by Marisa BrownAfter guitarist Ben Einziger and stepbrother and bassist Paul Fried's band, Audiovent, broke up, they thought that their time in the professional music world was finished. They continued to play casually together, however, which gave Einziger the opportunity to try his hand at songwriting and singing for the first time, something that he took to quickly. Soon they invited singer Stephanie Eitel to join their band, called Agent Sparks, and also brought in a drummer, although he quickly left when another group offered him a paying gig. Luckily, Einziger and Fried knew a good replacement, session drummer George Purviance, a childhood friend from summer camp who was also living in Los Angeles, and invited him to join the band. Purviance accepted, and in 2005 Agent Sparks' EP, Not So Merry (produced by Einziger's brother and Incubus guitarist Mike Einziger), came out on Immortal Records. The next year saw the release of their debut full-length, Red Rover.