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Unpainted Arizona started as a vision by Rob Pendleton and myself around late 1996 - early 1997. We were playing with a band called Big Boys at the time, but were looking for a change. The original project featured Jeff Coleman on guitar (you can find his current band The Feeders on our friends list). He was a high school era friend of mine - and was the person who came up with the band name - which came from the movie Raising Arizona featuring Nicholas Cage & Holly Hunter. Jeff, Rob, and I had several rehearsals at the Little Rock Air Force Base, but never played a live show. The idea faded for several months, but was reborn after John King joined the Big Boys. The three of us decided to branch out on our own, leaving the Big Boys behind. We played regularly in the Hot Springs/Conway/Jacksonville area for about a year and a half - until I moved to Albuquerque, NM in late Spring of 1998.
After moving back from Albuquerque in the Fall of the same year - I rejoined the Big Boys and met Chuck Driver. After about a year a half I'd had enough - and decided to reform Unpainted Arizona. This updated line-up featured the original trio, plus Chuck.
I came to know Tommy through Chuck sometime in 2000 (The two of them had worked together at All Star Music). Tommy had filled in on drums on occasion when we were still with the Big Boys - at that point he was playing with Chris Claude in a band known as Irish Redd. In 2001 Tommy was brought in temporarily to fill in during Rob's absence - he was later made a permanent member.
In August 2003 John decided to take a break from the club scene. We switched gears, and brought in Tommy's friend Chris to fill the void. In doing so, we changed the name of the band from Unpainted Arizona to Irish Redd. Chris had several catchy original tunes, as well as an established Northeast Arkansas fan base. We branched out into the Memphis/Tunica market. This line-up lasted for just over a year - when in October 2004 Chris decided to go his own way. Shortly thereafter we changed the name of the band to Colour By Numbers.
Colour By Numbers lasted almost two years. We had flirted with the idea of adding a fourth member to the band for some time. We'd even contacted John about rejoining to no avail. In a strange twist of fate, John called me August 4, saying that if we were still in the market for a second guitarist, he was ready. So were we. With the best known lineup of Unpainted Arizona back together, it was only natural that we change the band name once again - and so we did. Hopefully for the last time ;)
By: Kenny Reynolds, September 2006
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