Strings Attached : An unknown band gets a badly needed $800 for a demo tape. In return, members will sport duds inspired by Fender, ‘the guitar that rocked the world.’

Nike buys the Beatles’ “Revolution” for a pot of money. Microsoft acquires the rights to “Start Me Up” by the Stones. What’s next, Levi Strauss’ using Dylan’s “Tangled Up in Blue” to sell jeans?

Right, don’t give them any ideas.

Imagine Mick, Keith and the boys on tour dressed in T-shirts bearing Microsoft founder Bill Gates’ happy face and you get an idea of where things can go.

Actually, they may already be heading down that road.

None other than Fender, that venerable maker of electric guitars founded in the late ‘40s in Fullerton, has lent its name and history to a clothing company. The musicians promoting the new line of duds that tries to utilize the appeal of rock aren’t named Paul, George or Ringo in this home-grown, small-scale effort; they’re Jarrad, Danny and Sean of Agoura Hills High.

A struggling band composed of 17-year-olds inspired by the groups Cure, Bauhaus and Black Sabbath was recently given an offer it couldn’t refuse. Rockragz International was looking for ways to help launch its “Fender sportswear” collection and found Kinder Ficker, which was looking for a way to cut a demo tape.

Rockragz, which has offices as close as Orange and as far away as Avignon, France, said it would pick up the $800 for a 24-hour recording session at a studio in Orange if the band members slipped into the Fender styles and let themselves be promoted as informal representatives of the line.

Jarrad Hirschman, the unofficial leader of the group, concedes he isn’t thrilled with the possibility of becoming a promotional poster boy, but a band has to do what a band has to do.

“Well, we want to stay away from anything like the idea of money and commercialization, that might taint or exploit our image,” said Hirschman, who plays guitar and sings. “But we were ready to do it right now, really because we don’t have the money to do recordings or buy good equipment.

“My friends were just laughing when they heard about it . . . it was funny almost; we couldn’t take it too seriously.”

But Rockragz hopes young consumers will take it seriously, or at least the clothes. Company owner Rick Miller said the collection, which includes men’s woven shirts, jackets, glasses and guitar bags, was designed to appeal to the chord-humping, note-crunching wanna-be.

“Every high school and junior high school kid wants to be a rock star,” Miller says. “They wake up playing the air guitar and go to bed with headphones on. Ninety-five percent of them will never do anything more than have fun playing a guitar, maybe forming a band and playing a few gigs.”

He hopes that with the resurgence in garage bands, the music will propel more youngsters to investigate the outfits inspired by Leo Fender’s “guitar that rocked the world” in 1948. Miller thinks that with the right role models, this can be a big enterprise.

But come on. Does Miller honestly see a time when, say, a purist like Dick Dale would stride on stage carrying a Stratocaster and wearing a tank top showing a snowboarder holding the same guitar?

Naw, even Miller won’t go that far.

That doesn’t mean some of the big names known for their allegiance to Fender won’t be approached in the future to endorse still another Rockragz line aimed at a somewhat older audience.

If Gates could get the Stones for $12 million, Miller asks, why can’t Rockragz reach Fender users like Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and “a couple of the country-Western guys” to tout these clothes, or at least wear them? Miller assumes that if the money’s there, anything’s possible, but for now his focus is on the outfits worn by the Agoura Hills group.

“We’re looking for up-and-coming bands” to be part of the campaign, said Miller. “Kids that have attitude--rebellious, in your face . . . we haven’t established just who that is yet.”

While Rockragz searches for the best way to spread the word, it might take lessons from its target audience: kids in their teens and 20s. Few of them say they’re impressed with stars--or unknowns--strutting in designer labels.

Jason Levinson, 19, from Newport Beach, said the only thing that would inspire him to buy Rockragz was if the clothes were to his liking.

“I’ve never heard of [the Agoura Hills band], but even if it was someone great, I wouldn’t spend money just because someone else thinks it’s cool,” he said while hanging out at Westminster Mall. “I think [advertisers] think we’re lame” and can be easily manipulated.

Jennie Garner, 21, of Fountain Valley, also didn’t think the Fender name on the clothes would influence her. She did say that if the guys in the group were attractive, that might have impact.

“If they’re really cute, who knows?” Garner said, giggling. “You look at some of those Calvin Klein [models] and they stick in your head.”

As for the bigger picture, Levinson added that he wasn’t sure a high profile in Rockragz’s promotions would be a good move for either the group or the company. “I can see why they did it, if they need money” to get their career started, Levinson explained. “But once they get going, they shouldn’t come across like they’re owned by somebody.”

Rockragz should be wary, he continued, because “what if [the band] is really bad? That’s not going to look good.”

Like most garage bands, Jarrad Hirschman, Sean Vahle, Sean Simmons and Danny Denton think they’re good. Good enough to get a label some day. But they had to get some songs on tape first, a problem the foursome took to Hirschman’s father, Mark Hirschman of Laguna Beach.

Mark Hirschman approached Fender, which agreed to help out if the band would wear and otherwise endorse the product. The boys’ uneasiness was put aside when they realized the choice was either make the $800 themselves grilling burgers or play along with Fender.

Have they taken the first step toward becoming a shadow of the Monkees, a manufactured band created merely for promotional reasons?

“They would hate to hear you say that,” Mark Hirschman said. “There’s not a band in surf rock, punk or Top 40 that doesn’t use Fender equipment, so based on that, they went with Fender because it’s cool . . . but honestly, it’s not what they wanted.”

The younger Hirschman was pragmatic.

“We got to make five original songs [among them, ‘New Death,’ ‘Black and Red’ and ‘Rashomon’] that might mean something down the line,” he said, sighing. “We’re not exactly the Red Hot Chili Peppers who can go out and get what they want. Fender handed us something, and we took it.”