To the members of Candiflyp, it's just another Thursday night.

There are teenagers screaming from all corners of the room, girls fighting to get to the front of the stage, rowdy dancers knocking each other to the ground, even crowd surfers tumbling from hand to outstretched hand.

The bass blasts and the floorboards shake from the impact of people jumping up and down. Are we at a raging rock-fest in some huge concert hall? Not exactly.

We're at a fraternity party.

Candiflyp is the force behind the unusual amount of chaos on this scene. Their eclectic mixture of pop, funk, rock and rap appeals even to the least enthused partygoer.

So why are they playing a fraternity tonight instead of a more sophisticated venue? Though they've explored other forums, such as Crowbar, 420 E. College Ave., gigs in the Pittsburgh area and even won last year's Battle of the Bands competition, their preferred stage remains encased within the four walls of a packed fraternity house.

"We're all in fraternities ourselves," said guitar player Matt Lytkowski (junior-kineseology) when I caught up with the band before a show last Thursday.

"We don't really like playing bars. It's so boring," said bass player Ryan Estrada (sophomore-business administration). "Frat parties are ridiculous, I mean people are crazy, they're going ape-shit, there's nudity and whatnot. It's like spring break every weekend."

Unfortunately for the rising cover band, advertising fraternity parties is against Interfraternity Council rules. The band has thus turned to other methods of building up their publicity.

Candiflyp is the featured unsigned pop artist this week on Farmclub.com, a nationwide Web site which allows surfers to download, listen to and vote for unsigned bands they'd like to see appear on the site's TV show on the USA and MuchMusic networks. The last few weeks have sent Candiflyp quickly climbing up the Web site's pop charts. Enough votes could earn the band an appearance on the nationally televised show.

"What I would like best is to go out there and represent the Penn State community," Estrada said.

Available to download from both Farmclub.com and the band's own official Web site (http://artists2.iuma.com/IUMA/Bands/ Candiflyp/) are four of the band's original songs.

The songs deal with themes close to home for many college students on the party scene, such as getting drunk, dealing with cops and generally being young and out of control.

The well received "Party Hoes," for example, outlines the story of a guy at a party trying to coax an attractive girl into a casual interlude. The group's easy switch from style to style adds to the unique sound of each track.

"I think we like variety," said Lawrence Albert Everett IV (junior-elementary education), also known as Larz, Candiflyp's lead singer. "Ska, funk, hip-hop, classic rock, modern rock. We have influences from everything from Sublime to 311 to Zeppelin."

The band takes pride in the fact that they refuse to take breaks. They sweat through three-hour shows without a pause and keep a rigorous practice schedule.

"Why would we break? There's no fun in that," said Harry F. Doyle III (junior-industrial engineering), Candiflyp's veteran drummer.

"When we're not in shows we're always doing something," Lytkowski said. "Either writing or practicing or trying to figure out a way to promote us or schedule shows. Then there's of course the occasional booty. We three have girlfriends, he takes care of every other girl at the show," he said, pointing at Estrada.

"What?" Estrada said.

"It happens even at a collegiate level, the Friday night groupies," Lytkowski added.

"A collegiate level," Doyle mocked.

"Hey, Harry, just because you can't use past fourth grade English doesn't mean you have to bust my balls," Lytkowski said.

This is a typical exchange amongst the Candiflyppers. All well-learned musicians with perhaps overly healthy egos, they've been in quiet competition with one another from the very beginning. They recently dismissed their previous front man in favor of Everett. "It turns out the second man to come along had this creamy melodic voice," Lytkowski said.

The remaining members know they have to stay on their toes and be on the defensive as things heat up for the band.

"I've worked too hard and spent too much time to give up now," Estrada said.

One thing the four can all be satisfied with is their performance at this year's Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon. Despite being slotted at 6 on Sunday morning, the group managed to get the sleepy crowd riled up.

"Thon was by far the best thing we've ever done. Everyone was just dead, but by the time we got to the middle of our first song we actually had people jumping. We've gotten a multitude of shows after Thon because that gave us merit in the Greek community," Lytkowski said.

As students in attendance at the band's show last Thursday can attest, Candiflyp's Thon performance has made a lasting impression.

"I was there when they played at Thon. These guys are awesome," said Rob Cappella (junior-economics) as the band pumped out a rousing rendition of A-Ha's "Take on Me."

Listeners less familiar with the band were equally enthusiastic. "So far they kick ass, and one of my sisters is on stage with them right now and she rocks my world. This is my first time hearing them and I'm very impressed," said Hilary Davis (freshman-broadcast journalism).

"They're awesome. I've heard them one time before. I like that they play good shit," said Martin Waddington (freshman-English education and communications).

Candiflyp will continue to convert those unfamiliar with their sweet sound over the summer. They are in the process of selecting a manager and plan to play shows in the Philadelphia area once school is out. In the meantime, they intend to keep playing shows at fraternities and on-campus.

"We play at least two shows a week, but we have to keep the parties on the DL," said Estrada. "If you want to come out and see us you just gotta keep your ears open."