---What is a Finger Eleven anyways???
-The name actually, comes from an earlier version of the song "thin spirits." Scott Anderson explains: "When everything is pushing you in one direction and your instinct drives you in another."
---At one time they were known as The Rainbow Butt Monkeys, but were tired of being the BUTT of many jokes!!
---It's safe to say that for the members of finger eleven, their former moniker, The Rainbow Butt Monkeys, is finally behind them.
---"Being called the The Rainbow Butt Monkeys was always an underlying joke to whatever we did," says guitarist Rick Jackett. "It was as though we were afraid to try something 100 per cent serious, because we would always have an out if anybody cut us up."
---With the new name, they recorded a new album entitled TIP. It was released in 1997 in Canada.
Soon thereafter they were dropped by their label and went hunting for another one. It was then they wound up in New York performing for the little label that could, Wind-Up. It was with Wind-up that finger eleven has been able to achieve moderate success in the US and in Canada (where they were then signed by Sony Canada).
---In 1998 they released tip in the US and were accepted with open arms, especially on the east coast, with singles such as "Quicksand", "Above", and "Awake and Dreaming"*.
---Then in early 1999, they rereleased tip in Canada. After stints, mid year, of opening for I Mother Earth and playing the sidestage at Edgefest 99, the Canadian band finger eleven was finally home.
---On July 25, 2000, the US and Canada (and a select few in various countries around the world) were enjoying new f11 sounds. The new album called The Greyest of Blue Skies was the long awaited sophomore attempt by this group of young guys from Burlington, Ontario. Their first single "Drag you Down" is a bit harder than the other stuff but it still has the finger eleven sound penetrating through. The guys are now touring in the US and Canada, both gaining new fans and greeting old ones.
---The new album, the greyest of blue skies (their second as finger eleven) came out last month, and the material would indeed seem incongruous tagged against the name The Rainbow Butt Monkeys.
---The song also manages to fit in smoothly with the album's theme of struggle, something with which the group is quite familiar. "We've been through a lot as a band and we've been forced to find the positive in everything," says Jackett. "The Butt Monkeys had gained some reputation and notice. So it was definitely a setback. We lost some fans, but not because they were angry. They just had no idea we had changed our name." ---Even the artwork on the CD (drawn by lead singer James Black) reflects the band's feelings -- a puppet cut from its strings and left to pick itself up of its own accord. "We had to basically carry ourselves," says Jackett. "Now, we're back with a new label, but it's still frustrating because you never have 100-per-cent control of the band." The desire for control no doubt stems from the fact the members of finger eleven have all been together since they were high school students in Burlington. Jackett says they enjoy playing the big rock festivals and the camaraderie that develops between bands. "It's like a travelling circus of musicians who usually become friends when it's all over," says Jackett. "When we did Edgefest last year, I was having lunch with members of Hole to my right and Ian from Big Wreck on my left." "It's a cool feeling." ----additional funny info on the best band in the WORLD----After filming the music video for TIP, the guys skate boarded through the mall for fun!! The boys LOVE eating at Taco Bell!!! They like reading books to pass the time...And they enjoy a "tasty drink" once in a while... They get mad if you ask them petty questions. ADVICE TO ALL: Think before you speak around them!!! They have a fetish for pictures of them playing live. So if you have any, send them to me and i'll see what i can do to get it together for them. The band share cherry flavoured Trident gum...They like to play in Toys r Us!!!!!!!!!! ---Me personally--I have been a fan of finger eleven for less than a year. I thank my brother for bringing me into "Good Music", no more BSB-Here come the good stuff!!But i admit, at first i didn't like thier sound, but the more my brother played it, the more i liked it!! I've only been to one concert-November 5th, 2000 at Barrymore's Music Hall in Ottawa-and it was AMAZING!!I got all of the band member's signatures....well eventually-see, Rick's girlfriend was with him, and he just walked right past my friends and I...We waited for 4 hours in the -5° weather, then he returned!!FINALLY ALL OF THE SIGNATURES! It was great, all of them stayed and talked to us a little, they are the nicest band i've ever met...UNLIKE EDWIN--He refused to give these 3(about 13 years old) girls signatures.
-"I wouldn't say we're getting death-metal kind of heavy, but when we were actually making it, we thought it was lighter than Tip (their first album as finger eleven)," says Jackett. "Drag You Down is heavy, but a song like Broken Words is lighter than anything we've ever done before."
-With songs like Drag You Down and the metallic dirge, Sick of it All, the album's theme is persistence against forbidding odds.
Check out: James Black/ Rich Beddoe/ Rick Jackett/ Scott Anderson/ Sean Anderson