Finger Eleven formed in 1990 in Burlington, Ontario, when high school friends founding members Scott and Sean Anderson (vocals and bass), and guitarists James Black and Rick Jackett formed the band with original drummer Rob Gommerman, becoming Rainbow Butt Monkeys . With their blend of 90s alt and funk-rock, the Canadian upstarts signed to Mercury and released Letters From Chutney in 1995 . As the group matured, the quintet realized they needed a new name and shift in direction, so Finger Eleven was born, and they transitioned into a post-grunge and nu-metal influenced phase on their first two albums, Tip (1997) and The Greyest of Blue Skies (2000) . During this period the band also underwent its first lineup shift, as following the release of Tip, Rob Gommerman left the band and was replaced by Rich Beddoe .
The band's true mainstream breakthrough arrived with their self-titled third album. Their mainstream breakthrough came with their self-titled album, produced by Johnny K, marking a shift with the acoustic ballad "One Thing" which showcased a new side of the band and helped push album sales past gold in America and platinum in Canada . That single became a genuine crossover hit, as it marked the band's first placing on the US Hot 100 Chart at number 16 . Just a few years later, Finger Eleven reached their commercial peak with 2007's Them vs. You vs. Me, whose lead single became inescapable on rock radio. The single "Paralyzer" went on to top the Canadian Hot 100 and both US rock charts, as well as reaching No. 6 on the US Hot 100 and No. 12 on the Australian Singles Chart , eventually becoming one of the biggest rock singles of its era.
The success of Them vs. You vs. Me brought critical recognition as well as commercial triumph, with the band winning the Juno Award for Rock Album of the Year in 2008, with the album later certified gold in the US and multi-platinum in Canada . The band continued to evolve through the following decade, releasing their sixth studio album, Life Turns Electric, on October 5, 2010, which was nominated as Best Rock Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2011, followed by Five Crooked Lines, their 7th studio album, in 2015 . Over more than two decades of activity, between 1995 and 2016, Finger Eleven was among the top 75 best-selling Canadian artists in Canada and among the top 25 best-selling Canadian bands in Canada , cementing their place as one of the country's most enduring rock exports.
After a long break from new music, the band re-emerged in the mid-2020s, still active and still touring. After a lengthy hiatus from touring and recording, the band returned in 2023 with a Greatest Hits collection, which featured a pair of new studio tracks, including the chart-topping "Together Right" . That momentum carried into a full new studio effort, as last November saw Finger Eleven release "Last Night On Earth," their first new studio album in over a decade, and they've continued to tour on it since . Even decades after its release, "Paralyzer" remains a touchstone of 2000s rock radio, with the RIAA recently confirming the song had just hit 6x platinum status in the United States, a testament to the band's lasting reach and influence on post-grunge and alternative rock.
It is fitting that a band built on relentless touring and hard-earned longevity found its way into Wayne Dennon's lens. Wayne photographed Finger Eleven twice between 2004 and 2008, capturing the band right at the height of their commercial ascent, from the "One Thing" era through the "Paralyzer" breakthrough, across two different cities. Those nights live on in the 46 photographs preserved in this archive, images that have drawn 36,332 views from visitors revisiting one of Wayne's memorable encounters with Canadian rock royalty.
