Vedera (formerly Veda) was an American rock band from Kansas City, Missouri. The band was founded as Veda in 2003 by members Kristen May, Brian Little, Jason Douglas and Drew Little. They released The Weight of an Empty Room, their first full length LP in 2005. That year, they changed their name to Vedera after a similarly named band pursued litigation against them. After signing to Epic Records in 2007, Vedera toured with The All-American Rejects and The Fray. Stages, their first studio album, was released in 2009 and peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart. Vedera disbanded in 2011. History The band members all grew up the Kansas City suburb of Blue Springs, Missouri. Kristen May was born into a musical family and her mother introduced her to the work of Joni Mitchell, Carole King, and Jim Croce. When May was 17, her father, a drummer, gave her a guitar and she began writing her own songs. Meanwhile, Brian Little's father gave his son his first guitar at age 13 and Little played in bands throughout high school. May and Little knew each other in high school and began playing in a band together called, Red Authentic, after May returned home following an aborted stint at college in Nashville. "I didn't want to study music anymore, I just wanted to play it", she said. In 2003, the band she had formed with her brothers needed a guitarist and they called on Little. However, with her brothers unable to tour, May and Little asked Little's younger brother Drew and high school friend Jason Douglas to join. The band was renamed "Veda". Veda to Vedera In the summer of 2004, Veda recorded its six-song EP, This Broken City, at Black Lodge with the support of Ed Rose. In 2005, the band released an LP entitled The Weight of an Empty Room. In early December 2005, Veda's label, Second Nature Recordings, announced that the band had been forced to change its name from "Veda" to "Vedera" to avoid confusion with the band Vaeda, whose name was pronounced the same way. Beginning in the summer of 2005, Vedera toured with Dredg, MewithoutYou, Communiqué, Thrice, Mae, and Underoath. In early January 2006, Vedera went on a 40 city tour opening for Mutemath, followed by an opening stint for Owen. In the Summer of 2006, Vedera joined a tour with Lucero and Murder