Chapter 1 - Invitation
"Did you get it?" asks an excited Sam.
"Yes! They want us to audition!" says Clover, in obvious joy.
"Totally rad! When's the audition?" asks an equally excited Alex.
"Tomorrow!" responds Clover.
Audition? What are the gals auditioning for?
The answer to these questions can be traced back to one of their earlier missions, when they 'played' as a front band for teen sensation (and Sebastian puppet) Ricky Mathis. At that time, WOOHP had designed a soundtrack that they were able to 'lip-synch' to, that was convincing enough to fool concertgoers into believing that the 'Spies' band was actually performing.
That experience piqued the girls' interest into actually learning to play a musical instrument. The gals gravitated to the instruments that they chose for the Ricky Mathis mission: Sam to the bass guitar; Clover to the electric guitar; and Alex to the drums. Interestingly, the girls started to take lessons, and practice their new instruments without one another's knowledge! Clover let the cat out of the bag, when she brought a backpack guitar with her on a mission quite a while later.
"I didn't know you could really play guitar, Clover!" said a surprised Alex.
"Well, I started taking lessons a while back, after the Ricky Mathis mission! I find it relaxing!" replied Clover.
"No way!" said Sam. "I started learning bass about the same time too!"
"Awesome!" added Alex. "I began learning drums at that time too!"
"Well, ladies! We usually have some 'dead time' on our missions, usually enroute to our destination! Why not bring your instruments, and maybe we can play together!" suggested Clover.
"Great idea, Clover!" enthused Sam.
"Totally! What shall we call our band?" asks an excited Alex.
"We already have a name! 'Spies'! It's so obvious, no one would suspect!" replied Clover.
"True! Even Sebastian didn't catch on, until we tried to stop his plan!" said Sam.
And so, the real birth of the band, 'Spies', occurred! Over the intervening missions, the gals had become quite good playing together. Clover was an accomplished guitarist, with both six and twelve string electric guitar. She even had a guitar with both six and twelve string necks on it! She could flawlessly switch between either, as the song demanded. Sam was also very good at bass: four, five and six string, although she usually stayed with the standard four string with the band. And Alex had become quite good at the drums! When the spies practiced at home, she had her traditional drum set with cymbals. But on the road, she would bring a small electronic drum pad, which was much easier to transport.
The gals wrote some of their own lyrics, too. The "Here We Go!" song heard on television introducing some of the episodes being their favorite. They also liked the instrumental opening for other episodes.
The audition the girls are bubbling about is for a new talent search show, Teen Star. The girls sent in an audition tape about one month ago, listing Clover's home address for a reply. The show's producers were favorably impressed with the audition tape, and want the band to audition in person now! If the audition goes well, they will be on national television for the show next week! They'll also have an opportunity to win the $30,000 Grand Prize!
The gals are understandably nervous the next day, when they show up at the Teen Star studio, for their audition. They are instructed to report to Sound Stage 1, where they are to set up for the audition.
"I'm nervous!" say Alex, as she attaches her snare drum to its mount.
"Me too!" says Clover, as she nervously makes sure her guitar is in tune.
"We'll do all right, gals! It's just like performing in our garage, except the stage is bigger!" says Sam, as she tries to chase the butterflies away from her bandmates as well as herself. Sam is also tuning her bass, and checking the amplifiers for all the instruments.
Soon Max Clef arrives. He is the producer and host of Teen Star. His decision will determine if the gals make the show or not.
"Greeting, gals! Max Clef!" introduces Max, as he shakes all three gals' hands.
"Hi!" "How are you?" "How's it going?" the gals reply.
"I really liked your 'Here We Go!' song! I'd like you to play that for me now!"
Sam says, "All right, Spies! It's showtime!"
"SPIES? What makes you think we're spies?" blurts out a nervous Alex. Sam and Clover give her an exasperated look, and she recovers nicely. "Oh! Spies band! Right!" Max is a bit confused by the banter, but chalks it up to being nervous.
The gals break into their "Here We Go!" song, and play through flawlessly. Max is happily impressed.
"You gals rock! That was GREAT! You're definitely on the show for next week! Can you play me another song?" asks Max.
"Sure, Max! We can 'cover' the old Supremes' hit 'You Can't Hurry Love', if you like!" says Clover.
"Great! Let's hear it!" So the gals play the song, and Max thoroughly enjoys it! "Fantastic! Wonderful! I want you to play those two songs on the show Sunday!"
Max then turns to his assistant, Joe. "Joe! Assign the gals to a dressing room and practice studio! They should make for a great opening number and closing number on the show next week!"
"OK boss!" says Joe, as he leads the gals to their dressing room.
"You will use dressing room 4B and studio 2B for practice. You are expected to practice your numbers daily here, until the show, starting today."
"That's great, Joe! Thanks!" says Sam. The girls move their instruments to stage 2B and set them up for practice. They return to their dressing room in 4B, with soothing muzak playing in the background, and they initially talk excitedly about this opportunity.
"Just think!" says Clover, "WE may be the next hit band sensation!"
"That would be awesome!" says Sam.
But Alex seems a little troubled, "I hope we do well!"
Clover says, "Why not? We wrote the lyrics. We did the arranging. We'll do fine!"