After Forming in Murrieta, Band Looks to Release Second Album

Three musicians who formed a band in Murrieta last year are quickly finding their groove in the music world.

After playing the San Diego music scene for several months, the trio who make up May Stands Still went on tour in Washington for a month, then settled down in Burbank. They are scheduled to play at the Viper Room in West Hollywood this month, but more recently they appeared on stage in Old Town Temecula.

With Emily Herndon singing lead vocals and playing guitar, Asha Sukumar on violin, mandolin and vocals, and Wesley Switzer on bass, May Stands Still is an acoustic blend of folk and pop. Fans of Herndon’s soft voice that has hints of Sarah McLachlan are quickly being drawn to their original sounds.

But even before their first CD, “Matter of Time,” was released last summer, they already had a fan base. It’s the beginning of a fulfillment of a life spent surrounded by music. Switzer and Sukumar met while attending school at the Berklee School of Music in Boston. When Switzer, who grew up in Fallbrook, settled back in Murrieta, he kept in touch with Sukumar. Soon they were introduced to Herndon.

As the band’s front man, 24-year-old Herndon said she wasn’t always so forthcoming. She didn’t attend college for music. Rather, she majored in psychology at the University of Redlands. Music was in her blood, though; she began writing lyrics before she entered high school.

“It was something I did in private for a long time. I was really shy,” Herndon said.

The first time she played in front of anyone was for her sister’s birthday party. She kept up with her hobby through college, graduating in 2009. Within a few months she was living in San Diego, where she met and shared her works with Sukumar and eventually Switzer, who is a producer.

“There was material I had from before and they found inspiration in it. And then we started to collaborate. Now, Asha and I have written two songs together,” Herndon said.

“We were all living in the San Diego-area, well Wes was in Murrieta. He would commute from Murrieta and we would play in San Diego. We would record in Murrieta,” Herndon said.

Then there was the challenge of naming the band. For all three band members, May Stand Stills describes the essence they believe defines their music.

“The month of May means a lot to me. It is a happy feeling right before the end of something. It’s trying to capture that and living like that every day,” Herndon said.

Switzer, who grew up around music because his dad was a musician, said it had a lot to do with one of their first songs together as a band.

“'May Song' had already been written, and it's about the good times and memories of a specific time of year. Not so much the month; but the season, the atmosphere, the vibe. So, May Stands Still was about capturing that, and conveying that through the music year round,” Switzer said.

For Sukumar, it was about trying to find something with true meaning.

“As soon as May Stands Still was mentioned, we just knew that it reflected all of us. For me, May represents any emotion or experience, positive or negative. I like to think that in each individual song we ‘capture a moment’ and we all get to experience it fully for a few minutes,” Sukumar said.

So locals can experience May Stands Still, the band plays the last Sunday of each month at the PUBlic House in Old Town Temecula. When they are not back in Southwest Riverside playing for their local fan base, they are networking in Los Angeles. It was a mutual decision for them to move together to Burbank.

“This is something we want to pursue as our career. L.A. is more of a challenge, but Murrieta was definitely a stepping stone for us,” Herndon said.

According to manager Will Townsend, the band is compiling their next release.

“They are getting together on a regular basis to really focus on the next release, and I'm sure people will really respond to it,” Townsend said.

Check out May Stands Still on Facebook for their performance schedule.