Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Finger Eleven: Toronto Mike'd Podcast Episode 1792

Episode Date: November 5, 2025

In this 1792nd episode of Toronto Mike'd, Mike chats with lead vocalist Scott Anderson and guitarist James Black from Finger Eleven about their Burlington roots, the birth of Rainbow Butt Monkeys, finding international success as Finger Eleven and their new music. Toronto Mike'd is proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, Palma Pasta, Ridley Funeral Home, Nick Ainis, Blue Sky Agency, Kindling, RetroFestive.ca and RecycleMyElectronics.ca. If you would like to support the show, we do have partner opportunities available. Please email Toronto Mike at [e-mail].

Hi there, this is Scott, and this is James. And we're from Finger 11, and we are about to make our Toronto-Miked debut. That was perfect. Only real pros can nail that in one shot. Welcome to episode one thing. 1,792 of Toronto-Miked. Proudly brought to you by Retrofestive.ca, Canada's pop culture and Christmas store.

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since 1921. Today, making their Toronto mic debut is lead vocalist Scott Anderson and guitarist James Black from Finger 11. Welcome, guys. Thanks so much. So Scott, you were the Great Lakes Brewery fan.

You saw my hoodie, The Octopus Wants to Fight, and you said you're a Great Lakes brewery fan. I am a big fan. I like Octopus wants to fight. Probably the most. They have one called, I think it's called Hayes Mama. Absolutely.

I can only down one of those at a time. I was just going to say, it gets me into so much trouble, but I do love it. Everything else tastes boring after that. So it's a problem. Well, I'm sending you home. I'm sending you back to Burlington with some fresh craft beer from GLB. Thank you so much. I will put it to great use.

And on that cue, I want James and I are going to enjoy a can right now. So James, right on the mic, if you will, count you in here. Hold on. all right three two all right cheers to you gentlemen what an honor what a privilege to have finger 11 in the basement

this is awesome thanks for doing this it's good to be here I know you didn't just come here for the beer I was going to say I just came here for the beer I have a bad habit sometimes when I have bands like yourself on I sort of start in the early days and I never leave them like this is a terrible habit

I'm trying to shake so what do you think about off the top we talk about the new album the new music and then if you will indulge me we'll go back and you know the early days and sort of talk about some of the big moments does that sound cool yeah all right we're going to start with a bit of this right here The scene's The scene's unexplored. climb on board For one rush

Able after another But to get there From here To make it anywhere When it's all for one From now on forever So don't let go Where we roll

I got your back if it's We get draws, and we won't grow, and now a lesson on occasion is where we're jumping from. A treadmill, get your kicks and run. Now we're gonna feel like this again, are we? Still, we gotta keep chasing what we got now. adrenaline Get your kicks and run All right, now my heart's pumping

Now I'm ready to go here Adrenaline, this is the first single From Last Night on Earth Tell me a bit off the top here Tell me about the new album How it came together And specifically, adrenaline Well, we've been working on this album

For quite a while But, you know, We finally lit a fire on our asses and got it all done. What's quite a while? Like, you're going to make me say it. Ten years. It's been ten years since, at least ten years since our last, you know, full record. And, you know, we can account for a lot of the time, maybe not all of the time.

But, you know, it's, we would just write these ideas and leave them for a minute and then break them open and rewrite them and do that over and, over again until everybody was really really happy you know and um I think adrenaline is a great um a really good uh it's an important part of this record only because it's very it's maybe some of the heaviest finger 11s ever sounded but it's also got like a nice like an uplifting spirit to it which is as the only thing I was trying to actively get at right it wasn't going to be doom and gloom and I was like okay well let how do we stay heavy and then just kind of have some like fun with that you know, in a more rock and roll way, not in like a downer, you know, however you want to, like,

angsty kind of, I, as I did want to avoid that, and I did that as much as I could. But, yeah, this. But 10 years. I know. This song was finished last summer. So it was sort of the lead off track. So it was sort of the flagship of like, okay, this, we finished this song and then we convinced everyone involved that like yeah the record's coming this is the first one and then we we kind of like

okay then we had to light the fire and be like okay we have to finish uh 10 more of these well this is your eighth studio album but 10 years man holy smokes 10 years ago that's that's sort of like going back to when the jays were last in the ALCS and then you were waiting for the Js to be back the ALCS yeah wow now you got to spoil the plan but yeah yeah so okay well just don't do that with the Leafs. We'll never hear another new song by Finger 11. Oh, by the way, okay, so I said leaves. So it's funny, because I go on Blue Sky and I say, if anyone has a question for Finger 11, and I got a few questions, of course. But Kevin and Alberta says, and it's funny, this memory, he goes, were you guys disappointed when the Leaf signed Jeff Finger and Jeff Finger did not

wear number 11? Oh, that would have looked great. I was not aware, but I am so disappointed right now. Yeah. Bro. Not a great signing, though. Like this guy, I remember the signing. This was Cliff Fletcher made the signing and he was like a bench player for Colorado and we gave him big bucks to come here and be a big D and I think it was a flop but it would have been cool if finger had 11th

oh that would have been yeah yeah shit I'm sad to have missed that opportunity well you triggered it with leave so at the end of this chat I got another new jam I'm going to play from last night on earth but I do wonder and again I'm going to be very frank with you I got a good vibe from you guys already but like there is a tendency

for some bands that were like some big alt rock bands will sort of rest on their laurels. Like you don't actually need new material to tour and your fans to come out, right? They kind of want to hear, they want to hear the catalog of hits. And then you don't have a big pressure, I would guess, to put out new material. Is that why you got a little laxadaisical for a decade? I think so. I think, yeah, there's, you know, when the band, when a band's been around for a while,

I don't know if you can get as excited, you know, for the, for the new project. I mean, as a music fan, that's where I'm coming from, right? Now, on the other side of it, it's like, okay, if we put anything out, you know, we're aware of that and it's got to be good, and especially if you take your time as long as we did. So I guess the agenda still doesn't even change. Like, we're still a bunch of dudes that want to make the best noise they can together. Like that's, it's, it's, you know, of course, it's very personal for us and we can still do it so uh i don't know this is the thing that kind of uh keeps us fairly young i would say but

the spark still has to be there and so when you've been in a relationship for so long you need to you need i don't know more magic ingredients for it to really work and so it or it takes longer and so that's kind of what it is is like we can make a lot of songs very fast but to make them like have that magic like it always does it that's the part that takes a long time well that song adrenaline like just listening to it in the cans here that'll fit in perfectly with your live set like that oh yeah it goes over really well it's it's actually one of the stronger tracks live right so it's it's nice to put that in and have the confidence that the song you know we know that most people don't know it yet but you do like there's a reaction you know

and when you're when you're playing a new song that's that's pretty important and it's uh feels good if they react something yeah we've we've played enough new songs and got not a great reaction to know like you know up there on the stage right

you can get the vibes back from the you know when they're checking their they're checking their Instagram for you or something yes yeah long lines of the washroom some new songs the guy selling the beer like it though when you put in the they love it so I want to tell the listenership off the top because then I

it's funny I was thinking to myself my glasses are dirty these are my dollar 35 dollarama readers okay that's what they cost me a dollar 35 but I don't really clean them because I don't know much about like being a glasses guy they just sit here and then Rob Pruss from Spoons

and from Burlington by the way but we'll get to that so Pruss will come by once a month and he'll clean them for me and I was just thinking oh when's Pruss here next to clean my glasses but my first question is going to come from Rob Pruss. But I want to know quickly,

firstly, two things. One is tell the listenership that you guys are playing Toronto on December 5th. The theater at Great Canadian, Toronto. Now, this is, what venue is this?

Where is this venue? It's a casino. It's a casino. I think it's in a Tobico. It says Toronto on the poster. Okay, well, Tobacco's Toronto. Okay, well, there you go. Because I was sort of like seeing this,

the list of dates, and then seeing the poster, and it's like, where's the, It doesn't say Toronto. Okay. Tobico, absolutely. The mega city since 98. Okay, but there's no, okay, so is it near the racetrack, woodbine?

Okay, I'm getting another, Paul, by the, there's another gentleman in the room who's the fact checker. He's going to be Googling everything. So it's near the Woodbine racetrack. Okay, very cool. So December 5th, people, it's a Friday night. You can check out Finger 11 here in Toronto. That's like one month today. That's very cool.

So do you mind if we just go back and then? then we'll come back to Last Night on Earth. Are you guys proud of Last Night on Earth? Yeah. Oh, yeah. Absolutely. Yeah, it's a, I mean, it's not the, you know, it's the softer song on the record. I don't know.

I'm not happy with ballad. I'm not happy with soft song. It's the most, maybe the most emotional song on the record. Oh, this one right here then. That's right. Yes. All just do it now. I was going to save it for the end.

All good things you know. Don't stay in place But forever in my hands a picture of your face Before you're just a memory said in my mind Can all good things remain and last for one more night But I can make you stay Even though you've been waiting the changes I said I'd make for too long

Well, last thing before you go, I'll never change for you, you'll know. But nothing's right when all you say is nothing's wrong. Nothing's right when all you say is nothing's wrong. No, absolutely. This is a sweeter tone, not quite adrenaline here. Yeah. Right. But in the Finger 11 land, it's just as important, right?

this side there's always been you know this element to to any finger 11 record well I'm going to play it later as you can imagine but this is that one thing vibe right yeah I suppose yeah that's it sounds like the one thing band whereas adrenaline sounds

like you're the first time band or something Scott I'm going to throw a this you're not going to remember this because you're a rock star okay but when one thing first was released as a single I was with my buddy Mark Carey hello to Mark Carey we had a website called Smells Like Sour

where we would basically was a forum where people could discuss new songs and stuff and we were discussing one thing and you chimed in in the comments to give us some, like to answer some of our questions and give us some perspective and context regarding your big hit one thing like so that was early days for me

just realizing oh you can have a direct connect with artists like you know I thought that was pretty cool of you oh that's great that's going way back so you won't remember you chiming in on the forum smell the now defunct forum smells like sour but uh that happened man oh was that positively received on the show is it a yeah so we we were inspired by big shiny tunes to start our own version

we called smells like sour so every six months mark and i would put together you know uh like on the down low if you win the black market here we would put together like a mixed cd of the big new rock jams we were digging from the previous six months and then we would discuss it in public on this forum that we had smells like sour.com or whatever and i don't know scott if one night you're in burlington googling one thing finger 11 i have no idea but you ended up in the in the forum and you contributed oh well that's great i uh it's a hard it's a hard one to talk about because uh it's it's the song is so open to interpretation i mean to the point where people will talk to me about the song and they'll have a much better story attached to it or an emotional

moment in their lives, which of course music can do it. That's kind of the it's a great magic trick, right? That's art, right? Sure. And it's so nice because I know how that feels, but somebody gets to feel that way about something I've done that. I love it. Well, I'm going to pester you for more one thing thoughts

later, but I got to go back. I mentioned Rob Pruse. So Rob Pruse was in a band called The Spoons with some guy named Derek Ross. Yeah. So Rob heard you guys were coming on and he goes Derek Ross from the Spoons might have signed them a thousand years ago

when they were the rainbow butt monkeys Do you have any memory of What can you remember from these This early days of Derek Ross Oof A long time ago We were in the band We were I was the singer for that day

And I know the name Derek Ross But I'm not sure if it was a direct connection To our signings or anything The names that come to mind like Brian Potvin from the Northern Pikes he was like a big major part of us getting signed

as the butt monkeys and I don't know that I know that the spoons are from Burlington so that's sort of like the biggest part of the trivia that I'm aware of and we met it might have been Derek

we met one of them at a industry party and they congratulated us as being now the new biggest band from Burlington kind of thing, taking their mantle kind of. That's nice. Well, I was going to ask you, who is the greatest band

from Burlington? Now I'm not sure. I don't know. And why is it Silverstein? Oh, yeah. Yeah, that's right. Well, there's big three, like from a commercial perspective, there is a, we would refer to the big three Burlington bands as you guys, Finger 11, The Spoons and Silverstein.

Yeah. When we started, it was like a boom of bands And so there was a band called Gleet that was like forever the best band. They were sort of this unattainable, trippy. And like their singer was just the kind of rock star everybody wanted to be. And he was like a local guy in Burlington. He was sort of defying the suburban way and being this sort of like peri-farrell type character. And so in my mind, they kind of were always.

like at the top of the heap. Well, yeah, at that point there was so many, we would play these afternoon gigs and there was maybe seven or eight bands on the bill and one would be a folk band, one would be a thrash band. And then us, whatever we were. Maybe you were Stone's Soul Picnic. Oh, that's right.

Yes. Man, you did some homework here. So that was like, I think that was the one-off name for like a high school opportunity. We got to play it to like an assembly. I don't know if I was drumming or singing at that point. Yeah, we at some point had a different name for every show for a little bit

until the rainbow bun monkeys. Settled on the masterful rainbow butt monkeys. Well, let me ask you, for the record, where did that name come from, rainbow butt monkeys? It was like a friend of mine at school. His name's Ryan Ness. I don't know, sure if he's a listener.

But he was talking about a monkey that, like the mandrel apes got like a purple buttocks pads. and a rainbow on his face and he mistakenly said that the buttox was rainbow and he just

he said oh rainbow butt monkeys and I wrote it on my binder and I was like that's hilarious and I think it's sort of rung like red hot chili peppers or something like that you know like a silly name

they were like okay that might be perfect but I still remember getting the phone call after school you know you phone me and it said dude I now I have the name for the band it is rainbow butt monkeys And I laughed real, real hard, and that was that. And no objections from anyone else in the band.

Oh, how could you have a... Come on. How could you? It was perfect. All right. So another great question came in, but I'm playing in the background now. The first Rainbow Butt Monkey song I heard. Yeah.

This song is so long. Oh, my, if we were to do it again, I think it would be about a two-minute song. This just goes. This has got about three or four solos in it. But it definitely opened. all the doors for us. You know, we got to make a video, and we got a record deal, and it was like, okay. Yeah, it did

feel real, I guess, at this point. Well, I mean, idiots like me were tuned into what's going on in Burlington with these rainbow butt monkeys because of the song. You know what's fun? You know what's really fun about this record? I think it was the first, like, dozen ideas we had come up with, right? And it's just like, it's so raw, like

you can sort of hear the garage-ness. You know, like, we did try our best to make it a full studio record, but it's like, There's just, there's something nice and, you know, you can't really redo your first record. It's like, it's got this sort of, it's got a neat energy to it that I think took Finger 11 a while to come back to. Yeah. Would you agree, Jay?

Like, we think, we overthink things nowadays and are trying to do less of that. But there's a fun spirit here. Oh, absolutely. I'm going to play a little bit of it. Just, well, actually, well, here's the guitar solo. A little goes a long way, but. It is a long one for sure. Well, no, no.

This is probably the best part, right? I don't want to. You're right. It's a good. And I can remember, too, like, you know, this is the first time in the studio trying to rip a guitar solo. It's like, I don't know. This sounds like, I have a feeling that we were probably pretty insufferable to work with

in the studio. Well, hold that thought because there's another band I'm going to ask you about, but just turn it up for a few seconds here. Yeah. Walking around. In your circles, circles Walking around And you'll surf out

For what it's worth, I still dig circles It's nice, yeah Yeah And it's got that like mama said vibe And like the chili peppers kind of want to be things Definitely a chili peppers vibe I just talked to a guy You know, Sunny Greenwich Jr.

Like he was just on the show Sunny was with Boots sauce, yeah. Awesome. No way, yeah. Yeah, we did a tour all across Canada. I think our first cross-Canada tour was, yeah, and went out with them. Maybe one of the first big bands we'd ever met. And, you know, I couldn't believe how nice and gracious they were.

This is where I'm going. There's been, to be honest, there's been mixed reviews for musicians, okay, regarding boot sauce. I actually did the Sunny Greenwich Jr. episode because I needed to talk to some somebody in the band, and he's sort of the most accessible spokesperson for that now defunct band. But a lot of people, I mean, we hear stories of Art Bergman wasn't allowed on the tour bus.

Okay, these are stories that are circulating. Ron Hawkins from Lois of the Low wrote a song about seeing art, like hitchhiking on the side of a highway out in the prairies. Life imitates art. But you guys are telling me now that it was a delight to play with the boys from boot songs. Yeah. Yeah. I remember there was some compliments where it was like, oh, you know, you guys are, you guys are killing it. You know, like just saying some things that you don't have to say to the opening band, right? I remember that. I just, you know, we were really, really young, our first tour across Canada. And, you know, I think when you're, you know, you're an established band, I don't know if your first thought is to go talk to the opening band and reassure them that everything's cool. You've got other things to think about, you know, there's a million other things you want to do.

But it's that kind of kindness you don't forget. You know what I mean? I think, because this came up in my conversation with Sunny, and I think they learned that from the tragically hip. Like, he would talk about how the hip would treat the bands. Like they would bring you a case of beer and welcome you. And I think they learned that this is sort of the Canadian rock way. Oh, man.

Yeah, they were super nice to us. I always remember Drew Ling when he would introduce himself fun stage and you'd be like, I'm Drew Ling all over you. Yeah, showbiz. That's showbiz, bro. That's good. That's good. Yeah, that's great. Speaking a showbiz, got to cook with some gas. I really could talk to you guys forever.

But East York John would like me to ask you about your experience with 97-7. Hits FM. He says it was a great station with great personalities and they did so much to promote local talent. Of course, they're out of St. Catharines, but what can you tell me about the role of 97-7?

It's FM. We just came from there. Yeah, yeah. We got a long history with 977. And, you know, our story, you know, outside of the garage began with winning their music search. I can't remember when. I don't know. 1990.

Is it 90? But circles, that was the song. That was a submission. We submitted circles for the rock search. And then you had to listen every evening at a certain time to see. They were going to play. each of the bands who qualified for it. Yeah.

And so we, you know, crowded around the radio and heard our song on the radio for the first time, 977. Still a magical idea. Well, okay, it was not 1990s. I'm going to fact check myself. So Robert Lawson calmed down. It was later, much later.

I don't know what year, but you win the rock search competition. I know Pauly Morris, the man who built the White House of Rock over there. Oh, yeah. Big, big booster of you guys. And another band that actually I'm going to just promote my own show next week making their debut is the trues. Excellent. And that's another band that hits 977 really boosted.

Yeah. Yeah. That night when we won that, and we were young too. Like we were still in high school. And it was like a surreal thing. Like these were like grown up men, it seemed like that had bands. And we were these kids that were there like competing. There's no way we could win this.

Well, these were bands. They had posters that we would see on the way to the record store. Like, wow, they're established. Like, they're playing. And we're just some dudes that this is the first song we came up with. Did Circle sound like it's, because this is a re-recorded, right? No, that's pretty close. That's on the CD, like the original Rainbow Bump Monkey CD.

We had a demo. The tempo was probably lower, but it's pretty close. Yeah, it was pretty close. Why do you change your name from Rainbow Butt Monkeys to Finger 11? Okay. Well, we got to set the record straight. Has anyone ever asked you that before? Well, right.

right so the thing is um we're the butt monkeys we're in high school and we put out a record and then we go to write more songs and all of a sudden like there's a there's a there's a change musically you know the headspace whatever different music is this is from the perspective of the band just try to put yourselves there but we're we're hearing this music that's coming out and we're saying this doesn't sound like but monkey stuff anymore we need to acknowledge that this is different this is a you know and we're taking it very very seriously and so we announced this to the record label and they're like um okay they're really really not into the idea of it like they've invested a lot of time and energy into this project we're like well it doesn't matter because we're

we're finger 11 now that's that's who we're going to be and i think that's where it you know i think we might have if we lost a lot of credibility i mean but none of it mattered because we took this music so seriously. We were on our way to make this, the first record tip, and we're like, this is unstoppable, and it's different. It's very important to us to, you know, draw this line in the sand, you know, because it's, because it is. We're just, it's a different entity, even though it's all the same guys. It was so important. And so they said, okay, that's fine. It's like a rebranding because your style of play was changing. But, well, right. But the, that's the truth, but most people just say, oh, well, the label made you change. That's it. They were

resistant. I'll tell you this story. I will talk at you. And I'll tell you this whole story. Talk at me, man. But, but, but and, and people will just go, well, no, the label probably made you do it. And I was like, that's not, I know what you, I know what you mean, but it's not what happened. Uh, we were a giant pain in the ass because we decided we were a different thing. They put out the record and we got dropped like a week after. Yeah, it was, finger 11 was not, uh, was not to be. But the name, finger 11, it meant like going your own way kind of thing. And it sort of even signified that. Like, they don't want us to do this, but we do.

But Finger 11, clearly that's a cock reference. Well, that was immediately how it was received. It was like we went from butt monkeys to a penis. Rock and roll, man. It's, it's, it's, uh, that's the other thing. You can't convince people that it's not your dick. Well, convince me because I've always, until right now, I just assume so. Well, the, the idea was you were, the finger 11, I had a, I know, there was,

was a lyric in a song where it was talking about finger 11 pointing the other way meaning you're just going to go in your own direction you don't doesn't matter despite the consequences you're just going to have conviction in your own deal and like you're you're pointing with all 10 fingers this way but somewhere in your head saying like you really should go this way i mean look let's not get into the idea that nobody points with all 10 fingers that's stupid we're going that way guys yeah hadn't really thought of it don't worry about it don't worry about it but uh Don't overthink it. It was, it was like a made-for-TV movie moment.

I'm singing this lyric where, you know, finger 11 points the other way and we're looking at that time for the name of the band. And, you know, we stopped the tape and the guys were like, what did you just, what's that lyric? What are you talking about? I was like, oh, yeah, finger 11. And so I think we broke for lunch. Oh, yeah, finger 11.

And I think we came up like we were drawing logos on the napkins waiting for lunch. And so it was so clear, you know, we didn't have to, talk about it for much longer. That was just that, that we were finger 11 from that day forward. And we're similar vintage here, but I owned Frozen Ghost on CD. Okay. All right. All right.

I loved Frozen Ghost late 80s, I guess. Yeah. And then even, I was aware that, oh, my God, a Canadian band is number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Like, who is sheriff? Like, I remember this. Yeah. Yeah.

So what was it like, you know, being produced by Arnold Lani? Arnold Lanny is a, yeah, yeah, Arnold Lanny is a musical genius. Like, he's very, very, I don't know. I've never met anybody like Arnold Lanny. He was responsible for Our Lady Peace, Navid. And we, that just kind of floored us. Like, wow, this is Canadian. This sounds like, you know, this sort of transcends anything local.

And then so when we finally worked with him, yeah, he was, he's very unique in like, Yeah, he's he's a musical genius and sort of just a strange guy to work with. And so we learned everything about writing songs and recording with him. Like we had made the Butt Monkees record, but that was a very passive experience compared to working with Arnold and really digging in and challenging this. It's probably why we took 10 years to make this record. We learned this, don't stop challenging the idea until it gets all the way there.

Yeah. And I mean, for the first record, we, we, we, I don't think we're up to the task of what Arnold was asking us. Like, we really had to learn, we had a, you know, this is our first big studio experience. But, uh, you know, it was great. I had a hard time, you know, I think you can hear it in the, in the vocals of those records where it was like, I'm not having fun. I'm trying to, you know, I'm trying to get out what my voice is capable of. I'm not sure what it's capable of. I'm trying to say this thing, that thing. And, and. And it's, you know, somebody's telling me to extend it or cut it or, you know, it's, it's tricky. Like, you've got to be, you can't be so, um, what, like, I don't want to say stiff, because that's not good. We're talking about this. The band's calling it. I don't want, it's too much. It's too much.

But, you know, you got to try, you got to try new ideas and you got to figure out where the song's supposed to go. I mean, I know that now, but, you know, the music was a moving target working with Arnold. It was like you'd always think that you were nailing it and then you'd find, no, no, let's try this. Let's try that. Right. And that's how cool stuff gets made. But it's like I was maybe too, um, can I say rigid? Same problem. Same problem. Turgid. Canada does have a band called swollen members. Yes. Oh, that's right. That's right. I, uh, I presented their Juno to them. Wow. Yeah. I was, you're 11 to swollen members. He does not remember me.

Cruz, right. I don't even think he shook my hand. Yeah, too bad. But, uh, That's funny. Yeah, it's great. Okay, I got Mitch in to play a song from this album because I literally, there's a WhatsApp group full of listeners, and I dropped this, the YouTube link in the group, I think, last week. And I just said, this song still fucking slays.

Like, it holds up. I love this so much today in 2025. So let me play it, and we'll try to listen to here if Scott's having a good time. Okay, that's what I'm listening for. Here we go. Inside I'm gone You knew that all

Without the distance You never get away Plastic bank image It's over now It's over now The color fading is all way to create We

A stronger window We look above We look above We look above We We A strong but wind We look above

We look above Trusting The instinct The instinct It's not about what you think The one reaction is only to obey I don't really want to fade it down But I think I promised an hour

So it's coming down But Scott, you sound like you're having a good time Yeah I mean it's It sounds pretty tense to me I mean it's It sounds good It sounds good

It sounds great It's compared to like we play it every night and it's so bouncy and like this is it's very like it sounds like we're trying to play it in tune and yeah yeah it sounds a little careful like i yeah it's interesting to hear restrained maybe yeah just like there was a lot of caution with with arnold was obsessed about guitar tuning and so we would just track like the butt monkey's record was just like plug it in and play it and so this record you'd play it and sort of timidly

look over to get the thumbs up or the thumbs down and eventually it started to feel like shit can we ever play the song all the way through in tune and so it got kind of cautious and I wouldn't I didn't remember that until just hearing it back

it's funny I my first instinct is I just want re-sing this can we retract can we take the afternoon well you know you can do that because we yeah I suppose but I think the problem is... Scalor's version. Right?

Yeah. What a marketing idea. Let's do it. But I think I'd probably end up with the same fucking, you know, it might sound a little bit different. It's good. Like, see, I'm able to hit like the hard stuff. This probably took many days in the studio. This was like, the fact that the chorus of the song is quiet and the rest of his loud was like opposite of what we thought songs were supposed to be.

That was something that Arnold was really good at was like subverting the ideas of like, oh, the song could go opposite. But yeah, I can hear the, it's funny because we play these songs all the time, but I don't listen to the recordings. Right. You haven't spun tip in a while. Tip, too, you know, that's a cock reference too. Dude, I mean, it's so spinal type, it's not funny.

Like, it's just, yep, you're right. Wow. Okay, shout out to FOTM band Head with 2 H's, okay? So, in these teenage head, Sheen Champagne gifted me these drumsticks. So if you want me to do Jeremy Taggart on Navid, let me know I can do a pretty good damn version. But wait, you referenced this earlier,

but like this Mercury drops you guys after this album comes out? Yeah, very, very quickly, maybe one or two weeks after the album's release. And it was after a meeting, like a lunch meeting where like the guy started the meeting with like, look, you guys are not getting dropped again a great lunch got reassured listen a lot of moving parts right now but rest assured you guys are not getting dropped i wish we recorded it honestly i mean we'll never forget but days before we all had a recording device right right and i mean i don't know what

i'd be doing recording lunch but uh and then not long after yeah that was boom done and i i remember not caring because i was so into this record it was like it doesn't matter we'll figure it out because that's how strong I felt. I think at the time we were missing, we were out of drummer like Rob had quit the band so we were sort of. Oh yeah, we were, finger level was supposed to be done at that point. Yeah, we were like, okay, we're

not even a whole band and then we lost a record deal, but yeah, there was never the moment of like, oh well, we like, of course we're going to keep going. On paper, like from the outside looking in, it's like, what are these guys doing? It's clearly over. They got the deal. They changed.

They lost the deal. The drummer decided it wasn't for him. Yeah. But on the inside, we're like, yeah, yeah, no problem. This is like, this is a speed bump. It's not a problem. Yeah. And you re-released the album. Yeah. That's right. Yeah. That's wild here. So wind up records. Yeah. To the rescue. Label out in New York. The first, the first signing for them was Creed, right? So they took over the planet very quickly. And then they signed us and they thought we were going to be just as big, just as big as Creed. And they really, you know, they treated

their bands like kids you know they had in a good way in a great way like they were so attached to the point where I think we had three records out without any hit whatsoever and they're like yeah great good it took a long time it took yeah it took

three records to actually have a hit so above wasn't a hit well I think in Canada we did better than in the states with the first with tip and grades of blue skies so because again I am a Toronto guy born and raised here so I sometimes I'm surprised to find out

a song I thought was a big hit in the States. They're like, what was this, right? But I got to say, like, here anyways, maybe it's because all my stuff was much music and CF&Y. Yeah, much music was a big part of it. Like above, I just assumed, I didn't, I just assumed above would crack the top 100, billboarded Hot 100,

but you're telling me it was big in Canada. Yeah, I don't even know where it got to in the building. All right, fascinating to me. Now, it's also interesting you mentioned Creed. I saw Creed headline and Edgefest once at Molson Park and Barry But I think

Were you guys on that bill? I know you guys played Edge Fest I don't think we're on Not that year Do you remember who was your headliner? I'm just curious I went to a bunch in a row Yeah we did a bunch too

I think well the pro Okay so we There was one tool was one of them Yep Um Maybe I'm getting Green Day maybe or foo fighters Or foo fighters

F fighters we did I feel like Green Day and Foo Fighters might have played But I don't know if that was the right one but, How's and Chains, was that one? We were on the side stage for one with, you know,

there was a tour called Somersault that kind of like, Our Lady Peace. Almost replaced all the Edge Fest memories because it was perfect circle, food fighters, smashing pumpkins. I saw it,

that was 2000. That was a farewell tour for the pumpkins. Yeah. And it was billed as a farewell tour. And I remember being thoroughly disappointed by the smashing pumpkins that night. I was there. That was a damn good show.

2000 at Molson Park. Oh, that bill was like at the time, holy. Couldn't believe we were touring. Food Fighters, of course. Our Lady Peace is there, of course. It's their tour. I think Catherine Wheel was there. You right?

Awesome. It was stacked. So to be in that lineup was like, oh my gosh, this is super cool. And you're off to the races. So obviously for, you know, to keeping my eye on the watch over here, we got a couple of big fucking songs to discuss before we get back to new stuff. But could I take a moment to just give you a couple more gifts because you guys made the trek from Burlington here. Please. I appreciate it. Okay, this is really cool because

this is a brand new sponsor, but they're called Retro Festive. Okay. Did you guys ever see Christmas vacation? Oh, yes, of course. You each of you, you're going to receive a moose mug for this of Retro Festive. Nice. Yeah. Like, I think that's the, like, the coolest thing ever. You each got a, and you know what, Paul, I can get you one too, man. You want one? Paul's a silent partner in the room. That's awesome. Silent partner in the room. So, thank you to RetroFestive.

I'm going to read a quick Google review of RetroFestive. This company has the best gifts. It's a collector's paradise, and there is definitely something for everyone on your list. Francis wrote that, and they're in Oakville, so not too far from you guys. And everyone listening, including you guys, can save 10% when you go to retrofestive. and use the coupon code FOTM. So you've got your marching orders here.

I have a lasagna from Palma pasta. So it's in my freezer right now. That's an empty box, but it's in my freezer. So I want to just tell everybody, including you guys, I'm recording live from Palma's Kitchen and Mississauga on November 29 from noon to 3 p.m. Everybody

gets to eat for free. I'll bring the fresh GLB. Retro-Festive will give everybody a gift. This is happening again, November 29. noon to three, Palma's Kitchen, be there. Brad Jones from Ridley Funeral Home,

Ridley Funeral Home will be there, and I have a measuring tape for you guys, so you see the green, that's a measuring tape from Ridley Funeral Home. Recycle My Electronics here. I'm cooking with gas. I've got to get to the big jams here.

Cooking with gas. Recyclemyelectronics.ca is where you go. If you have old electronics or old devices, you don't throw that in the garbage, guys. You go to Recyclemy Electronics. dot CA, put in your postal code and find out where you can drop that off to be properly recycled.

So we know you guys like your beer. What are you guys, what's your feeling about cannabis consumption? I'm recently off it, but I'm a believer in it, sure. I was a sort of wake and bake kind of person for about 20 years, but...

You're off it because you enjoyed it too much? Yeah, yeah. There was... That'll do it. You know, when you, smoke and then you smoke again and you wonder why you can't get more high because you're just already high. You need a break. And so then I started, it initially was like, you know, smoke a doob and watch a movie and like, oh, and then it turned into don't smoke a doob and watch a movie and it's like

oh. And so I'm on the sort of swing end of it. You're like, you have a system. I think this is clever, you know, on off, on off. Okay, for those who are on, shop kindling.ca, you get free one hour cannabis delivery right to your door. It's discreet and you can follow where it's at, sort of like an Uber. Where is my cannabis at? So go to shopkindling.ca. Again, you'll get it in your hands in under an hour if you order between 9 a.m. and 11 p.m.

That's the deal over there. So welcome aboard. Kinling. I want to just let those listeners know if you're responsible for like an office environment, people are being called back to the office. I don't think this affects anyone in this room. But if you need creative dynamic work environments, you need to talk to Doug Mills at Blue Sky Agency.

He's Doug at bluesky agency.ca. That's where you go. Are you guys ready to hear a big fucking hit? You ready for this? Hey. There it is. But not your biggest hit, but more on that at a moment. Oh, we had a wedding?

We had Schabberg Drugmire? Where are we? We're at Smells Like Sour.com In the year is what, 2000 and, what is it, 2002? What are we in? Restless tonight Because I wasted the light Between both these times

I drew a really thin line It's nothing I planned And not that I can but you should be mine across that line if I traded it all if I gave it all the way for one thing

and just for one thing if I sorted it out if I knew all about this one thing wouldn't that be something I promise I might not walk on my I just want to know one thing How did this song change things for Finger 11?

How did this hit single change your projectory? This, this lengthened the tour schedule and we got to play some, you know, we finally got to go over to Europe and the UK. Yeah, it opened things up for us for sure. And some pop places. That's true. Some pop festivals and some pop bills and stuff like that.

Right. Like it's so funny because you do learn about crossover and like it's like formats and stuff. I remember starting out and like we made a record and people were talking about like singles. And I mean, I guess I understood the concept. But I was like, wait, wait, wait, we have to we have to choose something to stand. Just listen to the whole. Yeah. What do we?

You know, it's a whole. so funny it's so funny to like i forget that sort of state of mind but yeah this this song um got i think got attention from um people that maybe you weren't like diehard finger 11 fans you know like it became a big big song and uh it was it was this really small idea that james started with well it's funny you were talking about cannabis because this was like without first experiment for me of like okay I'm gonna take some weed up to this cottage and I just got

stoned under a tree and came up with this. We'll do that more often. Your accountant once me to tell you to do that again. And just I had recorded it really fast and then gone out and when I came back Scott was sitting at the computer singing this over top of it

it was like what? Yeah. Like this was But did you know you had a hit? I knew it was something about it. You know, I didn't, I mean, a hit, no, no, I'm not sure. It was like the last song on a collection of songs that me and Scott had gone away to work on. And this, we just tagged on the end of like, oh, and we came up with this.

And the guys, the other guys in the band sort of reacted like, whoa, what is this? And that, so that was, I probably would have just thought it was like a neat little ditty. Because I was thinking, oh, we're any big guitar. Oh, you know, you're thinking, oh, extreme's biggest hit is more than words. Yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah, but yes, but we don't even think, we're not even smart enough to do that. Right. You know, it's just more like, oh, there's something captivating here.

We should finish this idea. It seemed like we weren't the right band to do something like this. It was like, oh, it's neat that we did that at a cottage, but we're a rock band. Right. And just everyone who heard the demo was like, man, there's something about this. And it sort of opened up a huge. Not only in the opportunities of where we got to play and stuff, but in what we would try musically after that,

it was like, oh, we could try acoustic stuff. And, like, records like Led Zeppelin 3 and stuff that had acoustic was like, oh, yeah, what are we doing? We don't have to just be a loud rock band the whole time. So it was big. This was a big one. Yeah, I can imagine. I'm going to just let the listenership know.

This song does go to number 16 on Billboard's Hot 100. So that's the big Billboard chart in the USA, number 16. number 16 so you got a top 20 hit with this one and a whole bunch of TV shows like this was using a bunch of TV shows that's right I think scrubs Scrubs for sure Smallville Third Watch

Grey's Anatomy maybe well maybe I don't know I don't have that on my list but if you say so You say so James Maybe not And you win and you win a should have been Have you guys Have you guys won your fair share of Juno Awards We won a Juneau

A Juno so I guess so Is that your fair share? Is that where we're at now? It was rock album of the year. Yeah. That's very nice. That was for this one? That was for the next one.

Oh, that's right. That's right. Okay. Okay. That's the next one. Okay. We've been nominated, I think,

maybe five or six times, but we only have one once. And you guys got to perform this song on live with Regis and Kelly. That's right. Yeah. Yes. And the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. We might not actually,

one of, was it, maybe it was paralyzer. One might have been Paralizer, but we played it the same song twice on either The Tonight Show or Regis and Kelly. It was, I think, Jay Leno, yeah.

Yeah, it was one of those rare occasions where they had the same band back to play the same song. But I think that was Paralyzer. Well, I'm going to play that next actually, but I'm just going to shout out that Good Times is also on this album, which is a great. So here you are now, now you, Finger 11 is a

going concern now. Like, now Americans are, you know, pumping up the volume. There you go. There you go. It's nice. Everything changes. Yeah, like this song, last summer we toured with Creed and this song,

yes, the crowd down in the States definitely knows this one. They bring out the lighters? What's going on? A little bit. Or the phone, you know, but at this point we're playing

where it's just starting to get a little dark so that trick doesn't work. We're opening the show and so. One compare. By way, how's your great legs beer there, James? It's great. Yeah.

Are you meaning how is it done? How does it taste? How did they make that? I've been to the brewery? It tastes great. It's not far from here. So it's down the street from the Costco here in South Atobico. You can check it out here.

Okay, I'm going to get to Paralyzer. But, yeah, no, we're going to do it right now because it's my show. I'll do what I want to do. Here we're going. I hold on so nervously to me and my drink, I wish it was cool in me, but so far has not been good, it's been shitty, and I feel awkward as I should. It's got to be the most pretentious thing since I thought for you and me. Well, I am imagining a darklit place for your place on my place. Well, I'm not paralyzed, but I seem to be struck by you.

I want to make you move because you're standing still if your body matches what your eyes can do. probably move right through me on my way to you I'll have you know because I've been I think we were going to do this last week and then we postponed this so I was all prepped

and this song is in earworm in that it sort of just stays bouncing around your head this thing's very hooky, very hooky okay so tell me how your biggest US hit came to be because this one went to number six

on the US Billboard Hot 100 back in November 2007, how did Paralyzer come to be? Oh, yeah, this is a good one. So we had our friend Chris. He was taking a class in photography. And so he asked if he could come up to our rehearsal space and take some pictures. So we're like, oh yeah, next week we're going to be jamming on, I don't know, Tuesday or something like. So we went up that morning and we started jamming and it was garbage.

Like it was just not happening. Nobody was feeling it. And on a rare occasion, we were like, let's just pull the plug. This sucks today. Let's get out of here. So we packed up all the gear. We loaded up the car. And as we were pulling out of the driveway, Chris pulled up.

And he was like, where were you guys going? I thought we were good. Like, ah. So we unloaded the car, brought the stuff back up into the rehearsal room. And he's set up his camera. And we're posing for some pictures. And we're like, this feels awkward. Why don't we just like, let's start.

make something up. So it looks like we're actually playing when he's taking the pictures. And so we made up this. Is that a true story, Scott? So I wasn't there. So I'll never know. But on that day, I'm pretty sure it's true. I don't know.

So they sent the lie detector test. They sent me the file. Well, we almost left. And Rick was like, oh, we should just record it quick because it's kind of fun. And so we just recorded it super quick and sent it to Scott. They said it to me and I'm like, what in the rock discus? go what is going on what is this right so that's the headspace and I'm like well I'm going to write about how uncomfortable I would be in a place you know like this sounds like some sort of a place that's

too cool for me to exist in and so that's my hook that's what I'll write about and they're you know it wasn't long I think paralyzer took a couple hours to write and that was that it took 10 years to well you know who's counting But yeah, it almost wasn't a song. It was really just fucking around. Okay, so you already have one thing under your belt. So, you know, Americans are like, oh, we know this band. We've heard this thing.

And then Paralyzer, the bigger hit, again, I don't know, I was just looking where this one shows up. Gossip Girl, Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, you know, paralyzers on that. Because it's got the rock part, the Finger 11 rockiness, but it's also got a, like a dancey, hooky, I guess, really kind of a blend. Yeah. I mean, you mentioned it before about if, like, if you know something's a hit or not, I did feel like this one had something. And I remember having a bit of a fight with the label about it.

Whereas, like, they weren't sure where to go as far as a single went. And I thought, well, like, I'm no way in our guy, but dude, come on. I feel like the band, I mean, is there a reason why bands don't typically get to pick their singles? Is it because they don't? I think a lot of bands don't know what they have. I think that's and that you're too close to it and for whatever reason

I think that's probably true but I think in this instance it's like come on if you don't know what to do with this I mean well yeah it takes the outside listener it's like a it's an alchemy

right of like you have the song but then the person that's not in the band has to and paralyzer was one of those like when you played it for friends they'd say I want to hear that again right away and it's stuck in their head for

they don't do that for all the songs right right so number one in Canada of course This was, yeah, in the rock charts in the U.S., it went to number one as well. So, paralyzer. So now that you've got one thing under your belt, paralyzer, by the way, this is the album, Them versus You versus Me?

Who named that album? Me. Shame on you. Sorry. Just kidding. Okay, but that's your fifth studio album. And I just want to tie something together here, and then I see if I can nail the one hour, I promise.

But you mentioned Chris was taking pictures, okay? Then I realize your song, One Thing. One Thing is to Finger 11. as take a picture is to filter. Oh, okay, okay. I mean, I'm not to disparage any soccer moms, lovely people, I'm married to one here now. But there were soccer moms

who probably bought the CD because they like take a picture and then their brains exploded. I get what you mean. Yeah, I get what you mean. Yeah, this is not like the other, yeah, okay. So I feel like, you know, one thing brings you into Finger 11.

You go, only here's some more Finger 11. Boom. Yeah. Yeah, there's probably that. There's nothing wrong with that. Nothing wrong with that. Okay. All right.

So, honestly, fantastic that I took every second of the, oh, I actually cannot say goodbye to you guys until I finish the question from Brandon. And I got this question from Brandon, and I hope you understand it, because I kind of know where it's going, but I'm going to just ask it verbatim. But he says, ask Finger 11. He actually put in quotes what I'm supposed to say, so I'm going to read what Brandon scripted for me. He's a diehard listener of Toronto Mike.

He says, I have to say, if I mention a talk radio duo named the MOTS, does that mean anything to you? Yeah, for sure. They were on like AM radio. Yeah, the MOTS were on 10-10. Yeah. Okay, because he goes on to say, when I was fairly new to the city, that's Toronto, news talk 10-10 would run this promo for seemingly a year or so for the MOTS with a finger 11

bursting into the Mott studio at Young and St. Clair at the time. assumes. So he's sharing this very long memory of you guys and the MOTs. So you know the MOTs. You know of the MOT. So you have any memory of bursting into their studio? They use this as a promo for a very long time. Okay. So we were at some radio station doing promo and then somebody had and then the MOTS were recording their show in the same building. Oh, CKTB. Okay. So I was like, whoa, that's the Mots. Like we, the van that we were touring in and getting, you know, getting around, it only had AM radio in it. And so we would listen to it. We knew that, we knew that show. So whoever was, you know, uh, showing us around the studio, they're like,

well, you want to go in and say hi. And I was like, I don't know if I want to do that, but that's cool. He said, no, no, come on. Go in and say hi. And they threw us right into the studio in front of a mic and we literally said hi on the air. That's my memory of it. I had no idea they were, that was a promo for a year. I have no idea what we might have said. It's not everyday finger 11 bursts in and... But I will say... Right, but I was very starstruck. I was like, you're that voice.

Like, you're the voice in the van. Yeah, it's a husband and wife. They live in here in Ontario. I think they have horses or something. Fun fact, when they had a podcast for a while, the Mott's. And I was their technical advisor on like, how do you take a piece of audio and make it a podcast? And I would help Carol and Paul, I believe is his name,

Mott, with their podcast. Awesome. So we're all connected to Mott's here. Although I haven't, I did try to get the Mott on Sean a mic, then they politely declined. So I don't know what that's about it. Okay, so. Maybe they'll, maybe they'll say yes now.

They'll burst in right now. Let me, oh, can you imagine? That would be my promo for the next 10 years. The MOT's coming and crashing the Finger 11 episode. That's too perfect here. So on our way out here, you guys have been absolutely awesome. You lived up to expectations. They say never meet your heroes.

Well, I met Finger 11 and I have no regrets. That could be the promo now. You can cut that out, okay? Helloville writes in, because we opened of Burlington talk. I like talking Burlington, mainly because I become such a good friend of Rob Pruss,

and he's always pumping the Burlington tires. But Helloville says, I'm curious what early Burlington bands they have memories of playing with or being inspired by. So he wants some shoutouts to the Burlington music scene back then when you guys were coming up,

because you did tease this, James, but you didn't name any of the, you named a couple. Gleet? Gleet. Turkey and the Barbertal Beefeaters. I was just going to say, Turkey and the Barbertoll beef feeders.

That name's worse than Raybo Bumpin. Well, this is where we were coming from. You had Nihility, right? Icebone lizard was one. Man, it was a good scene. Like, Turkey and the Barbatel beef feeders were, in a way, instrumental in me and Scott, thinking we could do a band. In our music class, those three guys played a Metallica song, and we watched, like,

that guy lives up the street from me. He could have a band. B. Pearson High School. Yes, it is. Yes, it was. Maybe it was Rolling Meadows. Maybe it was Rolling Meadows. It was in Pearson, my son. Okay. For sure. Okay. That much I know. Uh, shout out to Colonel Chunk. Colonel Chunk. That's right. Yep. Good stuff, man. Yeah. All the best names are coming at a Burlington. Mechanical Hum. Mechanical Hum. Well, that's another, that's a sexual reference

mechanical. Oh, okay. That's water down. So we're getting, we're getting far afield here. Same with Colonel Chunk. Never mind. The new album is called. last night on Earth you can pick it up right now and adrenaline was the first single I played the title track as well last night on Earth and you guys can catch all you Toronto

heads out there can catch Finger 11 on December 5th at the theater at Great Canadian Toronto rolls off the tongue whoever named that also named Rainbow Butt Monkeys Also we're with Tea Party and Headstones just so you know that's right

Now that's amazing Hugh Dillon was once booked on the show and then his PR person took him off the show but I had done all my homework and all my research and I loaded up all my jammed and I'm still working on getting Hugh Dillon so your homework you gentlemen is to tell Hugh Dillon he owes Toronto Mike to visit

Got it, yeah, we'll be sure to tell him that, yes. He's writing it down ladies and gentlemen All right, thanks so much enjoy your moose mugs, thank you to retrofestive enjoy your beer, enjoy your measuring tape Honestly, it was a pleasure. Did I leave anything that you wanted to shout out? Did I skip anything you wanted to talk about?

I don't know. I think we covered the... We've got to save something for the sequel is what you're telling you. I would love that. It's great. We're going to make it happen. And that brings us to the end of our 1,790 second show. By the way, this song, it's a cover of Rosie and Gray by Lois or Lolo from Shakespeare.

beer my butt, but the cover is done by Rob Proust of Spoons. So it's a Burlington Jam, if you will. There you go. And that brings us to the end of our 1,790-second show. Go to tronomomike.com for all your

Toronto mic needs. Much love to all who made this possible. That's retro festive, Great Lakes Brewery, Palma Pasta, Nikainis. We just recorded an episode of Building Toronto skyline with Jennifer McKelby.

She's an MP. And I think you guys will find it very interesting. It's all about affordable housing and getting things built in this country. Kindling, go to shopkinling.ca. Recyclemyelectronics.ca. Blue Sky Agency and Ridley Funeral Home. Brad Jones is here in exactly two hours to record a new episode of his podcast, Life's Undertaking.

So subscribe and enjoy that. See you all. tomorrow and my special guest is Ralph Ben Murgie. Did you guys ever play his show? We never did, but I know I know the show. Wow. That's exciting. Shout out to Ralph Ben Murgie.

He's on the show tomorrow in the basement. See you all then. Thank you.