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Hailing from the rural town of Mandeville, a small suburb just north of New Orleans, Louisiana USA, this Alternative-Rock outfit was formed in 2000 by vocalist Paul McCoy, guitarist Eric Weaver, bassist Kevin Dorr and drummer Aaron Gainer.

Though comprised of four guys all under the age of twenty, 12 Stones recorded a demo which began to circulate quickly among fans and major record labels, thus resulting in a record deal with Wind-up Records who released their eponymous debut full-length disc in April 2002. The record became a top 10 hit on the U.S. Billboard's Christian Albums chart and crept into the Billboard 200. The first single "Broken" displayed the energy of this young guys receiving significant airplay on alt-Rock radio; it was followed by two further excellent singles: "The Way I Feel" and "Crash". Over the next two years the group sold over 300,000 copies of their first album, largely through touring with the likes of Creed and 3 Doors Down and word-of-mouth.

Paul McCoy had a guest appearance on Evanescence's transatlantic hit single "Bring Me To Life", duetting with Amy Lee.

In early 2004, Dorr left the band and guitar player Greg Trammell joined in time for the recording of the group's second effort, "Potter's Field", which was released in August the same year. It peaked at #29 on The Billboard Top 200 chart and included the singles "Photograph" and "Far Away", the latter of which hit the top 40 of The Mainstream Rock Tracks.

Operating as a five-piece unit with the addition of rhythm guitarist Justin Rimer, 12 Stones issued its third studio record, "Anthem For The Underdog", in August 2007; the CD debuted at #53 on The Billboard 200 spawning three Hot Mainstream Rock top 30 hits "Lie To Me", the title-track and "Adrenaline".

Three years later the band put out a stop gap release called "The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday", a 5-song EP which featured the Active Rock top 30 hit "We Are One", a fist-pumping ode to the men and women of America's military. This was the final release for Wind-up Records.

12 Stones announced in early 2011 that the band has signed a new record deal with Executive Music Group. In June of that same year, the group, now comprised of McCoy, Weaver, Rimer and two newcomers, Brad Reynolds on bass and Michael McManus on drums released a single called "Bulletproof" which is expected to feature on their fourth full album, "Only Human". The disc, due for release in March 2012, also includes "Worlds Collide" and "Infected".

 

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