The 21st century progressive rock septet 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 rises from those 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 progressive rock, jazz fusion, classical, metal, psychedelic, and pop, 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. They followed up in 2016 with Stranger Heads Prevail, which cracked the Billboard Top 200. ~ Steve Leggett