Paul Gigliotti's living a charmed life right now.

Just 21, the native of Niagara Falls, Ont., is touring the country with his band Wave, supporting a major label debut album, Nothing as it Seems, and a MuchMusic hit single, California.

"It's going good," says the unassuming singer/songwriter. "We kind of expected that this would happen to us but we didn't think it would happen so quickly. Now that it is happening, we love it. We're getting out there, playing live and we got to play and record at studios (A&M Studios and Sunset Sound in L.A. and MetalWorks in Toronto) that are just legendary."

Gigliotti, along with partner Dave Thomson, is part of one of those music-biz stories that are almost too good to be true. After hooking up in a band following high school graduation in Niagara Falls, the pair began writing songs together and recorded a four-song demo with producer Ben Dunk. That tape landed them an acoustic audition for Warner Music Canada, and the pair was literally stopped in the parking lot and asked to sign a contract.

Now they have a hit single and Gigliotti is struggling to take it all in.

"It's weird. I remember being at A&M Studios in Los Angeles, just sitting in the lobby and wondering who else had been there. I feel fortunate to have been able to do all this."

That doesn't mean Gigliotti and Thomson haven't been working at their craft. Gigliotti says he first picked up a guitar at age six and began taking lessons at eight.

"I was always interested in music. I grew up listening to a bunch of things. I have a sister who is five years older and she got me into things like Depeche Mode when I was eight or nine. Then I discovered all the older stuff, like The Beatles and the Stones," he says, explaining the genesis of the smooth, classic Wave sound.

Gigliotti has been playing in live bands through his teens -- he says Supersonic by Oasis was the first song he ever played live with a group -- and is especially proud of the fact Wave, which is augmented by a four-piece band on tour, plays all of its own music and instruments.

"It's completely live, there's no DAT or tapes or effects or anything. It sounds great, like a real good vibe."