Ladies and Gentlemen: Meet Dan Amato & the Sentimental Gentlemen

Sometimes, when the planets – and talents – align just right, a group of college friends will join forces and find themselves working in perfect harmony. That’s apparently the case with the musical group Dan Amato & The Sentimental Gentlemen, formed when the band members were all students together at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, NJ. They include Dan Amato on lead vocals and guitar, Nicole Govel on backup vocals, Owen Flanagan on drums, Jon Bass on bass (yes, really – Bass on bass), and JJ Fabricatore on saxophone. Nicole, Owen, and JJ all just graduated from Monmouth U., and the lessons learned by them and their fellow music scholars have obviously paid off.

Citing Bruce Springsteen, The Beatles, and Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons as their creative influences, the band combines classic rock, modern pop, and timeless soul, belting out original songs written by Dan Amato and developing a unique sound they can call their own. And that sound has certainly been keeping these “Gentlemen” very busy since they first began playing together in November 2016! They’ve been taking the stage at various venues in Monmouth County, including The Saint, Wonder Bar (for a Bruce Springsteen Tribute Show), The Asbury Hotel, the Asbury Park Yacht Club, and Langosta Lounge in Asbury Park, and The Chubby Pickle in Highlands. In March, they were guests on Brookdale Public Radio 90.5 The NIGHT, playing a few songs and giving an interview for the station’s Our Week segment. They delighted audience members at Fox Hollow Vineyards in Holmdel with a performance this past April, and they’ve also been seen at The Orange Lantern in Paramus, where they will be performing again this month, on Friday, June 8, 2018.

On Sunday, June 24 from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m., Dan Amato & The Sentimental Gentlemen will be performing backup with Rock and Roll Hall of Fame drummer and former E Street Band member Vini “Mad Dog” Lopez at the Bradley Beach Lobsterfest. On Saturday, July 28, the band will be appearing at the Eighth Annual Soulsational Music Festival at Veterans Park in Bayville, NJ; their set is scheduled to begin at 1:15 p.m. on the Field Stage. And on Saturday, August 11, they’re back at The Orange Lantern in Paramus for a Summer Send-Off.

Their first EP, “Homecoming,” was produced at Grand Street Recording in Brooklyn and released in June 2017, and enthusiastically celebrated with a release party at The Saint. Songs include “Old Fashioned Way,” “Miss Psychopath,” “Roosevelt,” “Next Time You Need Me,” “Beautiful to Me ’17,” and “Hometown Girl ’17.” The band’s singles to date include “Ex’s Best,” “Roses for Rosie,” “December 26th” (released last December), and their latest single, “Lindsay,” which was released in February 2018.

As this article was going to press, the group had just finished spending time at Retromedia Sound Studios in Red Bank and were wrapping up the final mixes for their new LP that is due to be released in mid-June, entitled “The Big Picture.”

Be sure to like Dan Amato & The Sentimental Gentlemen on Facebook, subscribe to their video channel on YouTube, follow @sentimental_gentlemen on Instagram, and look for their music on Spotify and iTunes. You can also check out their website at https://sentimentalgents.com.