Standing Hawthorn

“Reunite your heart and your mind, you won’t be surprised what you’ll
find” Standing Hawthorn singer Paul Schulte’s evasive and passionate
lyrical style will never let the listener in on the exact intent of this
line or how it connects to the bigger picture in “When its Time” , the
lush anthem on the bands new release Living Without Lies. But taken out of
context it becomes a statement that defines the record and the current
state of the band. The present state of Standing Hawthorn is as close to
ideal as a rock band could be. The assemblage of songs and the wide
variety of influences that swirl in and out of the new record is a
testament to a band presenting itself at its best. Honest, passionate,
convictive and proud.

Standing Hawthorn is Schulte, Chris Karn, Brent Loomis and Stoner (Douglas
Stoner Peterson). The four-some have a long history together. Meeting in
High School and finding out that their musical tastes were much different
than everybody else’s at the time. They bonded over bands like REM, The
Replacements, The Jam and The Clash. What started as a youth filled, “lets
play at this party and see if we can get chicks”, turned into a much more
serious effort and conscious decision to see how far this band thing could
go. After all it was by far the most exciting thing going on in Southern
Orange County. The band complimented each other well with Karns'
progressive, layered guitar sounds, Loomis' intricate, galloping bass
lines and Stoner's solid, sometimes reckless style of drumming. A truly
unique sound was born in the suburbs.

The songs on Living Without Lies project the atmosphere and the changing
seasons and relationships that the band encountered over the last two
years. It was a group effort in the truest sense–trading song ideas,
switching instruments, sharing lyrics, crafting melodies and everybody
singing, which was a first for the band.

Now armed with their finest work to date, Standing Hawthorn is set out to
share the fruits of their labor and take a fresh look at what’s ahead.