Thank You Scientist

A progressive rock juggernaut whose colorful sound weaves together rock, jazz fusion, classical, metal, psychedelic, and pop, New Jersey's Thank You Scientist found a home on the Bad Ink roster where they delivered their impressive 2012 debut, Maps of Non-Existent Places. With a raft of critical acclaim to their credit, the septet continued to explore on subsequent releases like 2016's Stranger Heads and 2019's Terraformer, enduring a handful of lineup changes along the way. Thank You Scientist grew out of the music program at Montclair State University in New Jersey, where guitarist Tom Monda, saxophonist Ellis Jasenovic, and trumpeter Andrew Digrius met. The three shared a love for Frank Zappa, Mahavishnu Orchestra, the Beatles, and Harry Nilsson, and the group's sweeping conceptual sound rose from those and a host of other eclectic influences. Vocalist Salvatore Marrano, bassist Greg Colacino, drummer Odin Alvarez, and violinist Ben Karas were added to the fold, making Thank You Scientist a monster experimental band at home with an array of genres and unafraid to blend and mix all of them. The band self-released an EP, The Perils of Time Travel, in 2011, before signing with Coheed and Cambria frontman Claudio Sanchez's newly launched Evil Ink Records. Their 2012 debut, Maps of Non-Existent Places, was a critical success, making inroads on the Billboard Hard Rock and Heatseekers charts as well. Prior to their next release, bassist Colacino left the group and Cody McCorry replaced him. Thank You Scientist's 2016 follow-up, Stranger Heads Prevail, fared better commercially than their debut and managed to crack the Billboard Top 200. Touring hard over the next year, the rigors of spending so much time on the road took its toll on the band, resulting in the departure of founding members Jasenovic, Digrius, and Alvarez. Incoming members Sam Greenfield (sax), Joe Gullace (trumpet), and Joe Fadem (drums) all made their recorded debut on the group's third album, Terraformer, which came out in June 2019.
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