either, which of course makes me very happy. You can't plan those things without them often sounding planned, and I'm so glad we didn't.

Even the one original tune they tacked on at the end of this project as a bonus treat for the fans was made up on the spot: music, lyrics, melody and all. Talk about risk! But that's how you end up with records like the ones I loved as a kid, and this one's got that sound and feeling

When the 77s came of age in 1984, with the brilliant calling card of All Fall Down (Exit/A&M), it was evident to those who heard it that this was something new. For anyone truly in love with rock & roll, who loved passion, hooks, harmony, three (or four) chords and the truth, here was a band that delivered.

And if you listened to college radio that year, you could hear it. A look at the college charts found the 77s in the same company as the Cure, Let's Active, The Replacements, The Church, and others. What the 7's had that the other bands didn't was the history of all rock & roll breathing and pulsating under a brand new sound... Jerry Lee, Elvis, The Rolling Stones, The Doors, all there right in the room with more contemporary influences like The Smiths or the Comsat Angels.

Live, the shows were increasingly incendiary, Mike Roe channeling everything that had come before him and spitting out a new vision on guitar and vocals long into the night. If your idea of a great time was coming to a place where The Velvet Underground and U2 might meet, this was it.

A change of distribution for Exit brought the small independent to Island Records for the 1987 album, 77's. Here, the band further cemented their musical vision and brought a tougher, live sound to the studio.

The radio single Can't Get Over It was a top add for weeks at alternative radio and at some stations like KZEL in Oregon (at the time the #2 AOR station in the state) they went as much as four cuts deep. If a little album like U2's The Joshua Tree had not been out at the same time, it might have even been more noticed.

The label soon folded, and the band was to go dormant until a creative rebirth in the early 90's. Since that time, the group has gone the independent route for the most part, releasing some nine albums, growing in stature with each passing year. The beauty of the catalog is its sheer breadth and scope - there may not be another band that's consistently offered up so many diverse musical statements, yet still sounding like the same band.