Pandora's

Box is one of Fayette County's newest bands and they are

making some noise both figuratively and literally.

The band

opened up the Bidfest last Saturday night at the old

Fayette County High School cafeteria and despite some

adversity (their bassist had just had his wisdom teeth

taken out and the drums were a little loud) they rocked

the house.

The band is

made up of five teenagers from Fayette County. Kevin

Kane, the rhythm guitarist, Mike Dingler, the lead

vocalist, and Rick Burgess, the lead guitarist, are all

seniors that met in English class at Fayette County High

School. Their drummer is Eric Taber, a senior at McIntosh

High School, and their bassist is Ben Jerrell, a junior

from Starr's Mill High School.

It is a

welcome change from the attitude that the schools and the

students are rivals. They are a laid back bunch that has

set realistic goals and just looks to have fun and

develop as musicians and as a band.

Pandora's

Box formed in February, and in six short months have

spread their name around a good bit. Playing mostly

original music, band members describe their music as

heavy metal. They liken their sound to Fear Factory or

older Metallica, covering one of the latter's earlier

songs during nearly every set.

At first,

venues seemed a bit hard to come by. Sunshine Playland in

Fayetteville stopped having band night, school functions

are extremely hard to come by, and to play at most places

in Atlanta, you need to have a demo tape.

They soon

found some salvation, though, in a member of another

local band, Chris Cannon of Phlox.

"Cannon

is awesome," said Burgess. "He is always

putting shows together and more often than not, we're

invited." Cannon was the mastermind behind the

Bidfest show, as well as several shows that have taken

place at the Log Cabin in Fayetteville. Pandora's Box has

even shelled out the cash to play at the Log Cabin and

they consider it well worth the money to rent it out.

Some nights

the boys would just rent out the space to practice all

night and sleep there, but recently they have paid extra

and brought in their loyal crowds.

Another

venue that has opened its arms to local bands is

Jitterbuggers in Peachtree City. While Pandora's Box is

appreciative of the venue, the extremely young crowd

seems to keep kids their own age out. "Jitterbuggers

is open to 12-year-olds and as most people know, high

school age kids don't typically spend time with kids

still in middle school," said one band member. Even

Dingler's father echoed the sentiment after a

Jitterbugger's show that the band was "a group of

men among children."

The parents

of the members of Pandora's Box have been very supportive

of the group's efforts. Burgess's parents have helped

purchase some of the necessary equipment, Dingler's

parents are donating a room in the new house to the band

and soundproofing it for the benefit of both parties, and

Kane's father is like the band's unofficial roadie,

present at every show.

It hasn't

all been easy for the band and they still have a long way

to go. Like every group of musicians, there are struggles

and arguments brought on by exhaustion and normal

adolescent egos.

The band

has played at least one show every week this summer. This

weekend will be the first weekend off for the band,

before their biggest gig yet, an opening slot at The

Somber Reptile in Atlanta Aug. 28. Their biggest obstacle

may come at the end of this year when four of the five

members of the band graduate and start to be pulled in

different directions.

"We'll

just have to see what the situation is like then,"

said Burgess. "If things are going well, we all plan

to give it some more time and see what happens."

The band

plans to release a CD locally before the end of the year,

producing it on Kane's computer. Until then, they look

forward to rocking Fayette County with their friends in

other local bands as much as possible and being an

entertaining and inspiring act.

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