Staten Island-based singer-songwriter Comfort Cat writes music to comfort toxic people. Whereas other songwriters sing about purging those that hold you back, Comfort Cat sides with the people that get left behind. If you have ever been “the problem,” you might relate to her songs.
Beginning her musical life as a classical violinist on the West Coast, Comfort Cat only started writing and performing songs as an adult. She primarily accompanies herself with a guitarlele, a six-stringed instrument with the same intervals as a guitar but tuned up by a perfect fourth. “Comfort Cat” began as a stage name, and can either refer to the individual songwriter herself or the band.
Comfort Cat has a unique voice, which frequently switches from gritty to clear within the same song. It has been compared to Karen O, PJ Harvey, Björk, Kate Bush, Janis Joplin, Tiny Tim, and others. Her genre occasionally resembles folk punk, loosely bordering on musical theater. She has been also been described as anti-folk.
Comfort Cat’s songwriting is greatly shaped by her early pain and loneliness. Her childhood personality was off-putting, with classmates often calling her a “psycho” and trying to avoid her. Various adults told her she was evil.
Much of the last decade has been greatly shaped by Comfort Cat’s attempt to build self-esteem from scratch and disassociate herself from the past. Her life in New York City, and especially Staten Island, has been an astounding departure from what she left behind. Since then, she has received two grants from Staten Island Arts for recorded music, performs frequently, and is supported by a growing Patreon community.
In addition to being a songwriter and performer, Comfort Cat is a teaching artist and violin instructor in multiple boroughs of the Greater NYC area. She has no strong pronoun preferences.