Finger Eleven is a Canadian Rock music band from Burlington, Ontario, formed in 1990. They have released seven studio albums (six as Finger Eleven and one as Rainbow Butt Monkeys), with their album The Greyest of Blue Skies bringing them into the mainstream. Their 2003 self-titled album achieved Gold status in the United States and Platinum in Canada, largely from the success of the single "One Thing", which marked the band's first placing on the US Hot 100 Chart at number 16. Their 2007 album, Them vs. You vs. Me launched the single "Paralyzer", which went on to top the Canadian Hot 100 and both US rock charts, as well as reaching No. 6 on the US Hot 100 and No. 12 on the Australian Singles Chart. They won the Juno Award for Rock Album of the Year in 2008.[[1]] The same album was later certified gold in the US and multi-platinum in Canada. They released their sixth studio album, Life Turns Electric, on October 5, 2010; it was nominated as Best Rock Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2011. Five Crooked Lines, their 7th studio album, was released in 2015. Between 1995 and 2016, Finger Eleven was among the top 75 best-selling Canadian artists in Canada and among the top 25 best-selling Canadian bands in Canada.
History
Letters from Chutney (1990–1996)
Finger Eleven first formed at Lester B. Pearson High School
in Burlington, Ontario as Stone Soul Picnic, then changed their name to Rainbow Butt Monkeys. One of their first shows was at a school Christmas concert in 1990, and they won the
CHTZ-FM's Rock Search competition. At the time, the band's lineup consisted of lead vocalist Scott Anderson, guitarists James Black and Rick Jackett, bassist Sean Anderson (bass), and drummer Rob Gommerman.
They were signed by Mercury Records and, after releasing four EPs, they issued the album Letters from Chutney (1995), which received generally favourable reviews.[ "B&E: Finger Eleven, Funeral For A Friend.". Billboard, April 8, 2004]
Tip (1997–1999)
In 1997, the band changed its name to Finger Eleven, which came from a demo of their song "Thin Spirits".
Their first album under the new name was
Tip, produced by
Arnold Lanni (Our Lady Peace).
Mercury dropped the band after the album's release; they were then signed to
Wind-up Records, which re-released the record in 1998.
[. Chart Attack, May 18, 1999, by James Hayashi-Tennant] During this period, the band toured heavily, as part of
Edgefest, the Vans
Warped Tour and, several times, opening for Creed
and Fuel.
In 1999, the track "Quicksand" was used in the TV series
Roswell (uncredited).
Following the release of Tip, drummer Rob Gommerman left the band. He was replaced by Rich Beddoe,
The Greyest of Blue Skies (2000–2002)
In 2000, Finger Eleven released
The Greyest of Blue Skies,
again produced by Arnold Lanni.
[ "Finger Eleven The Greyest of Blue Skies". AllMusic, Review by David Reamer] The album was commercially successful in Canada and was certified Gold.
This was another period of heavy touring, with the band playing
X-Fest,
Edgefest,
K-Rockathon, and the four-city Canadian festival Summersault 2000. Finger Eleven also began appearing on its own, and headlining concerts with other bands.
A song from this album, "Suffocate", was used in the 2000 film Scream 3. In 2001, the song "Drag You Down" was used in the animated sitcom Daria.
Finger Eleven (2003–2006)
The band's 2003 self-titled album,
Finger Eleven, was produced by
Johnny K.
This album, characterized by screamed vocals over repetitive rock guitar rhythms,
[ "Finger Eleven - Good Times (Wind-Up)", Manchester Evening News, BySimon Donohue, August 12, 2004] included the hit single "One Thing",
which earned them their first US Gold and Canadian Platinum albums. "One Thing" reached No.16 on
Billboard's U.S charts,
[ "Finger Eleven Returns with Hit Song 'Paralyzer'". VOA News, November 1, 2009] and appeared in the TV shows
Scrubs,
,
and
Third Watch (uncredited).
It was also used on World Wrestling Entertainment's 2007 edition of
WWE Raw, during a tribute video for
Chris Benoit, who had killed himself and his family on June 25.
In 2004, Finger Eleven won the MuchMusic Video Award for Best Video for "One Thing" and performed the song on
Live with Regis and Kelly and
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
In 2003, the Finger Eleven song "Good Times" was used in the soundtrack for the snowboard racing game SSX 3.
The band followed this success with a tour of North America,
Them vs. You vs. Me (2007–2009)
Finger Eleven's fifth studio album,
Them vs. You vs. Me, was released on March 6, 2007, with Johnny K returning as producer. The style on this album was more mellow than previous work.
[ "Screaming gives way to ranting for Finger Eleven". Georgia Straight, by Gregory Adams on May 9, 2007] The lead single, "
Paralyzer", became the band's biggest hit; it spent fifty weeks on the charts and reached No. 6 on the U.S. Hot 100 in November 2007,
[ "Finger Eleven not Paralyzed by success". Hamilton Spectator, December 18, 2007] as well as attaining the No. 1 spot in Canada and on U.S. rock charts.
The album also featured the singles "
Falling On", "I'll Keep Your Memory Vague", and "Talking to the Walls".
"Paralyzer" was included in the soundtrack of the 2007 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show,
In December 2007, the DVD Us-vs-Then-vs-Now was released, with footage spanning the band's career up to that point.
Them vs. You vs. Me was certified Gold in the U.S. in March 2008, peaking at No. 14 on the Hot 100.
During this period, Finger Eleven continued to tour heavily, playing various festivals and numerous concerts with Seether, 3 Doors Down, and Kid Rock.
Life Turns Electric (2010–2012)
Finger Eleven's sixth album,
Life Turns Electric,
was released in October 2010. The first single from the record, "Living in a Dream", was released on iTunes in July of that year; it added elements of funk rock and dance rock. A music video for the second single, "Whatever Doesn't Kill Me", was released in January 2011.
The video was directed by
Alon Isocianu. The remaining singles, "Stone Soul" and "Pieces Fit", were released without music videos. The album received mixed reviews.
It peaked at No 88 on the Billboard Charts.
Finger Eleven toured in support of the record throughout 2011 and 2012, again playing numerous festivals and concerts with Seether, Papa Roach, and Three Days Grace.[ "CONCERT REVIEW: Finger Eleven". Regina Leader-Post, Jeff DeDekker, August 2, 2012]
Five Crooked Lines (2013–2016)
At the end of 2013, drummer Rich Beddoe left the band; he was replaced by Steve Molella
the following year. In the interim, Finger Eleven recorded their next album with session drummer Chris Powell.
Also in 2013, Wind-Up Records' catalogue was sold to the Bicycle Music Company
which, in 2015, merged with Concord Music Group, so that Finger Eleven's new label became Concord Bicycle Music.
The band toured during the summer of 2015 with Three Days Grace.
Finger Eleven issued their seventh album, Five Crooked Lines, on July 31, 2015, and released the lead single "Wolves and Doors"
Twentieth anniversary of Tip and Rainbow Butt Monkeys reunion (2017–2018)
Finger Eleven scheduled three shows in southern Ontario to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the Canadian release of
Tip, on March 23 in Burlington, March 24 in St. Catharines, and March 31 in Toronto. All three of these shows had a similar format: there was an exclusively acoustic set, with Q&A before the show. For the main event, the band played
Tip in its entirety; this was followed by an encore of
Best of the Rest, a selection of band favourites from their other albums.
On June 9, 2018, Finger Eleven performed as Rainbow Butt Monkeys for the first time since 1997, playing at Burlington's Sound of Music Festival and showcasing songs from their debut album, Letters from Chutney.
Greatest Hits, Last Night on Earth (2023–present)
On May 10, 2023, the band released a music video for the song "Together Right", their first new material in over seven years, from their upcoming compilation album.
was issued on June 16 of the same year.
In July 2024, Finger Eleven announced that their eighth studio album would be out in 2025, and in August, they released the first single, titled "Adrenaline".
Band members
Current members
-
Scott Anderson – lead vocals (1990–present)
-
James Black – lead guitar, backing vocals (1990–present)
-
Rick Jackett – rhythm guitar (1990–present)
-
Sean Anderson – bass (1990–present)
-
Steve Molella – drums (2014–present)
Former members
-
Rob Gommerman – drums (1990–1998)
-
Rich Beddoe – drums (1998–2013)
Former session musicians
-
Chris Powell – drums (2014)
Timeline
Discography
Studio albums
-
Letters from Chutney (1995) (as Rainbow Butt Monkeys)
-
Tip (1997)
-
The Greyest of Blue Skies (2000)
-
Finger Eleven (2003)
-
Them vs. You vs. Me (2007)
-
Life Turns Electric (2010)
-
Five Crooked Lines (2015)
-
Last Night on Earth (2025)
Awards and nominations
See also
External links
