From Butt Monkeys to Finger Eleven

Hailing from Burlington, Finger Eleven have gone from underground obscurity to achieve international success, while simultaneously helping the Canadian music scene be competitive in the global market and cracking the lucrative American music industry.

The band, initially called Rainbow Butt Monkeys, was a major influence in the Indie music scene that was making it big in the mid 90s. By winning a battle of the bands competition sponsored by 97.7 HTZ FM at Milton's Hardball Café, the band was able to record their debut album Letters From Chutney.

Letters From Chutney allowed the band to display their versatility and explore various styles and influences. The album also allowed guitarist James Black to showcase his incredible abilities on guitar. Compared to later Finger Eleven albums released under big labels, their first album had huge guitar solos, wah-pedal fueled funk-inspired riffs and an innovative use of effects showcased on songs such as “Danananana,” “St. Louis” and “Cake.”

The biggest highlight on the Letters From Chutney album was their first single “Circles.” That song basically sums up what the bands is all about, where the band was going and how they became Finger Eleven.

The band changed their name for the release of the album Tip, initially on Mercury Records in 1997. The band felt that the name Rainbow Butt Monkeys wasn't the most professional sounding name for a band that wanted to be taken seriously, plus their sound had changed slightly from their previous funk-inspired rock to a much heavier and angrier tone. The band was later dropped by Mercury Records and signed by Wind-Up, a label known more for their release of Christian rock acts, who re-released Tip in 1998.

The Greyest of Blue Skies was the follow-up and featured album artwork by guitarist James Black. The theme involved a marionette throughout and is said to be an expression of that they were free of previous struggles, such as being dropped by their label and drummer Rob Gommerman leaving the band, now being free of their constraints.

The album had great commercial success in Canada with the singles “Drag You Down” and “First Time,” yet was still unable to gain the attentions of Americans. That success came with their self-titled album in 2003. The album would later go gold, largely due to the success of the songs “Thousand Mile Wish” and the monster hit “One Thing.” Finger Eleven also had tracks appear in numerous movies, video games and even as a theme for WWE wrestler Kane.

On March 6, Finger Eleven's new album Them vs. You vs. Me hit the shelves. The leadoff single “Paralyzer” is nearly false advertising for the album. The band has steered away from it's angrier, more aggressive past and have focused more on the songwriting. It wasn't quite what I was expecting to hear, but it's a good thing to see a band evolve.