The Pandoras

Formed in Chino, California, and soon tied to the Los Angeles scene, The Pandoras emerged in 1982 around Paula Pierce, the band’s singer, guitarist and principal songwriter. The all-female quartet initially participated in the 1960s garage revival that intersected with Hollywood’s Paisley Underground, combining garage rock, punk, organ, nervous guitars and short choruses. After the EP I’m Here I’m Gone (1983), they released the album It’s About Time in 1984, then reshuffled personnel and moved toward a tougher, more direct sound. Stop Pretending (1986) marks that shift, continued by the mini-album Rock Hard (1988), where they leaned toward a gritty hard rock without abandoning their garage-punk roots. The band played numerous American clubs, toured with the Fuzztones and shared bills with punk and indie acts. Former members include Melanie Vammen and Kim Shattuck, who later formed The Muffs. A planned Elektra album, Come Inside, remained unreleased before the live record Live Nymphomania appeared in 1989. The original story of The Pandoras ended in 1991 with Paula Pierce’s death, though the name resurfaced in later reunions, including the EP Hey It’s The Pandoras in 2018.