What would the world be like if I didn’t exist?

Peter Riley, vocalist and guitarist for Treehouse, asked himself this question a couple of years ago at his home in Liverpool, England.

It soon prompted more questions and eventually became the inspiration for the band’s soon-to-be-released second single, “A Million Places.”

“Would the people you know just go on living?” Riley asked in his strong British accent from a pool-side phone in Beverly Hills, Calif. “If you think about it, if you didn’t exist, everyone around you, their personalities, would all be different.”

Deep. Deep enough that the song’s upbeat personality barely hides it — which is why the band has yet to come up with a conception for the video.

“We have to be careful not to have the video be too happy,” Riley said. “There’s a lot of humor in the band, but it’s important for the video to compliment the song.”

Riley seems on track, though the video will be the band’s first. And with Atlantic records behind them, Treehouse should have no trouble breaking the MTV barrier, especially in England.

“MTV is MTV, but really they are two totally different programs,” Riley said about the American and English versions of the channel. “MTV in England is more in-tune with what is happening there — more dance-oriented.”

Dance — as in techno — along with the Oasis-driven Brit-pop sound has been dominating the Liverpool music scene the last few years — the main reason Treehouse came to America.

“A lot of our friends who were playing in Liverpool were signing,” Riley said. “We have a decent following in Liverpool, but [moving to America] was necessary to get to the next level. Everyone kept telling us we had an American sound.”

The plan worked. Treehouse played virtually every club available in Los Angeles for three weeks before returning home. A couple of record label executives saw the band and, to Riley’s surprise, contacted them in Liverpool.

One label happened to be Breaking Records, an extension of Atlantic. “It was fairy-tale stuff,” Riley said about the entire experience.

After signing with Breaking Records, Riley and cohorts — bassist Paul O’Brien, guitarist Keith Thomas and drummer Abe Juckes — did what an American band would do: tour the states.

“This band will play anywhere,” Riley said. “If winning over people means playing in Iowa, so be it. We’d play a phone box if it meant winning people over.”

Riley added that the New York and Los Angeles shows are not what makes a band. “The more you play in those places, the more the public gets spoiled,” he said. “It’s the Iowas and Houstons that are the better gigs.”

Riley said the main difference between touring the states and touring England is Americans are more inclined to tell you if you played a great gig or a bad one. “In England, it’s not cool to say what you think,” he said.

After touring for six months, Treehouse has been on a short break and has had some time to write and polish eight songs, all at different stages of development.

“It’s difficult to write on the road,” Riley said. “I have to put my lighted head on to get it all out of me system.”

Riley said the band’s main goal is to have the opportunity to keep making albums.

“So many bands get dropped a month after their record’s released,” he said. “If we can continue to make good, honest records, we will have done well.

“We’re having a great time in America. I really think we’ll break here.”

Treehouse will open for Edwin McCain on Sunday, August 3, at People’s Bar and Grill. Tickets are $10 in advance and are available at all TicketMaster outlets.