[1][2] Novillero was formed in 1999 by keyboardist Roberta Dempster, guitarist Sean Stevens, and keyboardist-guitarist Scott Hildebrandt, who were former members of the Winnipeg lounge pop band Transonic,[3] with the addition of Rod Slaughter (Duotang),[4] Dave Berthiaume (Bulletproof Nothing), and Rusty Matyas (The Waking Eyes).
The music then was heading in a new direction, relying less on spacey psychedelia and more on keyboard-driven pop hooks while retaining enough of their mod influence to bridge the gap.
They added Grant Johnson when Matyas scaled back his input to focus on his other band, The Waking Eyes.
The Globe and Mail's music critic hailed the band's 2005 show at the Winnipeg Folk Festival as one of the best Canadian rock concerts of the year.
In season 1, episode 6 of Eureka the band can be heard playing a cover of Barry McGuire's "Eve of Destruction".