While my cat doesn't have as big distinct patches of color, she also has solid black fur (sprinkled with tiny red specks) and her orange head spot shows a tabby pattern. Their genetics are similar, just the expression is different.

Nah totally possible to be a normal calico, just that she has the a/a agouti gene so the black fur shows up completely black. Orange fur always shows up tabby, regardless of the agouti gene