The band Fantastic Cat will be performing a free concert at the Ark on Tuesday, August 27, at 8 p.m. The concert is part of The Ark’s “Spotlight Series,” and while the concert is free and open to the general public, donations to Food Gatherers are accepted.
Anthony D’Amato of Fantastic Cat shared some insight into the band as well as what to anticipate for the concert.
“The other members of Fantastic Cat are Brian Dunne, Don DiLego and Mike Montali,” D’Amato said. “We all play every instrument, write, and sing lead at various times, so there aren’t set roles in this group like you might find in other bands. It’s a true democracy, for better or worse. We released our debut album, ‘The Very Best of Fantastic Cat,’ in 2022.”
D’Amato said the theme of the concert at The Ark is probably going to be called “controlled chaos.”
“Everyone switches instruments and trades off vocals in this band, so from song to song, you’ve got the drummer moving to bass, the guitarist moving to drums, the lead singer moving to harmonies, et cetera,” D’Amato said. “We go on like that until somebody trips over a cord and unplugs the lights, and that’s when we call it a night.”
D’Amato also joked about what seeing the band will bring to people.
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“I don’t want to get their hopes up too much, but people should expect to achieve complete and total enlightenment at our show in such a way that their life will forever be divided into before they saw Fantastic Cat: grey, boring, pointless. And after they saw Fantastic Cat: bright, meaningful, lots of money. Or, at the very least, they should expect a fun night of instrument-swapping, harmony-trading folk rock. It’s a free show, so either way, it’s a pretty good deal for the audience.”
Although the concert is free, money will be gathered for Food Gatherers. Food Gatherers’ main mission is to alleviate hunger in the community as well as eliminate the causes.
Each member of the band is a musical artist in their own right, but the band’s collaboration offers its own special magic.
“We’re all songwriters who knew each other from living in New York and crossing paths on tour over the years,” D’Amato said. “Don (DiLego) invited us out to his studio in the Poconos at one point when we all had a break from the road, and the idea was just to make something fun and loose and collaborative and see where it took us. We had no real plans to release it or even to perform live as a band, but once we started sharing the music, things took off faster than anyone expected and now we haven’t seen our wives or pets in years.”
Members of the band have received accolades from Rolling Stone, NPR, Paste and other publications. They have acknowledged a wide range of influences.
“We all share a lot of the same touchstones — Springsteen, Dylan, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, et cetera — but we each bring our own things to the table, too,” D’Amato said. “That’s where it gets interesting to me. Brian might have a song he envisions playing like Jackson Browne, but Don (DiLego) has a Duran Duran production idea for it and then Mike (Montali) throws down a Motown groove and then I’ve brought a nice meatloaf for dinner.”
And while various publications and they themselves have acknowledged certain music influences, their uniqueness is also notable.
“I can’t say I’ve ever seen a band quite like ours where everyone plays every instrument throughout the show, and all four members are lead singers and songwriters,” D’Amato said. “It’s unpredictable, and every night is totally different, which makes it a lot of fun for us. And when we’re having that kind of fun onstage, the audience can feel it, and then they’re having fun, too.”
Each member of Fantastic Cat is a established and talented member in their own right. They have come together to create entertaining music and performances for the public.
“We’ve all been doing our own thing as songwriters for a long time and know what a grind it can be out there, so it’s been a pleasant surprise to see how quickly this band has taken off and how fast it’s grown,” D’Amato said. “We never really envisioned this as a full-time touring project, but here we are. We take the songs and the music very seriously, but the shows are loose and fun and there’s a real sense of camaraderie and community that I think people respond to.”
They also just released their second album, ‘Now That’s What I Call Fantastic Cat.’ More info can be found at fantasticcatband.com.
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Donna Marie Iadipaolo is a writer, journalist, and State of Michigan certified teacher, since 1990. She has written for national publications like The Village Voice, Ear Magazine of New Music, Insurance & Technology, and TheStreet.
She is now writing locally for many publications, including Current Magazine, Ann Arbor Family, and the Ann Arbor Independent. Her undergraduate degree is from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where she graduated with an honors bachelor’s degree and three teacher certificate majors: mathematics, social sciences, English. She also earned three graduate degrees in Master of Science, Master of Arts, and Education Specialist Degree.
