In band promo photos, they wear oversized cat masks. For TV appearances, it’s Evel Knievel costumes. In concert, they rotate instruments like it’s a never-ending round of speed dating.And when it comes to album names, they like to pay homage to bad ‘90s infomercials for Top 40 compilations.
This is Fantastic Cat, and they just want you to have fun.
“Bringing people together in a fun, communal experience it’s rarer than it should be,” says Anthony D'Amato, one of the four principals in the indie rock-folk, rock-country-pop supergroup proudly listed in press materials as four lead singers. If ego gets involved, “We just let our lawyers settle it,” D'Amato jokes.
Nothing — besides the music — has been taken that seriously since day one, in 2021, when Fantastic Cat was born as an idea among friends while retreating in the Poconos. Also featuring fellow East Coast-based singer-songwriters Brian Dunne, Don DiLego and Mike Montali (who fronts Hollis Brown), the four were already successful in their own right. But they were looking for something outside of their grueling solo careers that meant less pressure and more revelry.
What they settled on was a collaborative outfit that has “a soft spot for the capital ‘S’ songwriters that can front a rock band,” says D'Amato, referencing acts like The Band, “where it’s less about a frontman and backing band but more about an organism that all works together and can shapeshift.” Though all of it with an undertone of playfulness.
The band name came from a waitress at a New York bar they put on the spot when trying to figure out what to call the project.
“We just agreed whatever she said, that was it, and we weren’t going to argue about it,” says D'Amato. When she uttered “Fantastic Cat” without hesitation, it stuck, and D’Amato’s wife started designing the feline alter egos. They also settled on a nonsensical bio with every rock star cliché you could pad into 500 words.
OK, and then there's those masks. They're just for promo photos and album covers.
“It’s all of us just trying to make each other laugh … as solo artists having been through the seriousness of the singer-songwriter industrial complex, we’ve been down that road a million times. … Nobody needs to see four guys in front of a brick wall,” D'Amato adds, referencing the stereotypical aesthetic of most band photos. “Whether it’s visually, sonically or performance-wise — we wanted to signal that this is something a bit different. And there’s a knowing wink to all of it.”
The M.O. paid off, with people responding in kind, many referring to Fantastic Cat as a breath of fresh air in an industry that sometimes struggles with being unassuming.
“In the beginning there were no expectations. We thought maybe we’ll play one show, maybe we’ll put the album out or maybe not. But we did some shows and people really liked that and all of a sudden there was label interest and more shows and it spiraled,” says D'Amato, currently in the throes of the band’s nonstop nine-day, nine-night tour that comes to City Winery on August 26 (it will be Fantastic Cat’s Chicago debut).
By joining forces, the four realized that, not only was it an enjoyable experience, but the sum of their parts actually made for one helluva music project. Songs like “Oh Man!” and “All My Fault” (complete with slapstick videos) have touchstones of ELO, Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan and Monsters of Folk, padded with three-to-four-part harmonies on most songs and with the members trading instruments so that every track — live and recorded — comes off like it’s been produced by a slightly different band.
“Something happened with the four of us together that I think we’d all been chasing in our solo careers,” D'Amato adds. “I don’t want to say an effortlessness, since we are all working really hard, but [the new project] seemed to click naturally with people.”
Perhaps it’s the result of pulling back on the “cautiousness” that comes when you’re solo, since it’s only your name on the marquee, D'Amato theorizes. “With a band you can take bigger risks because, if you fail, you all fail together.”
In the band’s short lifespan, Fantastic Cat has released two well-regarded albums, sold out venues like New York’s Bowery Ballroom and garnered the attention of Rolling Stone, "CBS Saturday Morning" and even Counting Crows’ Adam Duritz and legendary rapper Darryl “DMC” McDaniels. The two make cameos in Fantastic Cat’s latest music video for “So Glad You Made It” off their latest album, the cheeky “Now That’s What I Call Fantastic Cat.” Naturally, the video is a parody piece where the rapper plays the group’s studio producer and they stalk Duritz until he unwittingly contributes vocals to the song. In reality, Duritz was on board from the beginning.
“Mike’s band, Hollis Brown, had toured with Counting Crows years ago … and has known DMC for a while too, they’re both Queens guys … We couldn’t believe how supportive they both were,” D'Amato shares of the connections.
“I think it again comes back to — if you give people the opportunity to not take themselves too seriously, they respond well to it.”
