HITMAKERS: AARON SMITH-guitar, JUSTIN BAKER-bass, DONNA BAIRD-trumpet, keyboard, MIKE
KEEGAN-guitar, PHILLIP PASCUZZO-drumming.
Influences
cultural marginalia, the ghost of jeremy brett, coffee, art bell, comics, bigfoot (the Patterson film in particular), freedom rock, ...and justice for all, graveyards, found yearbooks from the late 1960s, vij, dearraindrop, the plastic octopus in my bathroom, teen wolf, expired medication etc..
Sounds Like
MORE SONGS AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD AT WWW.SCIENTIFICMAPS.COM.
'GET OFF THE MOON' SONG TITLES: tiffany is a ghost, ancient LCD display, cursing receptors, study the style, halloween 1985, laboratory scene, headstone amplifier, are you still underlining?, charley and marie (from ghosts to houseplants), my friend styles, the mystery lights, a letter to dr. watson, a pattern needing believing, spread the acrimony, the lives we never lived (abridged)-----
"it's all about your "game" and who's got the tops. it's about chillin' with style. it's about showin up in the woods and sayin' "you all gotta check out my styles as i rock it". then you say "we gotta start rockin' it harder".---
rob, averill park. age 25 (quote found in albany institute of history and art in a book asking visitors the question "what does colonialism mean to you?")
Scientific Maps is a pseudonym for Albany, N.Y. resident and musician, Aaron Smith, as well as the name of the four-piece band.
Scientific Maps started in 2003 as a side project for Smith, the then bass player for Albany band The Stars of Rock. As The Stars ceased functioning, Aaron began concentrating on writing and recording hits for an album with songs reflecting influences as varied as the supernatural and crypto-zoological to British invasion to Sherlock Holmes to Elephant 6 and then back to the supernatural.
For the past three years, Aaron has been recording all the instruments himself in his cramped Albany basement most every afternoon and weekend. The final result is a complete album containing 16 original and laboriously fine tuned compositions titled Get off the Moon. The wide variety of instruments (guitar, air organ, theremin, analog drum machine, moog synth, plastic tubing, live drums) combine to create a series of songs imparting on the listener a feeling of floating through space while being chased by the ghost of Jeremy Brett wearing a Who T-shirt.
The Scientific Maps have played with many bands such as of Montreal, the Hold Steady, and Akron/Family. They are gaining more friends and fans at each performance and are ready to play for more.
The record is finished! ...should be out in two-three weeks. ALL ABOVE SONGS WRITTEN BY AARON SMITH .
thank you for listening!!!
****From BEST OF the capital region Metroland issue 7/20/06
---Best Pop Band
Scientific Maps
Aaron Smith writes some of the quirkiest, catchiest geek-pop tunes weve heard since . . . well, since Smiths old band (the Stars of Rock). And his recently revamped Scientific Maps have a full-time theremin player, which is pretty freakin sweet.
----MOVE OVER by John Brodeur/Metroland
Margot and the Nuclear So and So's, Dirty on Purpose, Scientific Maps
Valentine's, Feb. 18
One-time Stars of Rock guy Aaron Smith and his Scientific Maps opened--and damn near stole the show. Consider them the best new old band in the area: While the Maps have been a growing concern for several years, this was the inaugural performance for the new lineup, and the lengthy off season has proven productive.
-----UPSTATE FASHION and ART/Autumn 2006
Like a good cup of coffee that can be savored in a few minutes, the Scientific Maps songs percolate the senses with their sci-fi charged pop idiosyncrasies.
THESE BEAUTIFUL SHIRTS ARE FOR SALE---ALL SIZES---CHEAP!! JUST $8! CONTACT FOR MORE INFORMATION. shirt design by PEPCO.
poor quality pictures of great quality shirts taken by aaron.
Hey, I just found a capo in my bass bag and I can only figure out that it must be your's from when we played in Albany at the Muddy Cup... send me your address and I'll send it your way. How are things? That was a lot of fun!
Yo Boys and Girls, The JP GROUP (aka: CROOKEDTOE) is playing a FREE SHOW at THE RED SQUARE this SATURDAY, MAY 24th... come check it out! 9PM - BLUES BAND, 10PM - PINDER BAND, 11PM - CHASING NILE.
That show last night. I have no idea how to say this without sounding condescending or like a real jerk, but i was really proud of you. Not getting into details but, without even trying, you are a solid reminder of just how good music can make people feel.
Aaron Smith! Thanks for coming out last night to support. You're wonderful. Rock your socks off tonight. But don't let your feet get sticky on the stage we spilled lots of beer on.
Hey Aaron and Donna, I caught the very end of the interview and I'm planning on catching it again on Sunday. What I did hear sounded great though! See you tomorrow night! A.
Yo Aaron (and band), I have this open jam night kicking on the last Friday of every month. They're held at Stella's Lounge in Catskill, NY 12414. Next one is December 28th. If you're ever in the mood to play for some new faces this would be the time and place. I usually give the "featured" bands 20+ minutes to rock a set of originals before moving on to the jammin'. Last one went from 7PM to 1AM. Let me know if you're into that and I'll make it happen. By the way, Catskill is about 40 minutes from Albany.
"it's all about your "game" and who's got the tops. it's about chillin' with style. it's about showin up in the woods and sayin' "you all gotta check out my styles as i rock it". then you say "we gotta start rockin' it harder".---
rob, averill park. age 25 (quote found in albany institute of history and art in a book asking visitors the question "what does colonialism mean to you?")
THESE BEAUTIFUL SHIRTS ARE FOR SALE---ALL SIZES---CHEAP!! JUST $8! CONTACT FOR MORE INFORMATION. shirt design by PEPCO.
