We are Mark Foster, Cubbie Fink, and Mark Pontius from Foster The People. Ask us anything.

You guys saved my life.

Sorry I had to tell you guys somehow.

we're glad you're alive : )

"Raise up to your abilities". My favorite lyric on Torches.

Houdini is literally one of the greatest songs of the millennium.

Houdini is my favorite song on Torches. Glad you dig it.

Besides "Pumped Up Kicks", which song on your album has the most interesting background story behind it?

And yet the downvotes on every single comment is still inevitable...

The coyotes that are barking in the beginning of goats in trees actually were barking as we were recording that song. you could hear they were on a hunt and if you listen closely, you can hear that the alpha dog let's out a howl and the rest of the pack go silent. To me, it was symbolic to the subject matter of the song and the feeling of being pursued by an enemy that comes from all directions. When I think back to that time and hear the intro to that song, it takes me right back into the feeling of being trapped by a multi-headed animal.

1) Do you ever think you'll have a hit as successful as Pumped Up Kicks again?

2) Who are your favourite bands/artists? (I'm hoping The Strokes and Arctic Monkeys.)

3) What was the most challenging track on Supermodel?

I think that Pumped Up Kicks was an anomaly that may never happen again. To me, it's amazing that the song ended up on Top 40 radio sandwiched between artists like Beyonce and Rihanna. At the end of the day, I think we're fortunate to have made something that created a cultural impact of that scale, but as far as moving forward, it's more important to us to keep putting out authentic music. It's more important to us than trying to write "hit" songs.

I'd say that every song had its own challenges, but I've always felt like Best Friend was the easiest/hardest song to write. It's complex in the way that reggae is complex. The percussive nature of all of the instruments have to be played exactly right in order for the beat to swing.

Torches is a really great workout album, so thanks for that!

What's your favorite place to get pizza?

you have a dualistic nature don't you?

Can you explain these lyrics in Are You What You Want To Be: "A young one dripping makeup put her hands out to holla I gave her what I got but couldn't handle her broken heart"

and

"The young one dripping makeup lift her leg up to holla I told her what she's got should be protected in the arms of love"

in the context of the song? I thought I understood it but the more I listen to it the more I'm confused.

Well the first line is about seeing a young girl begging in the streets and giving her all the money I had in my pocket but not being able to truly give her what she needed, which was fixing a broken heart. The second line is a progression of the same girl, now hitting the streets to make money and sacrificing a piece of herself in the process.

The chemical equations on the cover: were the substances any of you used? I noticed Cocaine as one and Nicotine as another. I know Mark Foster wanted to give up smoking. Were you successful?

Yep! Quit for about a year now. The chemical equations on the cover are more representative to the themes on the record, not my life personally.

This ones for Cubbie Fink, growing up as a christian our family listened to alot of christian music and Rebecca St James was one of my faves and my earliest crush :), so my question is whats it like for both of you being married while being involved different genres of music?

She's taken a step back from music right now to focus on being a wife and mom which has been her dream for many years. She's been really supportive of me and what we're doing with the band - Cubbie

Will you guys be playing The Truth on tour? It's my favorite song on the album :))

Thanks. We've actually been playing The Truth and it's quickly become one of our favorite songs to play live.

cubbie, how do you achieve such level of chillness

"Do like the koalas do" - cubbie

What's your favorite song from the new album? Mine is Best Friend (so far)

p.s. Can't wait to see you guys at Coachella!

foster's is pseudologia right now - pontius' is goats in trees and cubbie's is the truth

Cannot wait for the album tomorrow and I can't wait til you do Ritz, Manchester in June! You guys were class here last time.

• Can I ask what comes to mind when writing first the lyrics and then the music to your songs? You feature some abstract sounds (ie. Life on the Nickel), how do you know what sound should be in which song?

• EDIT: also, me and an old friend (who is no longer a friend) used to love your shuffle-dancing on stage. Will we see more of that? :D

Cheers, your beloved mr_nogga. See you in June!

Good question. A lot of times when I'm writing a song, the sound will eventually lead to the melody or part. I'll go through a synth and find an interesting sound and usually it will end up defining the melody that comes next. I tend to be attracted to weird sounds.

PS sorry to hear about your friend who's no longer a friend. Shuffle on, friend.

Mark (Pontius), what is your true passion: Music or Dodgeball?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Io_VnxMXrw

"dodgeball obviously" - pontius

What did each of you think you would be after leaving high school when you were teenagers?

Pontius went to school for cinematography. Cubbie was, is, and always will be a gypsy. I had my sights set on music with a back up plan to join the air force (pre-war)

I'm going to bother you on every social media site until I find the answer: Is 'Nevermind' spelt the way it is because of Nirvana?

maybe subconsciously but not intentionally

A Beginner's Guide to Destroying the Moon is my jam. What is your inspiration on that?

Is there a difference between the BBC radio version and the studio version? I kind of like the BBC more for some reason.

We played it live on the BBC so it was a bit more raw I guess. Also, it's funny how songs usually become better versions of themselves live after we've had some time to really digest them and continue to let them evolve. A lot of times, we'll trim the fat (make the song shorter where it needs to be shorter or vise-versa) live, and by the time we've finally got them into a good place, we're in the studio recording new ones. Vicious cycle isn't it.

What's the story behind The Angelic Welcome of Mr. Jones?

It's a small piece of a bigger song that we haven't released yet. Titled "The Unforseeable Fate of Mr. Jones"

Hey, Foster The People! Hope you guys are doing okay!

So I'm a sucker for recurring themes in musical albums. In my opinion it helps link the different songs in the album and makes the musical experience of listening to the whole record special.

So I was wondering: Is there an overall theme that persists in the whole 'Supermodel' album?

searching for the truth

Boxers or briefs? Beach or mountains? Coffee or tea? Socks or barefoot? Mani or pedi?

briefs, beach, coffee, barefoot, ponsi loooovesss a good pedi

Will you ever bring a tour to Cleveland?

I don't know why that hasn't been a stop on our next tour. My dad gave me an earful about it the other day. Trying to make it back there. There's no place like home.

favorite tv show at the moment?

True detective was insane! Now that it's over, we just twiddle our thumbs and wait for the third season of house of cards.

Hi guys! Im a big fan of your music and love Coming Of Age. What are your favorite hobbies to do that is not music-related?

Cubbie and Pontius are either building things at their houses or surfing. I like to watch movies and play reversi online. They're laughing at me right now.

Mark, Cubbie, and Mark-

First off, thank you so much for doing this! I bought Torches 2 years ago and I have to say, it totally changed my music taste for the better. thank you for giving me, and so many others, such beautiful music.

my question is- pumped up kicks brought quite a bit of controversy after it skyrocketed up the charts. are you wishing to push the boundaries in a similar fashion with Supermodel? I will honestly be a little disappointed if you say no, because you guys always have a way of speaking the unpopular truth in such an eloquent fashion.

thank you again for taking the time to do this, and for responding to me on twitter not too long ago. "Supermodel is about confronting the animal in the room. turn the light on in the closet and watch the monster disappear." absolutely gorgeous. thank you so much.

xo, Melanie

I'd always rather make something that challenges you for better or worse. If you love it, great. If you hate it, great. If you respond indifferently, then that means we aren't making something interesting. Kicks always created a conversation that I thought was healthy. Sometimes we ended up being scapegoats because we were an easy target, but at the end of the day, I feel like it preempted a larger conversation that is still happening now in the US.

What are your favorite books?

wrinkle in time, pokey the little puppy, wisdom of the enneagram, atlas shrugged, on The Road, catcher in the rye, ham on rye, anything by malcolm gladwell, Ponsi likes anything by dr. seuss, picture of dorian grey, clifford the big red dog

What is the best piece of advice you have for someone that is moving to LA?

learn how to bartend (seriously)

favorite reverb plugin?

Logic's space designer - I put that beast on everything

Are you planning on touring next year in 2015?

we might play some shows early in the year…to be determined

is the fire escape okay after the earthquake today?

is it bad that i never realized cubbie's real name is jacob

also why didnt cubbie name his child cubitha

does ponsi like cats or dogs more

do you take the reviews of supermodel personally or is that not a focus of yours?

is social media overall good or bad?

favorite new instruments used on supermodel?

cubitha was a close second