Inside the house of The Loyal Few

By Jacqui Burgoyne BBC Norfolk

The Loyal Few have turned their new house into a makeshift recording studio

Members of The Loyal Few, one of the bands closing Norwich's Hot City Sounds festival, have moved in together to bond their music taste and friendships.

The band, all in their early 20s, live in a three-story waterfront property close to the Norwich Playhouse.

Living together can make or break a band, but the camp are strong and eager to develop musical projects.

"We really want to push things forward," said Greg, lead vocalist and guitar player with The Loyal Few.

Music is central to Greg, Matt, Stu and Tim, and they moved into a new modern property, and created their own makeshift studio to maintain focus.

"By living together, we can't get away with not writing together. What better way to be a band?" said Greg.

We wanted to get connected with Norwich again - play more gigs, be part of the Norwich scene Greg, The Loyal Few

"It's all about making it your life. We all work minimal hours so we have more time for the music. We've made our life into it.

"Music is our life - going to work isn't, it's just something we have to do. We're all skint, but we'd rather be skint and making music all the time."

The luxury of the new modern house comes second in the band's view to what the space gives them. Greg's room doubles as a studio and on the floor above is a room with a practice drum kit for Stu, the drummer, to play on.

"It was the size of the place; the fact that we've got loads of space and a studio and can start our music from scratch," said Greg.

They've also struck lucky with the neighbours. One side is just wall, and on the other lives an old couple, one of whom is a music critic.

Tim (left) and drummer Stu have a whole separate floor to practice on

"When we moved in he told us he was reviewing a Nigerian nose flute artist. He's eccentric in a good way!" said Stu.

The location was also a big bonus.

"We wanted to get connected with Norwich again - play more gigs, be part of the Norwich scene," said Greg.

Hot City Sounds

The next major port of call, along with a series of demos the band are writing, is the Hot City Sounds festival that graces Norwich from Friday, 3 to Saturday, 11 July, 2009.

The Loyal Few close the festival at the Norwich Brickmakers, along with The Great Shakes and local up-and-comers Blighters and The Barlights, who take part in the BBC Norfolk Music Video Festival that runs alongside Hot City Sounds.

The band is also excited about another project they are undertaking at The Forum in Norwich.

"We've decided to show people the music we are into," said Greg.

"We've picked ten songs, which will likely be whittled down to eight, and we're going to go to the BBC Open Studio in The Forum and record a video of us playing cover songs we really like, but in the style of The Loyal Few," he added.