Stabilo (originally Stabilo Boss) was a Canadian rock band from Maple Ridge, British Columbia. It formed in 1999 and is best known for its songs "Everybody", "One More Pill", "Don't Look in Their Eyes", "Flawed Design", and "Kidding Ourselves".
Members Jesse Dryfhout and Christopher John (then Chris Moerman) were high-school classmates who played in a band called Molly along with Shaun Bennett and McKenzie Dougall. Molly released their only EP Ghosts of Yesterday in 1997. Dryfhout was originally the drummer of the band until he came to the band with the first song that he had ever written: "Everybody". Soon after, he and John started to share song-writing and singing duties.
Molly played their last show at a barn in Maple Ridge only to walk back onto the stage as Stabilo Boss, sporting a new line-up with both Christopher and Jesse leading the band. The band's acoustic-rock sound featured Nathan Wylie, an accomplished drummer and former classmate of the band, and Shaun Bennett on bass.
In 1999, the band recorded Kitchen Sessions, so named as it was an independent recording made in a kitchen. The EP was a completely home-made affair, the band and their university friends burning and distributing the discs themselves. Around this time, Stabilo Boss began to grow a solid local fan base based on the core support of their peers in school.
In the summer of 2000, the band recorded their self-titled debut with Recording Producer/Engineer, Matthew J Doughty at Praiz Sound Studio in Northern California. This recording marked the first appearance of bassist Karl Williaume. Released independently in early 2001, the album quickly sold out of its first pressing as Stabilo Boss began to become regulars in the local Vancouver music scene. The band's big break came roughly a year later when a DJ at the Vancouver's XFM decided to play "Everybody" on their music competition show, Chaos.
The band's solid songwriting and loyal fan base lead to the song beating out other offerings from more well-established artists and dominating the station's Top 7@7 charts for nearly a month. With this exposure, the band sold 5000 copies of their album independently and began to be courted by major labels.