By Dillon Schindler
The holiday season has begun! There are lights, ornaments, menorahs and decorated evergreens on nearly every street. Stockings hang neatly along cozy fireplaces. And seasonal music is already playing in homes and businesses across New Jersey and beyond. This same cheerful holiday spirit shines brightly in Dan Amato’s newly released EP, “Home for Christmas.” As Amato says in his cover of “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town,” “It sure is getting cold in Jersey!”
Amato is a local New Jersey artist based in Paramus who graduated from Monmouth University’s Music Industry Program in 2019. During his time at the university, Amato established his career as an artist in the local music scene. He is an independent singer-songwriter, bandleader and music content creator. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Amato routinely played live, opening for national acts likes John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band and John Eddie, and headlined his own shows.
He has been a performer at several Light of Day events in Asbury Park, which raise awareness for Parkinson’s disease. At the Light of Day events, Amato performed alongside former E Street Band drummer and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Vini “Maddog” Lopez, together with Monmouth University’s Music and Theatre Department chair Joe Rapolla and other university students. Bruce Springsteen, who also supports the Light of Day cause, has performed at 15 of the last 20 annual events.
As a recording artist, Amato has released one full-length album, four singles and two EPs, including his most recent “Home For Christmas” EP. The EP features several talented accompanists, some of whom are also Monmouth University graduates.
Nicole Govel graduated from the music industry program in 2018. Amato and Govel have been working closely on music ever since they first met at the university in 2016 as they bonded over a common love of Bon Jovi’s music. They both released music on the university’s student-run record label Blue Hawk Records. Amato and
Govel played on stage together as a duo or with Amato’s full band. Govel’s astounding vocals can also be heard on several of Amato’s released works. Govel’s contributions to the most recent Christmas EP are magnificent, enhancing the EP and its charm.
Under the constraints of the pandemic, Amato has spent the last few months producing the Christmas EP from his personal studio. He said his Christmas EP is “the product of a musician stuck in quarantine with two things: “One, no (professional) studio to record, and two, an underlying love for the holidays.” In this EP, Amato recreates five iconic Christmas tunes. The EP includes favorites like “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town,” a cover which borrows from Bruce Springsteen’s interpretation of the song. Amato brings a new vibrant energy to these classic songs.
On the self-produced record Amato plays several instruments, including guitar, bass, keys, glockenspiel, drums and percussion. Amato’s vocals on the EP are nothing short of exceptional. Govel and Alina Zimmerman are behind the immersive backup vocals. Bob Gizzi’s saxophone can be heard roaring on the EP’s first song, “Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home).” Jeff Dombroski’s pedal steel adds an extraordinary bluesy feel to “Blue Christmas.” Elizabeth Lister provides a warm, full-sounding string section, accompanying Amato’s acoustic upright piano as the duo closes out the EP with an intimate “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” Luca Giacobbre’s tubular bells give the EP a genuine Christmas spirit as they ring in the holiday season.
The collaboration of these vocalists and instrumentalists pushes the production into “must hear” territory for the season. Amato’s “Home For Christmas” is a heartfelt work of art that you will want to hear again and again this holiday season.
“Home For Christmas” can be found on all major streaming platforms along with Amato’s original music.
Dillon Schindler is an avid contributor to the local music scene of the Jersey Shore and a music industry major at Monmouth University.
This article originally appeared in the Dec. 3 – 9, 2020 print edition of The Two River Times.
