Finger Eleven: Best Of 2007

12/11/08 1:57pm

by Jared Story (CHARTattack)

While working through the rock 'n' roll ranks since 1995, Finger Eleven had pretty much attained Canadian household status after 2000's The Greyest Of Blue Skies. Not just content with the chesterfield, they made their way to the couch, finding American success with 2003's monster hit ballad, "One Thing." Then, proving to be no one-trick butt monkey, they release this year's Them Vs. You Vs. Me and dominate radio with the incredibly infectious "Paralyzer." Next was the ultimate capper: an appearance on the Craig Ferguson show. What?

"It was cool playing on the show and whatnot, but the coolest thing was on the way out of the building, the wheel from The Price Is Right was in this hallway," says guitarist James Black, who's joined in F11 by Scott Anderson (vocals), Rick Jackett (guitar), Sean Anderson (bass) and Rich Beddoe (drums). "There was no security around, so we just started cranking on the thing. It was awesome. It's funny. It's a TV monument, even more famous than some people."

That story actually speaks volumes of the band's current situation. A hugely successful album (singles "Falling On" and "I'll Keep Your Memory Vague" are also racking it up at radio) sees F11 living the surreal life, which means appearances on talk shows, hanging with Ron MacLean at the NHL Awards, and sharing festival stages with the likes of Chris Cornell and the Smashing Pumpkins.

"Things have definitely picked up steam even more than ever before for us," says Black. "It's a good feeling. The trip about it is to have been doing it for so long and keep finding these new levels, new horizons to the whole thing. It just continues to be exciting and it's just fun to keep going for the ride."

All this moving forward can be partly attested to looking back. Listening to the big and bouncy "Paralyzer," one might find themselves thinking of F11's dawn period as the Rainbow Butt Monkeys.

"We kind of changed and maybe forgot about some of that fun we used to have that was really relevant and valuable," says Black. "A song like 'Paralyzer,' I find it even harkens back to that vibe of the early days. I think that is a great comment to us in the band, that we're discovering things about ourselves that we kind of knew and left behind and are rediscovering it.

"There's a certain fun-ness to it that is just undeniable, and I think at a certain point in our career we might have denied ourselves fun for the sake of the darkness. I'm not interested in doing that anymore."

With tons of radio and video play in both Canada and the U.S., and a new DVD/CD package chronicling the career of the band, what's next for F11?

"I guess we continue to go up," says Black. "I think we're only getting better at challenging each other in creative, productive ways. It's only going to get better. If it doesn't, I think that is the time to stop."

James Black of Finger Eleven's album of the year:

WINTERSLEEP Welcome To The Night Sky
"I've just fallen in love with it. The third and fourth songs to me sound like classic songs, timeless songs. Reminds me of Neil Young, really great songs that seem like they've been here forever because they're that good."

George Stroumboulopoulos says:
"Finger Eleven is a band that deserves everything they get because they're fucking survivors. Have you noticed that they don't look old as a band? Not only that, but if you go to a Finger Eleven concert now, there's still 17 year olds in the crowd. So it's not just people who liked them 10 years ago."

The following feature is taken from the December 2007 issue of Chart Magazine. To purchase the issue, head on over to the Chart Shop.