Every band interview starts the same way. The movies “This Is Spinal Tap” (1984) and “Almost Famous” (2000) captured this dynamic, often casting the journalist as “the enemy.” Fortunately, this band was gracious enough to welcome their so-called adversary to an Italian dinner before their gig — providing a chance to learn about their origins, creative process and what lies ahead.
Without further ado, I, the enemy, am pleased to introduce Fat Morgan, a unique band reviving a sound that is all too rare these days.
Their story begins in the far away land of Worcester, a city known for micro-wrestling, Clairo and now Fat Morgan. While attending Holy Cross, part-time musicians and full-time rock enthusiasts Stephen Giannikas (drums), Matt Conway (lead guitar), Josiah Bargmann (lead vocals), Brendan Ring (keys), Chris Terranova (bass) and John Mondi (backing vocals/bass) had a meeting of the minds, formulating what is now known as Fat Morgan. When asked how the band came to be, Conway replied, “easy story.”
“Freshman year ... I was blasting my guitar in my dorm room in Brooks Hall, and I hear a knock on the door. It was Stephen. He asked for a guitar cable so that he could record something,” Conway said. “Eventually, he said that he played drums. And I was like, oh, we should try to play together sometime. A whole year goes by.”
“That’s because you were bad [at that time],” Giannikas clarified.
Eventually, the Battle of the Bands comes a-knocking, pushing the boys into gear and initiating the recruitment of other known musicians in their circle. They called themselves Alma Sun — a “terrible name” according to Conway — but it had to do, at least until, a week before the Battle of the Bands, when a whole new lineup called for a rebrand.
“We’re sitting in our dining hall,” Conway recalled, “and Stephen says there’s this thing called a Fata Morgana. … I go on Spotify, and I see there’s like eight different artists with the same name and four different songs. So, we gotta change it so we can stand out. Stephen suggested taking an ‘A’ off both the words, and then we have Fat Morgan.”
Fat Morgan is pictured.
“Fata Morgana” references an optical illusion in which ships on the horizon appear to be floating. It is only fitting that the band settled on this name, as most of their music seems too good to be true. In fact, the band recently released their self-titled, first full-length album, a trip-through-time filled with bluesy melodies and catchy riffs. Recorded during their senior year, the boys enlisted the help of junior and multi-instrumentalist Mondi. Mondi filled in various roles from keys to backing vocals but now is a full-time member of the band as bassist.
Their first album captures the best of ’70s rock, a time when rock was the popular music. While taking inspiration from various classic rock artists of the time, Fat Morgan’s music represented the authentic desire to create music as a group and curate an energy that encapsulated both themselves and their audience. Following the graduation of Giannikas, Conway, Bargmann, Ring and Terranova in 2024, the band continued to make music whenever they could. Their second album, which represents their growth and changing interests, is currently in production.
“Our first album is very classic rock. It’s very blues; every song has its own personality, nuanced, sort of ’70s like thing, or it’s a bit funky,” Giannikas said. “Our second album, because of the fact that we were apart and I wrote it basically by myself, it’s a lot more heavy and a bit darker and a bit more groovy and riffy, which I personally like a lot. It was a tough sell for the other guys. But once they started playing it, I think they really locked in.”
Despite being in different places now, the band still grounds their work in the communal effort of songwriting and music creation. When they find the time, they record the products together. One such example is what they call the “Vermont Sessions,” a preliminary recording session of the second album from when they were all in a remote cabin in Vermont, a setting that truly captured the grungy and artistic environment of rockstar spaces. Giannikas emphasized the importance of a collective effort in the songwriting process.
“[For our first album], we wanted to have a cohesive, full piece of art that we could be very proud of, that would be timeless,” he said. “So basically, what happens is the initial idea flows in on guitar, always from me or from Matt, and then I’ll map out the whole song. … I’ll bring it to the guys, and they make it a Fat Morgan song once we start playing it as opposed to a Matt Conway idea or a Stephen Giannikas composition.”
Perhaps the biggest challenge that Fat Morgan faces is the most obvious one: being a rock band in the current musical climate. With the increasing popularity of electronically produced music and the decreasing interest in instrumental qualities, the band’s future remains uncertain. But the slow death of rock indicates a larger, deeper-rooted problem in the music industry. The genre of music is not necessarily the problem, given the popularity of ’70s-coded Greta Van Fleet and beabadoobee’s ’90s grunge revival, but rather a flaw in the system as a whole — especially with music-listening platforms.
“At this time, we have 30,000 plays on our whole album from about 13,000 people [on Spotify]. So, let’s say it was 1990. If 13,000 people bought our album for $20 we’d make $260,000,” Giannikas explained. “[But now], it doesn’t add up, because you have all these people that are interested in you or would have bought your album … and now they just consume it, spit it out and forget about it the next month.”
As Fat Morgan continues to navigate the music industry, they must also reckon with balancing music and their other professional goals. In every band’s career, there comes the point when music must be the be-all and end-all — no more balancing. Conway is confident in their prospects, affirming their deep-rooted love and ambition for creating music.
“I’ve seen our progression as consistent; we’re writing music, we keep writing music, we keep having more ideas. We’re all continually trying to evolve, there’s no stagnation — it’s not like we’re satisfied, I think everybody’s hunger is the same. And I think everybody [shares] the same goal of wanting to do more and continue to get better.”
If any rock band can succeed in these conditions, it’s Fat Morgan, unique as they are in their creativity, drive and image. Our food soon came — chicken parm and spaghetti all-around — putting an end to this interview, but certainly not this conversation.
