Finger Eleven

Finger Eleven is a Canadian rock band formed in Burlington, Ontario, in 1990. Gaining mainstream prominence in 2000 with The Greyest of Blue Skies, they have released eight studio albums (seven as Finger Eleven and one as Rainbow Butt Monkeys).

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 no. 16. Their 2007 album, Them vs. You vs. Me, launched the single "Paralyzer", which topped the Canadian Hot 100 and both US rock charts and reached 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. 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 2011 Juno Awards. Five Crooked Lines, their seventh 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 formed at Lester B. Pearson High School in Burlington, Ontario, as Rainbow Butt Monkeys. One of their first shows was at a school Christmas concert in 1990, and they won the 97.7 CHTZ (Hits) HTZ FM's Rock Search competition in 1994. At the time, the lineup consisted of lead vocalist Scott Anderson, guitarists James Black and Rick Jackett, bassist Sean Anderson, and drummer Rob Gommerman.

They signed to Mercury Records, and after releasing four EPs, they issued the album Letters from Chutney (1995), which received generally favourable reviews. In 1996, the management company Coalition Entertainment took them on.

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, and they signed to Wind-up Records instead, which re-released the record in 1998. 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, whom James Black had met at an Alice in Chains concert in Toronto several years earlier.

The Greyest of Blue Skies (2000–2002)

In 2000, Finger Eleven released The Greyest of Blue Skies, again produced by Lanni. The album was commercially successful in Canada and received Gold certification. 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. In 2002, Finger Eleven covered and remixed the entrance theme for wrestler Kane, a song they called "Slow Chemical", which was recorded and mixed at Metalworks Studios in Mississauga, Ontario. It was also used in WrestleMania 20 (2004), WrestleMania 22 (2006), WWE Backlash (2006), WrestleMania 23 (2007), and in the video game WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008, as well as on the soundtrack for 2004's film The Punisher.

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, 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, and appeared in the TV shows Scrubs, Smallville, and Third Watch (uncredited). It was also used on World Wrestling Entertainment's 2007 edition of 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. "Good Times" and "Conversations" were used in the Nintendo video game 1080° Avalanche. In 2004, the song "Stay in Shadow" was used in the video game Burnout 3: Takedown. In 2005, "Thousand Mile Wish" was used in the soundtrack of the superhero film Elektra.

The band followed this success with a tour of North America, Europe, and Australia, from 2003 to 2005. They played numerous festivals and opened for Evanescence, Nickelback, and The Tragically Hip.