12 Stones formed in 2000 in the small New Orleans suburb of Mandeville, Louisiana, when a group of musicians barely out of their teens came together around vocalist Paul McCoy, bassist Kevin Dorr, guitarist Eric Weaver, and drummer Aaron Gainer. After performing no more than 12 live performances, they took their demo to New York City and performed at an industry showcase, and the band ended up signing to Wind Up Records to record their debut album with producer Jay Baumgardner. Their early sound fused post-grunge grit with the anthemic, emotionally direct songwriting that would define the group for years to come.
The band's self-titled debut arrived in 2002, and though it only reached number 147 on the Billboard 200, it made a stronger impression on the Christian Albums chart, and it still made the top ten on the Christian Albums Billboard Chart. Their true breakthrough moment, however, came in 2003 when McCoy duetted on "Bring Me to Life" with Evanescence, which became a smash hit and was included on the Daredevil soundtrack as well as Evanescence's debut album Fallen , dramatically raising the band's profile. That same era saw 12 Stones songs land in major film and television placements, including "Home" being used for the WWE Desire video for Kurt Angle, "Shadows" from Potter's Field being used in a trailer for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, and "Photograph" appearing on the soundtrack of the 2005 film Elektra . Their sophomore record, Potter's Field, featured a heavier, more guitar-driven sound than their debut , cementing their place in the mid-2000s post-grunge and alternative metal landscape.
The band's career arc included significant lineup shifts and resilience through industry setbacks. Affected by the impact of Hurricane Katrina on their hometown, 12 Stones recorded Anthem for the Underdog in Memphis, Tennessee with Justin Rimer and Skidd Mills during the better part of 2006, and the album was released in 2007. Bassist Kevin Dorr left in 2004 and later rejoined the band during preproduction for their fourth album, when Dorr returned to the fold after being gone for five years, and 12 Stones added Mike McManus as their new drummer, with the first fruits of this new lineup appearing as the summer 2010 EP The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday . The band then parted ways with Wind-Up, signing with Executive Music Group for their next effort , which became 2012's Beneath the Scars, an album that reunited them with Underdog producer Mills and featured the singles "Bulletproof" and "Infected." Frontman McCoy's connection to "Bring Me to Life" also carried lasting recognition, as the song later went on to win a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 2004 . Over the years the band toured relentlessly, sharing stages with acts across the hard rock and post-grunge scene and building what became a devoted, road-tested fanbase.
12 Stones remains active today, continuing to write, record, and tour more than two decades after their formation. In November 2020, the band released "Smoke and Mirrors, Volume 1," a five-song EP, showcasing their adaptability and commitment to producing new music despite changes in the music industry landscape. The band has continued playing festivals and club shows into 2025 and 2026, still drawing crowds who grew up with their early-2000s hits, a testament to a catalog that has sold more than 2 million records . Even as the band's commercial peak has receded into the past, its live shows still carry the same charged energy that made 12 Stones a staple of rock radio and rock tours in their prime.
It is that same live energy that once passed through Wayne Dennon's lens. Wayne photographed 12 Stones at one show back in 2008, capturing the band during the height of their Anthem for the Underdog touring cycle, and the resulting images, sixteen in total, remain part of this archive today. Those photographs have since been viewed by archive visitors 12,825 times, a quiet but lasting testament to both the band's staying power and to Wayne's dedication to documenting the rock touring circuit of the 2000s, one show and one band at a time.
