TWENTY-seven, according to some highly spurious research released last week, is the ideal age for musicians to die.

An untimely (possibly drug fuelled) death, it would appear, safeguards an artist’s musical legacy and provides an almost guaranteed boost to sales.

Think Nick Drake, Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Buckley and (of course) Kurt Cobain, and you have to admit there’s something to be said for the findings.

But what of the many young bands still struggling to make it as they hover around this worrisome age. Assuming an early death is the very last thing on your mind, just how do you rise above the rest and make it big?

Hard work, determination and a mastery of the internet would seem to be the answer – qualities almost as important as raw musical talent.

And if the above essentials are anything to go by then Watford trio Lost Without Cause (LWC) are certainly heading in the right direction.

The unsigned rock/pop-punk/emo (their description, not mine) outfit has had quite a year; amassing an impressive following on Myspace and building a steady fan-base in Watford, St Albans and Welwyn Garden City.

They will soon depart for a 26 date tour of the UK, taking in some of the country’s most respected B tour venues, including one of my favourites, Leicester’s The Shed.

It’s a tough schedule for a band that all hold down full-time jobs, but, says front-man Simon Marks, they have no other option.

“Our goal is to be playing on a massive stage with thousands of people singing our songs back at us, but it’s hard to get recognised like that.

“At the moment we are just trying to get out there and play to as many people as we can – that’s why we’re doing this tour.

“It’s been a lot of hard work to pull together as we don’t have a manager. We’ve had to book all the dates and venues ourselves and pay for our own promotion.

“We’re also playing for free so it’s going to cist us a lot in petrol and other expenses but we just have to do it.”

Such optimism is easy to cast aside, but the band (co-founded in 2004 with guitarist Andy Holland and drummer Rosetta Holmes) are certainly growing in popularity, particularly on line.

“Myspace has been great for us,” adds Simon. “We’re reaching people we would never have reached before.

“But it is crowded on there so you really have to stand out from the rest. So we try to stay on top of our page and make it look as good as we can.

“We’re getting new people joining us everyday. I don’t quite know how but we’ve been listed in the Emo section charts on the site so I guess that helps. I think we’re at about number 40 at the moment.”

To date LWC has released 4 EPs and an acoustic album.