Rehearsal-space owner recalled as a real gentleman""

Atlanta's tightly knit musical community was rocked last week by the death of rehearsal-space owner Mark Mahony, 35, owner of the Black Box studios near Little Five Points. "The phone's been ringing off the hook," says Black Box office manager Manya Kalom, as she tidies up a collection of candles at the base of a vase of flowers, a hasty memorial to her former employer. "I don't think he ever had any idea how much he'll be missed."

Kalom says she became worried last Thursday, when Mahony's pet cats began rummaging through garbage cans for food. She clambered to a window in Mahony's on-site apartment and found his body. Apparently, she says, Mahony died by his own hand; the Fulton County medical examiner's office says the cause of death is still undetermined.

The Black Box, a sprawling warren of soundproofed wooden cubicles housed in an old warehouse, rents rehearsal rooms to at least 100 bands, including such well-known local acts as Nashville Pussy, Hanging Francis and Black Mollies, among many others. Mahony, an Irish emigré, designed and built the space himself about seven years ago, and rapidly developed a clientele appreciative of his low rates and easygoing manner.

Although Mahony himself played bass and enjoyed studio production work, the reserved entrepreneur was passionate about classic motorcycles and movies .

Kalom says the rehearsal space will remain open at least until Mahony's parents can arrive from Ireland to settle his affairs. Mahony was divorced and had no children, says his ex-wife, Barbara Mahony. She says she and Mahony's many friends plan "to do whatever possible to keep those doors open for business, 'cause that was his dream."