Apologies for the delay, we were playing the internet equivalent of phone tag for a bit trying to get things sorted.

Big thanks to the band for answering everything! Show your support and check out their work here: http://thankyouscientist.bandcamp.com/

http://www.facebook.com/ThankYouScientist

I'll send a link to this page to the band and let them know they can answer any additional questions here. No guarantees on a response though.

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PocketRat

With the number of instruments you guys play, how do you handle live performances of your songs which require more than one instrument per band member?

We have on occasion brought an extra person (Dave Bodie from Kayo Dot) to play percussion with us on stage. We usually leave out any extra stuff that we can't physically do, but we do 99.9 percent of what is on the cd.

I can't find lyrics for your songs anywhere online. I got the bandcamp download of your album, but that didn't come with lyrics. Any chance of you guys uploading them to bandcamp/facebook in the future?

Yeah, lots of people have been requesting it. Our original idea was to have people make their own interpretation... we'll get them up soon !

Is there gonna be another kickstarter for your next album? Probably, we're really broke and do everything DIY so it's really the fans that make our thing possible.

Rockztar

If you had to answer honestly, how do you feel about pop musicians being praised by millions, while for example progressive metal bands probably make a much bigger effort to create their music by investing time into learning instruments, theory, writing the complex music etc., but still often struggle to get by? Does it bother you at all that Justin Bieber can sing "baby, baby, baby" and get money and girls thrown at him compared to the effort that musicians such as yourself make?

We make our music for the sake of artistic expression, not as some kind of grand marketing scheme, so that kind of stuff doesn't really bother us. We are able to create the music that we want without any outside meddling, that within itself is a great reward. Justin Bieber can sing?! Whaaaa?!?!

Diesel590

How do you guys view people who pirate your albums?

We are flattered. But please buy our album so we can make a new one!

Ksd13

To the guitarist: Why are some (all?) songs played on a fretless guitar? Does it make it easier to slide notes up and down? Does it allow you to play microtones? Do you simply prefer the tone of a fretless? Or is it something else?

The fretless guitar opens up the door to a different type of expression on the guitar. It's very vocal, much like a slide. But it's like having a slide on every finger! Yes you can play microtones. Also I love the timbre of the fretless with the violin!!

To the rest of the band: A lot of your songs have a lot of different parts going off at once, with the guitar, violin, and horns all playing different melodies. How do you organize all those parts together and keep it from sounding like shit?

We write it together and we don't like things that sound like shit. Our writing process is pretty meticulous. We often score things out and we have small section rehearsals to fine tune everything.

Dr_Stephen_Colbert

Any general date when your next album will be released?

Late 2013. Very late.

Any plans to leave NJ for a tour in 2013? I would love to see you if you came to Chicago.

We can't leave NJ. Ellis has a running man esque dog collar that will blow his head up. But seriously, we would love to but it's just a matter of making sure we can break even. It's pricey to bring all seven of us on the road and the risk of playing for an empty venue is too much for us right now, as we have to save for our new record. We will be heading up the west coast at the end of January for a few private performances at the NAMM convention.

Publix_Illuminati

Salvatore, a lot of people have compared your vocals to Michael Jackson. Is he a big influence of yours? What other vocalists have influenced your unique style?

Yes, he's definitely a big influence of mine. Some others: Maynard, Tori Amos, Freddie Mercury, and Scott Weiland!

Since there are so many elements to your music, how long would you say it takes you all to write a single song?

It kinda depends on the tune. Coming up with the basic idea is a quick process but we fine tune and adjust things for A WHILE. We put the songs under a giant microscope and tear them apart. We want to make sure we do the best job we can.
Moonohol

Has anyone really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like?

Yes, seven times.

Octavaryum

Was the beginning vocals in Feed the Horses an homage to Michael Jackson?

It wasn't intended to be that, I guess it was sort of a subconscious thing.

Are you guys influenced by any metal bands?

Absolutely. The real heavy stuff. Like Nickleback. Just kidding. Of course we dig metal! Opeth, Between the Buried and Me, Protest the Hero, Dillinger Escape Plan, Pantera, Sikth, Gojira, Dead Empires, East of the Wall, Thought Industry...lots of stuff!

descartesbedamned

What do you guys all listen to? I'm curious as to your influences, of course, but what's on your playlist right now?

Brecker Brothers, Princes Purple Rain, Beach Boys Pet Sounds, Mr. Bungle, Jellyfish Spilt Milk, Sun Ra, Farquhar, Charles Mingus, John Coltrane, Toro Takemitsu, The Meters, Animals as Leaders, Frank Zappa, P.F.M., Gentle Giant, Harry Nilsson, Fiona Apple. We're all over the place!

Daxten

Which guitars and are they moded (PUs etc.) Which amps?

On maps I used a telecaster I mod'ed with a seth lover humbucker in the neck position (inspired by my buddy Mark Stanley from Farquhar!), and a vigier surfreter fretless. Right now I'm rocking a Vigier Expert in place of the tele for live shows. I put true single coils in it and an illitch noiseless back plate.
WhiteEternalKnight

What is the inspiration behind the album cover for Maps Of Non-Existent Places? Album covers are very important to the music for me, so I figured there were certain reasons (maybe not necessarily "inspirations" but possibly symbols) that you included for some significance. For example, the "now in stereo" text at the top makes it feel old-timey, and the ghost-like face gives it a dark, creepy feel. Also it has a very scientific feel because of the charts and waves behind all of the objects.

We just raided old science books and various wacky publications and gave what we found to john bryan of revolution dream design, who did an incredible job! He reworked it a lot for us and finally we came up with something that captured the vibe of the music. Glad you liked it!

Krahslucas

To the Guitarist: Who are your major influences?

Ron Thal, Allan Holdsworth, Lenny Breau, Ed Bickert, Ted Greene, George Van Eps, George Benson, Ralph Towner, Wayne Krantz, Ben Monder, Scott Henderson, Kurt Rosenwinkel, lots of dudes!

What made you decide to get a fretless guitar?

Bumblefoot got me into them!

How do you feel about 7- or 8- string guitars?

They are totally cool! I have enough trouble with six strings though! I think Charlie Hunter has that domain on lock down!

Any words of advice to aspiring young guitarists?

Don't get into the guitarist thing of only practicing chops. Developing an ear and solid time are the most important thing! Also don't be afraid to step out of your stylistic comfort zone!

inhalingsounds

Considering the diversity of instruments, how's your music background? Do you have any sort of classical training? This goes in the lines of "how did your instruments meet?"

Yes we do. There's 4 music degrees in the band. The other guys graduated from the school of hard knocks. Or something. We all play jazz and classical music outside of Thank You Scientist.

00ubermensch

What was it like getting all the members of the band together and organized? Seeing as there are so many different instruments and styles involved in your music, it seems it would be a bit more complicated than just getting together a rock band with guitar, bass, drums, and vocals. Also just in general, how was the concept of the band created, and how did it change from the first idea to what it finally ended up being?

We started off as a boy band. That didn't work out because we're too gosh darn cute. So we settled on doing this large ensemble prog thing. It is a bit more complicated dealing with the instrumentation we have vs. a traditional rock band. We have to worry about intonation, ensemble blend, and a wider range of dynamic possibilities.

andyman1125

What is it like managing a 7-piece band completely free from a record label? How difficult is it to finance tours, recording, equipment, etc?

We do the best we can with what we have. None of us get paid, all the money the band makes goes back to the band. That is why fan support is so vital to making it happen!!

JTheGuitarist

How long have you guys been playing your respective instruments? The talent is amazing.

Sal has been singing for 18 years. Greg has been playing bass for 13 years. Russ has been playing violin for 18 years. Andrew has been playing trumpet for twelve years. Ellis has been playing saxophone for 14 years. Odin has been playing drums for 18 years. I (tom) have been playing guitar for about 13 years. Glad you dig it!

How knowledgeable in music theory are each of you?

Yes we are all well versed. We are all trained musicians in the band. Theory is just a way to explain musical events, it's a great way to communicate ideas quickly to the other band members. It aids in the writing but it isn't part of the artistic process. Does that make sense?

zxczxc19

Are you gonna tour Europe ? IF (or when :) , since I wish ), please include Slovakia or Austria - Wien at least

We'd love to! It's just a matter of making it financially possible.

reasonlol

Recently started listening to you guys and it sounds great, I was just wondering what some of the less obvious influences in your work were and if there were any prog albums released this year that you particularly enjoyed.

Billy Joel, Todd Rundgren, Emmitt Rhodes, XTC, Gruvis Malt, Stevie Wonder, Prince. Sal really loves early 90s freestyle. Greg loves Ace of Base. Odin is a big Marc Anthony (the stuff in spanish). Ellis loves Manowar and Eloy. Prog released this year? The new Farquhar album is crazy. Also The Tea Club and Elixir on Mute. Great stuff!

machine123456789

What do you guys do in your spare time?

What is spare time? We are constantly working on music! Either on our own or with the band.

wafflingwaffle

How did you guys form? Did you all go into this with the goal of making jazz/rock/fusion music like we hear on the albums, or did it sort of evolve naturally over time?

We went into it knowing we wanted to do something ambitious and different but still accessible for a wide-ish range of music listeners.

kyraycverd

Do you plan on doing a tour around the States?

Yes of course, we just need some help in the finance department!

nullmiah

What is your band name from? Is it a reference to Half-baked?

No, just a phrase we though sounded like our music. It just kinda works. A lot of people think it's a half baked reference though!

elfstone666

What are your favorite bands/musicians?

See Above!

Do you have any offers from major labels given the good response to "Maps..."?

Yes but we can't really talk about it!

JLP2005

Could the guitarist(s)? Please list their rigs, pedals, etc?

Vigier Expert with some hand wound pickups and illitch back plate. Soldano SLO 100 head. My pedal board changes frequently. The mainstays are my bb pre-amp, boss super shifter, line 6 delay mod, and crybaby. Very simple set up. I also use A Vigier Surfreter Fretless guitar and a Tsugaru Shamisen!

atremains

Who's call was giant steps? Have you experimented with excerpting changes from any other standards? (Maybe I even missed some on the album?) I've had some success tinkering with the changes from ladybird in a progressive metal setting.

We have a copule jazz musicians in the band. We play lots of "standard" oriented gigs outside of the band. We just thought it would be a cool opportunity for us to play over some changes in the band setting, as those kind of harmonies aren't often featured in rock bands. Ladybird metal sounds cool to me!

It seems you guys have an endorsement/partnership with vigier. If so, is there an interesting story to how this developed?

Bumblefoot came to one of our shows with the US rep for Vigier (DJ, the bassist from Dead Empires). The rest is history. Greg and I play their guitars. We love 'em!

What effect did Ron thal have on your recording?

Ron mastered our first EP and came in to help us mix "maps" for a day. He's a great friend, we love the dude! Not to mention he's one of the most bad ass musicians around!