Finger Eleven

Infobox musical artist
Name = Finger Eleven


Img_capt =
Background = group_or_band
Alias =
Origin = Burlington, Ontario, Canada
Genre = Alternative rock, hard rock, post-grunge
Years_active = 1989–present
Label = WindUp
Associated_acts =
URL = [http://www.fingereleven.com]
Current_members = Scott Anderson
James Black
Rick Jackett
Sean Anderson
Rich Beddoe
Past_members = Rob Gobberman :"Scott Anderson (singer)" redirects here. For the Melbourne Storm player, see Scott Anderson (rugby league)."

Finger Eleven (also known as F11 and Finger 11) is a Canadian alternative rockcite web|last=Sharpe-Young|first=Garry|title=MusicMight Biography|url=http://musicmight.com/artist/canada/finger+eleven|accessdate=2008-10-05] band formed in 1989. They originated in Burlington, Ontario, as Rainbow Butt Monkeys. They have currently released five studio albums, with their album "The Greyest of Blue Skies" bringing them into the mainstream with the hit single "First Time". The 2003 "selftitled album" achieved Gold status in the US and Platinum in Canada, largely due to 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 numerous charts including the Canadian Hot 100 and both US rock charts, as well as reaching #6 on the US Hot 100 and #12 on the Australian Singles Chart.

History

"Letters From Chutney" and "Tip" (1989–1999)

Finger Eleven first formed in their High School but then achieved a devoted Canadian following throughout their time as a band. Their first album, "Letters from Chutney" (1995) was recorded under the name The Rainbow Butt Monkeys, with money won from a rock band search contest on 97.7 CHTZ (Hits) HTZ FM's "Southern Ontario's Best Rock". The group found a new management team in Coalition Entertainment (Rob Lanni & Eric Lawrence with Sarah Parham) in 1996. Once they had realized their music changed and wanted to be taken more seriously, "The Rainbow Butt Monkeys" became "Finger Eleven". The name Finger Eleven comes from an earlier version of the song "Stephanie's Song" from the album "Tip". Scott Anderson explains: "when everything is pushing you in one direction and your instinct drives you in another that's finger eleven, I couldn't get it out of my head." Their breakthrough album, "Tip", was released on Mercury Records in Canada in 1997 and re-released by Windup Records in the United States in 1998. This also marked a change in the band's sound. Tip was produced by Arnold Lanni (Our Lady Peace). By then, they managed to tour alongside bands such as Creed and Fuel.

"The Greyest of Blue Skies" and "Finger Eleven" (2000–2006)

Following the release of "Tip", drummer Rob Gommerman left the band and was replaced by Rich Beddoe whom James Black had met coincidently at an Alice in Chains concert several years earlier in Toronto. In 2000, Finger Eleven released "The Greyest of Blue Skies", again produced by Arnold Lanni. They had success in their home country with this album going gold (50,000 units sold). Their 2003 release, selftitled album "Finger Eleven" was produced by Johnny K. This album includes the sleeper hit single "One Thing" which pushed the band into the mainstream. The song was a hit on rock, pop, and adult radio charts; the success of the single earned the band its first US Gold Album (500,000 copies) and Canadian Platinum (100,000 copies). "One Thing" reached #16 in the U.S., and had exposure on TV series such as "Scrubs", "Smallville" and "Third Watch". In 2007, the song had also been sung with Amy Lee of Evanescence. The band toured throughout Europe, Australia and North America from 2003 to 2005. They have also won a MuchMusic Video Award. In 2005 Scott Anderson appeared on Neverending White Lights's first album in song I Hope Your Heart Runs Empty.

"Them vs You vs Me" (2007–present)

Finger Eleven's most recent album titled "Them vs. You vs. Me" was released on March 6, 2007, again produced by Johnny K. The first single was "Paralyzer", which slowly became the band's most successful single to date, becoming their firstcareer TopTen hit on the U.S. Hot 100 in November 2007, as well as reaching #1 in Canada, and both U.S. rock charts. The album also features the singles "Falling On" and "I'll Keep Your Memory Vague". The band played "Paralyzer" on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" on March 14, 2007 and again almost exactly ten months later on January 9, 2008, in a testament to the longevity of the single's success. They also played at the 2007 NHL awards show on June 14, 2007. On August 24, 2007, they performed a concert on the retired battleship USS New Jersey in Camden, NJ for the "Band on a Battleship" promotional concert sponsored by Philadelphia radio station WMMR. On December 4, 2007 the DVD "UsvsThenvsNow" was released, with footage spanning their whole career. it also came with a bonus CD of Bsides, rarities and demos. "Them vs. You vs. Me" was certified Gold in the U.S. in March 2008. The band has toured extensively since the release of "Them vs. You vs. Me", playing mostly new material. Additionally, they have added a medley to the end of their shows that consists of Paralyzer, Franz Ferdinand's Take Me Out, Led Zeppelin's Trampled Under Foot and Pink Floyd's Another Brick in the Wall. They performed "Paralyzer" at the Miss USA 2008 pageant in Las Vegas, Nevada on April 11, 2008. [cite press release|title=Heather Mills, Rob Schneider, Joey Fatone, Kristian Alfonso, Amanda Beard, Christian Siriano, Shawne Merriman, Ken Paves, Kelly Carlson, and George Wayne to Judge 2008 Miss USA Pageant On NBC April 11th/Finger Eleven Will Perform Their Hit Song "Paralyzer" During the Live Telecast from Las Vegas|publisher=Miss Universe Organization|date=20080331|url=http://www.missusa.com/press/03.31.08.html] "Them vs. You vs. Me" won the 2008 Juno Award for Rock Album of the Year. The band performed live with the Calgary Youth Orchestra at the Juno Awards on April 6, 2008 in Calgary, Alberta. The performance was broadcast on national television. They have also performed Talking to the Walls, One Thing & Paralyzer on the end of the Steve Wilkos Show Tour in NY. The band were planning a European tour in the summer, including Download Festival 2008 in England and Rock In The Ring and Rock In The Park in Germany. However, these were cancelled due to Scott spraining his neck.

In popular culture

Games

*"Good Times", "Other Light" and "Conversations" were featured in the GameCube game 1080° Avalanche.
*"Good Times" was on the soundtrack of SSX 3
*"Stay in Shadow" was on the soundtrack of .
*"Paralyzer" will be a playable song in the upcoming Rock Revolution

Film and television

*"One Thing" has been used several times by World Wrestling Entertainment most notably on the Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit superstar DVDs. It was also used as the tribute video on Raw following the death of Benoit. The band also recorded the song "Slow Chemical" for WWE superstar Kane.
*Several of the band's songs have featured on the soundtracks to Marvel films. "Slow Chemical" appeared on the soundtrack to "The Punisher", "Sad Exchange" was on 2003's "Daredevil" soundtrack and an Elektra mix of "Thousand Mile Wish" was featured in the credits of the 2005 movie "Elektra".
*"First Time", "Stay and Drown", and "Drag You Down" were all featured on the Dragon Ball Z Movies "Lord Slug" and "Cooler's Revenge".
*"One Thing" was featured in the "Scrubs" episode "My Fault", as well as in episodes of "Smallville" and "Third Watch". The shortlived TV series "Life as We Know It" also had "One Thing" at the end of the sixth episode, "Natural Disasters".
*"Drag You Down" was featured in an episode of the television series John Doe.
*"Paralyzer" was featured in the 16th episode of the first season of "Gossip Girl" entitled "All About My Brother"
*"Suffocate" appeared on the "Scream 3" soundtrack.

Discography

Albums

As Rainbow Butt Monkeys

*1992: Rainbow Butt Monkeys
*1995: "Letters from Chutney" (Mercury Records)

As Finger Eleven

*1997: "Tip" (Windup Records)
*2000: "The Greyest of Blue Skies" (Windup Records)
*2003: "Finger Eleven" (Windup Records) certified Gold
*2007: "Them vs. You vs. Me" (Windup Records) certified Gold

DVD

*2007: "UsvsThenvsNow"

ingles

Note: All Canadian chart positions from June 16, 2007 and onward are from the Canadian Hot 100. All positions before that date are from Canadian Singles Chart.

Videography

* Circles (1995) (as Rainbow Butt Monkeys)
* As Far As I Can Spit (1996) (as Rainbow Butt Monkeys)
* Tip (1998)
* Quicksand (1998)
* Above (1999)
* First Time (2000)
* Drag You Down (2000)
* Bones + Joints (2001)
* Slow Chemical (2002) (to support "The Punisher" & "WWE Superstar "Kane")
* Good Times (2003)
* One Thing (2003)
* Absent Elements (2004)
* Thousand Mile Wish (2005)
* Paralyzer (2007)
* Falling On (2007)
* I'll Keep Your Memory Vague (2007)
* Talking To The Walls (2008)

External links

* [http://www.fingereleven.com Official website]
* [http://www.fingereleven.com/streetteam/faq.html U.S. Street Team]
* [http://www.fingereleven.com/streetteam/canfaq.html Canadian Street Team]
* [http://www.xndtv.com/?v=channel-rock.php&subaction=showfull&id=1174945777&ucat=1 Finger Eleven on JBTV]
*MySpace|fingereleven|Finger Eleven
* [http://www.icebergradio.com/fingereleven Audio Interview] recorded February 2007

References