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It's a long way to go and record, but Lost brothers Pete and Roger Bilton, Rob Allison and Mike Winston believe it was definitely the worth the air miles they put in.

Pete told ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Norfolk Introducing how the band got together in the first place.

"I met Rob Allison in High school and formed the band. We then asked my brother Roger to join a few months later and he actually learnt the drums to play in the band," said Pete.

"Mike joined in September 2007, just two weeks before a sold out show with the Bloodhound Gang, so he was pretty much thrown in at the deep end," he added.

Although the band is based in Norwich, Mike is originally from California, hence the group drawing influences from West Coast bands such as Blink 182 and Army of Freshmen, with their crashing chords and pulsing vocals.

Fate

Fate played a hand in guiding them to work – and record – with their idols.

"We had a sponsorship deal with a clothing company called Tereska in 2005," said Pete.

"Then in early 2006 they offered us a spot on the 'Tereska Team Tour 2006', which is a tour for the bands that the company sponsors. We jumped at the opportunity and six months later we were out there!" he added.

"Maybe that will be mine one day"

Taking off

Things were certainly pushing forward for band.

"Not long after we got back from California, a friend we met there who owned an Indie label called OrRavan Records said they could help us out. Even though we signed with them, we still consider ourselves unsigned as we look after ourselves, but the label has helped a lot when it comes to promotion etcetera," said Pete.

The chance to record in the USA came for Lost when they met Californian band Army of Freshmen in January 2007.

"We kept in contact with them and then in June 2008 we got offered to play on the AOF UK tour, which we accepted," said Pete.

"We let them use our equipment for the whole tour, including their set at the Download Festival in Donnington. So as a thank you, Chris Jay (lead singer of AOF) put us on their guest list for the Festival as VIPs," he added.

It was there that Chris took Pete to one side and offered to produce their album in LA.

"Three weeks later they got back in touch and we were on our way! We had the best crew, Chris Jay and Aaron Goldberg from Army of Freshmen produced the record and their friend Armand was our engineer," said Pete.

It was certainly a fantastic set up the band had been landed with.

"They are all such professionals and as they are our friends it was such a fun project. It was Armand's own studio, so it was very relaxed, yet the songs we made sound incredible," said Pete.

"We did so many different things when recording this time. I sang falsetto on one song and we used a lap guitar and chimes. Rob was using the amp owned by the bass player from Queens of the Stone Age! It was an incredible experience," he added.

Returning to Norfolk

Lost are back in the UK and eager to get their new CD out there for people to hear.

Lost hope to cross the Atlantic again

"Army of Freshmen are coming on a UK tour in late November 2008 and Chris is going to meet with us so we can discuss the next step with the CD. He's bringing some copies to give to his contacts and is introducing us to some people," said Pete.

The band are eager to take their new tracks on the road, but plans are already underway for the lads to return to LA next summer so they can record a full album and tour the States.

To hear Lost and read a diary of their American adventure, log onto their Myspace page below.