RTL Talks: Finger Eleven

The biggest music happening of the year is edging ever closer and the lead vocalist for Canadian alternative rock band Finger Eleven says he’s in need of some local energy.

Finger Eleven, the Juno Award winner for Rock Album of the Year in 2008 gained fame across Canada and the United States in the early 2000s with big hits like Paralyzer and One Thing.

They appear at Rock The Lake on opening night, Friday, August 11.

The festival is brought to you by 104.7 The LIZARD and 103.1 Beach Radio.

The Ontario outfit’s Scott Anderson had a chat with Roach from 104.7 The LIZARD ahead of the gig.

Below is a condensed and edited version of the interview.

Roach: How excited are you to be coming to Rock the Lake?

Scott Anderson: We haven’t seen you guys [Kelowna] in a long time and I just need some of that energy that Kelowna gives me. So, I can’t get out there soon enough.

R: I have a specific memory as a kid playing road hockey and when Paralyzer came on the radio, we went crazy with air guitar with our hockey sticks. Tell us about the energy that comes from fans at live gigs for the old and newer stuff.

SA: There’s no feeling like it, to see a whole crowd light up. It’s fun when you play the bigger songs, everybody goes pretty nuts, and that’s a fun collective experience. And it’s also fun to play a song and a couple of people lose their minds, they’ve maybe been waiting a long time to hear it live, and I know what that’s like. It’s awesome. There is nothing like it and that’s why I don’t really get tired of playing the bigger songs because the audience brings so much to it.

R: Do you remember the first time you heard on of your songs on the radio?

SA: I remember, because we’d submitted a tape to a local radio show for the Battle of the Bands. We were told we may be one of the finalists, so we tuned in every night. That flashpoint was crazy because you had DJ’s saying ‘okay, here’s these guys’ and they played the song and they talked about how they liked it. I remember that like it was yesterday. It gives you chills. I’ve ben chasing that high ever since.

R: How have you grown as a band over the years and how do you prepare for something like Rock the Lake?

SA: I think the [music making] process has changed for us a little bit. You have a lot of confidence when you’re a younger musician, but then the studio was more intimidating for me … I’m no longer intimidated. It’s maybe easier for me to get ideas out, like something I hear in my head. But the alchemy, the magic… sitting in a room putting music together, still works.

R: What can Kelowna expect from the show?

SA: I hope Kelowna shows up with that famous brand of energy because we’re going to do the same thing.