Finger Eleven
(also known as F11
and Finger 11
) is a Canadian alternative rock [1] 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. The 2003 self-titled 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. They won the Juno Award for Rock Album of the Year in 2008. [2]
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FINGER ELEVEN TICKETS
EVENT | DATE | AVAILABILITY |
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Creed, 3 Doors Down & Mammoth WVH Tickets 11/29 | Nov 29, 2024 Fri, 7:00 PM | | Creed, 3 Doors Down & Mammoth WVH Tickets 11/30 | Nov 30, 2024 Sat, 7:00 PM | | Creed, 3 Doors Down & Mammoth WVH Tickets 12/2 | Dec 02, 2024 Mon, 7:00 PM | | Creed, 3 Doors Down & Mammoth WVH Tickets 12/4 | Dec 04, 2024 Wed, 7:00 PM | | Creed, 3 Doors Down & Mammoth WVH Tickets 12/5 | Dec 05, 2024 Thu, 7:00 PM | |
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History
Letters from Chutney
and Tip
(1995–1999)
Finger Eleven first formed in their high school, but then achieved a devoted
Canadian following throughout their time as a band. Formed in high school one of their first shows was at a school Xmas concert in 1990. They were originally called Rainbow Butt Monkeys. They released their first full album
Letters from Chutney
(1995) 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, "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 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 coincidentally 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, self-titled 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
. It was used on
World Wrestling Entertainment's (WWE's)
June 25,
2007 edition of
RAW
during a tribute video featuring
Chris Benoit who had killed himself on
June 24. In 2007, a duet version with
Amy Lee of
Evanescence was also recorded.
The band toured throughout Europe, Australia and North America from 2003 to 2005. They have won a
MuchMusic Video Award.
Them vs You vs Me
(2007–present)
Finger Eleven's most recent album titled
Them vs. You vs. Me
(written by Shane Morey of Racine WI) was released on March 6, 2007, again produced by Johnny K. The first single was "
Paralyzer" which gradually became the band's most successful single to date, becoming their first career Top Ten 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 features the singles "
Falling On", "
I'll Keep Your Memory Vague" and "
Talking to the Walls".
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 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
Us-vs-Then-vs-Now
was released, with footage spanning their whole career.
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.
[3]
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 performed
Talking to the Walls,
One Thing &
Paralyzer on the end of the
Steve Wilkos Show Tour in
NY.
The band was planning a European tour in the summer, including
Download Festival 2008 in
England,
Rock Am Ring, and
Rock Im Park in
Germany. However, these were canceled due to Scott spraining his neck.
In December 2008, the band toured Europe supporting Kid Rock including one date at London Hammersmith Apollo.
On August 29, 2009, the band traveled to Tecumseh, ON to perform at the annual Cornfest with opening bands Less A Day and Hail the Villain.
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 Burnout 3: Takedown.
- "Paralyzer" is a playable song in Rock Revolution, including the DS version.
- "Paralyzer" is expected to feature on the upcoming Guitar Hero: Modern Hits for DS. [4]
Film and television
- In 2002, the band recorded the song "Slow Chemical" for WWE superstar Kane. "One Thing" has been used several times by World Wrestling Entertainment on several shows and DVDs.
- 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 short-lived TV series Life as We Know It
featured "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.
- "Stay in Shadow" appeared on the soundtrack of the 2003 remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
, wrongly listed as "Stand in Shadow". Additionally, it is listed as track number 16, but it is actually the 15th track on the album.
- "Complicated Questions" appeared in the 16th episode of the second season of CSI: Miami entitled "Invasion", playing distinctly in the background of the surfboard shop when a suspect was being questioned.
Discography
Studio albums
- 1995: Letters from Chutney
- 1997: Tip
- 2000: The Greyest of Blue Skies
- 2003: Finger Eleven
- 2007: Them vs. You vs. Me
References
- MusicMight Biography
- Finger Eleven wins Juno http://junoawards.ca/08_nominees_cat.php?id=2327
- 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
- ESRB Leaks Guitar Hero Modern Hits for DS: News from 1UP.com