Finger Eleven
Rock
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Finger Eleven is a Canadian rock band from Burlington, Ontario, formed in 1990 at Lester B. Pearson High School. Founding members Scott Anderson (vocals) and Sean Anderson (bass), along with guitarists James Black and Rick Jackett, formed the band with original drummer Rob Gommerman. The group initially performed as Stone Soul Picnic, then changed their name to Rainbow Butt Monkeys, before finally settling on Finger Eleven. The name comes from an earlier version of the song "Thin Spirits" from their album "Tip," with lead singer Scott Anderson explaining: "when everything is pushing you in one direction and your instinct drives you in another—that's finger eleven."
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, which helped launch their career. They gained mainstream prominence in 2000 with "The Greyest of Blue Skies" and have released seven studio albums (six as Finger Eleven and one as Rainbow Butt Monkeys). Their 2003 self-titled album included the hit single "One Thing," which earned them their first US Gold and Canadian Platinum albums.
"Paralyzer" from their 2007 album "Them vs. You vs. Me" quickly became the band's biggest hit ever, achieving massive commercial success and earning them the Rock Album of the Year award at the 2008 Juno Awards. Between 1995 and 2016, Finger Eleven was among the top 75 best-selling Canadian artists and among the top 25 best-selling Canadian bands in Canada. Their Greatest Hits album included a cover of Pink Floyd's "Welcome To The Machine" and a new song called "Together Right," which hit number one at Canadian Rock radio for five weeks, cementing their status as Canadian rock legends.