An up-and-coming Norfolk rock band will release their new EP during a launch tour next weekend.
Flint Moore's new CD Reign will contain five original songs written and performed by former Downham Market High School students Francis Pennington, Maddy Holland, Lawrence Dennis, Ryan Reeve, and Noah Elliot.
The band's combination of rock, folk and grunge has proved popular with audiences across East Anglia, having performed in Strawberry Fair and Cambridge Big Weekend as well as supporting Busted in King' Lynn's Festival Too last year.
Frontman and manager Francis Pennington, 24, said Flint Moore began as a solo project around five years ago when he had just finished a music course at the College of West Anglia in Lynn.
It was only after a gig in Bar Red - now The Eagle - in Norfolk Street that Mr Pennington realised Flint Moore was more than a one-man band.
'It was one of the worst experiences of my life,' Mr Pennington said. 'It absolutely bonked for so many reasons.
'My guitar didn't work, I didn't have my set list and needed my mum to tell me over the phone, I needed to fix all this stuff and I was stressing out. 'After the show, I got back in the van and thought about what went wrong, and what struck me was the audience didn't cheer or even boo, they didn't even care. I was so concerned about myself that I didn't even interact with the audience at all.
'It was at that moment I realised live music can only be social. I had to play with other people, I was born to do band work.'
And so the following year consisted of growing Flint Moore into the phenomena it has become today.
Noah Elliot, 21, was the first to join as the band's drummer.
'I asked him can we jam together and he said he'd love to,' Mr Pennington added. 'I didn't think he was being serious. 'At the time he was into Frank Zappa and I was into Ed Sheeran, I didn't know how things would run with his crazy drumming.'
Next to jump on board were college friends Lawrence Dennis, 23, as the band's lead guitarist, and pianist Ryan Reeve, 22.
'Lawrence was such a great guy and so reliable, he was pretty much a no-brainer,' said Mr Pennington. 'Ryan was the only guy who could play piano. I consider them to be the soul of music, they fill the gap that I don't think a guitar can.'
Bass player Maddy Holland, 20, was the final band member to complete Flint Moore in April 2014.
'She was more skilled than all of us put together, she's been doing it since she was 12.'
In the four years they have been together, the five talented musicians have brought their explosive and energetic set onto the stage in tours across Norfolk and Cambridgeshire.
Mr Pennington described the band as a mix between Pearl Jam, Radiohead and Mumford and Sons, adding: 'We are all about melody and energy.
'We come from many different music directions and the band is like a big compromise of all of our different styles.
'The dream I imagine is to make this our career and livelihood, but the core ethos of our band is community - we love being in a room with an audience who genuinely like our music and are there with us.'
To launch their new EP Reign on Friday, February 16, the band will be performing in the King's Lynn Workers Club in Church Street.
On Saturday, February 17, they will be performing at the Owl Sanctuary in Norwich, and in the Portland Arms in Cambridge on Sunday, February 18.
All shows begin at 7pm and tickets can be purchased at the door for £5.
For more information, visit: www.flintmoore.com.
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