Ten Inches High
"Uh-huh. You want to start a band." The co-manager of the well-respected Footnote Records looked up from her files.
"Errr.... That would be correct." Joker said, nervously tugging at the beak of his cap.
The co-manager (whose nametag stated that she was 'Alanna', 'Co-Head Honcho") gave them the once over. She picked up the phone. "Hey, bum, get over here."
When Spleena ("Co-Head Honcho") reached the neighbouring office, Alanna introduced her. "Spleena. The other manager, and together, we're Footnote. You want to be under us, you have to go through us. Pun unintended, by the way. We're going to be your managers, agents, image consultants, whatever. You wanna be in Footnote, you gotta listen to us. One more thing. All bands under us don't drink, don't smoke, don't do drugs. One offence and boom, you're kicked out from Footnote, and you can be sure we'll watch you. Okay. We'll just need to ask some questions." The band was suitably awed.
"What sort of band would this be?"
"Visual Rock. You know, in the style of all those other bands out there." Kaoru waved his hand in the air but immediately drew it back when he remembered he was in the company of the top brass of Footnote.
"Names?" Spleena frowned. "Please, not names like Gigi, Mimi or Lucy. For one, they sound like bar hostesses. Second, you're all male anyway. Right?" She looked pointedly at Mikagami.
Mikagami flinched, but nodded. "I'm Mikagami, that's Joker, Kaoru and Raiha."
"Good." Alanna approved. "Now, who's doing what? And I assume you'll be playing a song for us to hear."
Raiha looked around at the rest of the would-be band members, brown eyes pleading.
"Do it, nii-chan." Kaoru nudged Raiha.
"Err... that would be a little problem." Raiha ventured, with his best puppy-dog look.
"You don't have instruments? That's okay, we'll lend you..."
"No no no... we don't have a lead singer."
Silence.
"We'll need to talk about this." Spleena said tersely before shooing them out.
After what seemed like hours, Spleena waved them in. "Now listen up," she said. "We're going to give you a chance, in view of the fact that Footnote doesn't have a visual rock band as of yet. Furry Slippers are rocky, but they're more grunge. Smoking Sneakers are acid jazz. Alanna and I feel that you guys might be something new for Footnote. So, I assume you write -- and have written -- your own songs?"
Frantic nodding.
"Just without a proper singer to do the honours?"
More frantic nodding.
"Good. Means you can play some music for us to listen to."
As Spleena perched on the desk and Alanna leaned back in her high-backed chair, the new band (as of yet unnamed) started a song.
"Not bad, not bad at all." Alanna said, smiling broadly, after they were done. "We'll give you two weeks. Audition for a singer, then get back to us. We'll be waiting, and when you're back, we promise you a record deal." She paused. "Provided the singer's good, of course."
"Great. Now we need a singer. How are we supposed to do that?" Joker asked, once they were out of there.
"A good singer, at that. Plus, he has to fit in with our image." Mikagami added.
"We'll have to advertise. Come on, nii-chan! Last one to the newspaper agency is a rotten egg!" Kaoru sped to his scooter.
I'm feeling 10 inches high / With my head high in the sky
And you're 10 inches low / How far can we go?
"How many would-be singers?" Raiha asked again as he read their advertisement for the third time that day. "'New visual rock band needs male singer. Interested parties call 123 - rockon. Bozos, wimps and losers need not apply.' I don't believe people actually read this and call."
Joker shrugged. "Hey, people do anything for a chance at money. We've got three of them, they're coming in at 2, 3 and 4." He checked his watch. "That would be about now."
"A car just drove up in the driveway." Mikagami suddenly interjected, looking out of the window of the rented apartment which they all lived in. "Quick, look busy."
That had been their plan; to look so nonchalant that the person auditioning would feel small and not so self-important. But they soon realised that it didn't work for some people.
"Hi, I'm here for the new band." A raspy voice said. They winced and looked up from their papers. And nearly fell.
"Mokuran!" They said in horror.
"Yep, that's me!" He beamed around at all of them.
"Hey hey hey, can't you read?" Joker jabbed at the newspapers. "'Bozos, wimps and losers need not apply.' You can't sing, get outta here."
Mokuran lifted a finger. "Ah ah... you don't know me. I'm the greatest. Mikoto and I sing love songs to each other all the time."
Mikagami looked ready to retch.
"Well... do you want to sing then?" Raiha asked weakly. Mokuran threw him an insulted look.
"Of course. Now, listen." He stuck a tape into the player they had.
They didn't think that anyone could sound that much like a cat in heat. Mikagami hit the 'stop' button. "Quit it," he snapped. "You can't sing, you don't fit our image, why are you even here?"
Mokuran flicked back his long greasy hair. "Well, you're looking for a visual rocker... I have long hair, I smoke, I drink..." He raised an eyebrow. "Typical bad-boy image. Why not?"
Joker rolled his eyes. "The nerve of this man." He muttered. In a louder voice, he asked Kaoru, "Hey, howzabout you tell Mokuran what the band rules are?"
"No booze, no cigarettes, no drugs!" Kaoru chanted before playing a mean guitar riff. Joker opened the door for Mokuran to flounce out.
When the doorbell next rang, Raiha opened the door, for Kirin to enter.
"Kirin? Hey, didn't you read, we're looking for..."
"Male singers? Yep, I know. Look who's behind me!"
Mikagami began to rhythmically thwack his head against the wall as Rasen trailed in after Kirin.
The band were listlessly drinking coffee after their third interviewee didn't turn up at the appointed time. "I told him 4, I know I did!" Kaoru said, aggrieved. "It's okay, Kaoru... We'll just... try again tomorrow." Joker buried his head in his hands. It looked to be a lost cause.
"Ahem." A voice cleared its throat at the open door. "I'm sorry I'm late. Good evening gentlemen, I believe you are looking for a lead singer?"
Their eyes travelled slowly up to take in the new person's black boots, red robe, long purple nails and mask. They grinned at each other. Perhaps this would work after all.
They turned up the next week at Footnote Records, with their new singer Kurei in tow. "You're sure you've got the tune down?" Raiha asked him anxiously. Kurei rolled his eyes.
"Look Raiha, we've been practising this for the past 3 days non-stop. I think I'll be fine."
I'm strolling 10 inches high / I hear your voices cry
I hear you scream, hear you shout / Swaying, waving your hands about
Alanna and Spleena looked at the new addition. "Not bad." Spleena grinned. "Red. I like red."
Together, they strolled down the corridor and paused at a door with a sign on it that said "Jamming Shoe-dio".
"All right, fellas. Show your stuff."
Mikagami gave them a count on the snare before the band launched into the song that they had first done for Footnote.
They ended with a neat little riff that Kaoru had come out with the night before, to applause from the two managers. "Nice touch there," Alanna gave Kaoru the thumbs up before turning to the others. "If you'll head over next door, Footnote will be ready to sign you up."
As the managers strolled out of the room, the band members gave each other high-fives.
Spleena watched each member sign the contract, with Alanna on the side. "Good," Alanna said when they were all done, "Now for a name..." She paced the room. "High Platforms?" Spleen shook her head.
"Nice puns, but not snappy enough."
Alanna paced more. "Psychedelic Flame?" Kurei ventured.
Alanna gave him a long look. "Perhaps not," he hastily said.
"How about Psychedelic Sneakers?" Alanna said at last.
"Switch Sneakers to Stilettos and you've got yourself a bandname." Spleena offered.
They looked at the band, who shrugged. "Psychedelic Stilettos. We like."
"Now for image. What do you guys say to dyed hair?"
Kaoru grinned at his reflection. "I could get to like this," he said cheerfully as he tugged his pink hair. Kurei flicked back his electric blue hair from his eyes. "Doesn't it clash with my red robe?" He asked the other members.
"Oh no... 'course not..." The rest of them mumbled. Mikagami was just happy to keep his silver hair, while Raiha stayed with purple.
"Of course, just wait till the first video... THEN the two of them'll get a shock." Alanna sniggered to Spleena. "It even goes with your purple lipstick and nails, Kurei," she said in a louder voice. "Except maybe your earrings will have to be changed to something... more interesting."
"How about me?" whined Joker. Spleena yanked on the beak of his cap. "You stick with this. We'll call you the shy one."
"Like... Demure Stiletto?"
"Hell, NO!" The rest of the room shouted back at him.
My feet stay 10 inches high / Above the ground beneath the sky
I can avoid the pouring rain / While you can only try in vain
After their first recording and Footnote promising major distribution, the Stilettos had radios permanantly stuck in their ears, with each member listening to a different station. Kurei was busy finishing a crossword puzzle when he heard something very familiar.
"HEY! HEY! My radio station! My radio.... 94.6!!!! Quick! QUICK!!!"
While the bandmembers were singing/playing/dancing along to their first single played at full blast, the phone rang, and Mikagami picked it up, laughing like a crazed man. "LISTEN TO 94.6!!!!!!" He yelled down as soon as he placed it to his ear.
"Hello Mikagami." Alanna's voice said.
He nearly dropped the phone.
"Oh, erm, I... er..."
"Don't worry about it. I've had worse reactions than that. Congratulations, by the way. I did tell you about our frantic promotion, didn't I? I didn't? Anyway, Footnote have been promoting 'Ten Inches High' like crazy. Now that you've heard your song on the radio, we'll be shooting your PV tomorrow. Get your pert butts to Shoe-dio 7 at 6 in the morning." The phone went dead.
The band appeared as asked, Kurei yawning as he stretched. "Didn't get enough sleep last night..." he mumbled sleepily with a wide grin on his face nevertheless. "Too excited."
"Sorry busters, but you gotta work that out. Put your heart and sole in it," Spleena said with a wink. Alanna groaned. "Go on, off to the changing room!"
Later, they emerged from the room, wearing Footnote's own label, aptly named "FootWear".
"Do I really have to dress in this?" Mikagami said, distastefully, tugging at his long black leather gown.
Alanna's mouth twitched. "Interesting choice of words. But yes, you have to. It's part of the rocker image. You aren't the only one." She gestured to Kurei, clothed in a black leather version of his usual red robe.
"But he wears that all the time! And hey, why don't we break convention?"
"Well, let's put it this way. You want visual rock, you get visual rock. That's where the dress comes in. You wanna wear pants, the effect is lost. Besides, the rest of the band's wearing trousers... and YOU are the only one capable of wearing that and pulling it off. Blame it on the hair, and Mikagami... there isn't any convention to break in Visual Rockdom." She smiled sweetly at him before strolling off to tell the runner ("Juliaz"; "Sports Shoe") to get more coffee.
"Yez, Ma'am. You want sugar sachetz and cream packetz too, yez?"
PV
I'm walking 10 inches high / But you can only try
I think I'm being a little mean / But guess who's the one who can't be seen?
"Stilettos, turn on your radio and listen to 99.9FM. Something interesting going on." Spleena's voice came over the phone before it went dead.
The band rushed to flip the switch.
"Heya! You're listening to 99.9FM Eternal to Infinity Radio! Oh yeah oh yeah oh yeah!"
"Why does this DJ sound so familiar...." Kurei muttered to nobody in particular.
"And there's a new entry -- the highest -- this week! The single is from a relatively unknown band, managed by indie music powerhouse, Footnote Records! Oh yeah! Insiders tell me that this band were nearly named the High Platforms, oh yeah, how cool is that? Take a listen to Kaoru, lead guitarist, the youngest in the band; Raiha, on rhythm, the purple-haired one; Joker, (is that his real name?) the bassist, the shy one with the cap on all the time; Mikagami, the great looking drummer; and Kurei! The mysterious masked singer! Oh yeah oh yeah! Eternal to Infinity is proud to play the Psychedelic Stilettos with... 'Ten Inches High'! Number 9, on 99.9's top twenty chart show! Oh yeah oh yeah oh yeah!"
As the opening beats of their single played, the band had to share incredulous looks. They had made it through their first obstacle.
I'm feeling 10 inches high / With my head high in the sky
And you're 10 inches low / There's a pain my voice won't show