Ep3 may not be considered the typical college-kid garage band.

Some listeners expecting the normal, modern screamo or thrash may be distraught by the atypically rare use of vocals. In its place, Ep3 offers dynamic rhythms and songs that stretch into the epic with great artistic coordination.

“A jam-band sort of describes us,” Ep3 lead guitar player and undeclared freshman John McCarron said. “We’re kind of straight rock, but it’s an intense rock show. It’s not all happy-hippie music. We get pretty dark in different perspectives, kind of like Pink Floyd but a little more extreme.”

The quartet came about when bassist Pat Scalambrino and keyboardist Brent “Boomer” Eligado collaborated after meeting at Kent State. They found artists such as Phish, Les Claypool and the Allman Brothers had touched their own ideal sound.

The pair teamed up with drummer Steven Homan, and the new trio shaped their sound while searching for a title.

“We were trying to go with more of a psychedelic and spacey theme to describe our elements,” said McCarron of the band’s name – which is short for Eight Planets Past Pluto.

McCarron joined the group later, moving from Dover after being swayed by an impressive rehearsal.

University of Akron percussion major Tom Hilton later replaced Ep3’s drummer on the kit when Homan moved to Colorado.

Today, Ep3 has wowed audience eyes and ears, creating more than 35 original songs to choose from at venues everywhere from Kent’s Club Khameleon to Columbus’s Ruby Tuesday. The band also showcases a coordinating light show at every live performance, utilizing more than $3,000 worth of lighting equipment.

Last May, Ep3 won a Rathskeller competition to play at the May 4 commemoration with its original “Cuatro de Mayo,” a song that accounts for each of the four days leading up to the infamous May 4 tragedy.

Despite this and an original song about President Bush, McCarron says Ep3’s work does not have one political or particular message.

“Sometimes we do touch on political subjects, but we really just like people coming out and having a good time,” McCarron said. “We don’t promote to any specific crowd. All kinds of different people come out to watch us, young and old.”

Lately, Ep3 has had a lot in the works with performances scheduled for October 4 at Cleveland’s Grog Shop and during Kent’s October 28 Halloween night in the downtown pavilion.

The band also recently begun to record its first album. McCarron said the album will likely feature 10 songs and be released this December or January.

“We’ve been saving money from previous shows for the studio,” McCarron said. “I’m not sure which songs will be on the album, but we’ve got a good base to choose from, and we’re constantly coming up with new material. We come up with new ideas every day. We’re extremely excited.”

At 10 p.m. tomorrow, look for Ep3 to accompany musical groups Xela and 1959 at Fat Jimmy’s. If you can’t wait until then, visit the Ep3 Web site at www.ep3music.com for a taste of things to come. Either way, you’ll find an otherworldly experience to satisfy your rock ‘n’ roll needs.

Contact ALL reporter Ally Melling at [email protected].