Weird Science

I would say we’re definitely prog, but I wouldn’t say we’re the thing that people think of in their head when they hear the word prog.

“I look at prog the same way I look at punk,” says Tom Monda, guitarist and bandleader of New Jersey’s musical miscreants Thank You Scientist. Before you run for the hills at the mere mention of punk, fear not, he’s not talking about just bashing out three power chords.

“Both of those genres started where it was less of a sound and more of an ethos as to how the music is created,” explains Monda. “Over time it came to define a sound. When you read, ‘This is a prog band’, your first instinct is, ‘Oh, they sound like Peter Gabriel-era Genesis or Yes or Dream Theater.’ The name prog became a sound. I would say we’re definitely prog, but I wouldn’t say we’re the thing that people think of in their head when they hear the word prog. A lot of times, it’s definitely not what people expect. I’d rather people feel something