The Junell Street Band started as the acoustic rock/blues duo 2x12 Guitarist/Singer Gary Fights and Singer Kim Swickard in late 2003. They played around the Central Kentucky area as an acoustic duo throughout 2004. As the year began to wind down they were joined onstage by veteran bassist Sonny Waddell. They enlisted drummer/percussionist Brenda Dockins to expand what was an acoustic duo into a four piece band.

With the beginning of 2005 2x12 was developing their sound, however, things didn't quite click between Dockins and the rest of the band and she left the line-up in February 2005. Ohio native Bob Oberg was brought in as a replacement.. His laid back demenor and his slamming rock style gave the band the beat they were looking for. They began playing regular gigs in several Central KY venues. Because of the members' diverse musical backgrounds, their sound was a combination of Blues, Classic Rock, and R&B, which proved to be popular with their audiences. Highlighted by Kim's soulful lead vocals, Gary's edgy rock style, and his guitar style playing lead and rhythm guitar at the same time. Sonny Waddell brought his 45 plus years of experience playing all kinds of music to lay down his velvet smooth bass line, all held together by Bob Oberg's driving rock beat.

Things were really going well for the band as 2005 progressed until they ran into their first major problem, Guitarist/Vocalist Gary Fights suffered a major heart attack in May 2005. The band was sidelined for the next two months as he was recovering. They picked up where they'd left off in late July once again playing regular gigs at area venues. As they continued playing they also began discussing expanding the band further by adding a background vocalist and a second lead guitarist. In November 2005 Gary's sister Karen Jaggers stepped in as backing vocalist.. Her natural soprano filled in the band's upper range creating a vocal 'wall of sound'. They also had different area guitarists sitting in with them at their gigs, which gave them a reputation of no two shows being exactly alike. Their popularity began to grow as the year came to a close.

At the beginning of 2006 the band decided to take some time off to work up some new material, and to catch their breath... During this time they decided it was time to change their name. When Kim and Gary first formed 2x12, the name was representative of their 'three voices' Kim's, Gary's and Gary's 12-string guitar. But that name no longer seemed to fit the band, Also the original duo decided they wanted to once again take some gigs as an acoustic duo and having both a band and a duo with the same name would prove to be confusing both for fans and venue owners alike. The band got together and decided on the name The Junell Street Band (where Fights'studio is located and where the band was formed). Leaning more towards being a true Blues/Rock band. They are once again playing area venues, and looking to move beyond the Central KY area.