Navan Men

Frank Gibbons has spent 23 hours on the bus this week. But the rhythm guitarist with a.k.a. Paperhouse isn't complaining. He shrugs his shoulders at his plight - stuck in Waterford when the gigs are happening in Dublin.

The price of fame, fortune and rock 'n' roll success doesn't come cheap and for a.k.a. Paperhouse, a fiercely ambitious five-piece originally from Navan, success is the dream they're working to make reality.

So far, events have been going entirely according to plan. Although they have been together for only two years, they have already fought off all challengers to win the 2000 Ignition Unsigned competition. Tonight, when they headline at the Temple Bar Music Centre, their melodic brand of pop-rock spiced with trumpets and trombones secures them a deservedly enthusiastic reception.

"We've got fresh ideas," says charismatic frontman Simon Fagan. "When you're young, you're grabbing for everything you can get a hold of and every bit of inspiration and emotion in your body." He gestures with his fingers. "We want the whole world like that.

"We were a Navan band coming into the Dublin rock scene and that's hard," he continues. "But because we got the break with winning the competition, we got other gigs and were passed on to other people and got recognition."

Since their win, a.k.a. Paperhouse have aroused the curiosity of various record company scouts. While they haven't signed on the dotted line thus far, they don't feel themselves at a disadvantage.

"We want to get our own fanbase first," Fagan explains. "You need that because if everything drops dead, who's left but the fans to hold the band up? I think Jack L was the best example of that here - everything about the way he released and distributed his album worked."

The lack of pressure has further given the group more space and time to evolve their sound. Although they once favoured rockier, riff-heavy territory, these days a.k.a. Paperhouse are focusing on their strengths - high octane, singalong choruses to the backdrop of melodic rhythm guitar and frenetic drumming.

Still, when I ask them where they would place themselves in the current music scene, they remain unsure. While they love Thin Lizzy, Jimi Hendrix and U2, and argue vociferously over the merits of Limp Bizkit, they don't subscribe to the notion that they are like anyone else, or indeed, that they have to be like anyone else.

Could they place themselves, I persist, even to the degree of knowing what radio show they would like to be played on? Daytime radio, Dave Fanning or Tom Dunne maybe?

A regret-tinged silence falls after softly-spoken bassist Paddy Smith voices his opinion.

"It'd be a dream come true if Uaneen Fitzsimons was here to play us on radio," he says wistfully. "If she actually said 'I like this band', that'd be a dream come true. I know it can never happen now," he continues, "but that's the kind of radio show we'd like to be played on."