Raised by Ghosts, Fueled by Grit

Crawling up from the silt of the Mississippi Delta, Keith and the Cockroaches twists the roots of blues, punk, and rock into something raw, real, and just a little dangerous. At the helm of this ragged operation is a multi-instrumentalist known only as Tom—a man with a violin in one hand, a bass in the other, and a past littered with stage magic, whiskey-lit nights, and more than a few bad decisions. KATC doesn’t just play music—it tells stories. Twisting ballads of murderous lovers, desperate souls at the crossroads, and deals gone sideways. It’s the sound of a back-alley bluesman who fell in with the wrong crowd of punks and never looked back. The ghosts of Robert Johnson and B.B. King sit side by side with The Cramps, The Ramones, and Social Distortion, all tangled into something you won’t hear anywhere else. Born in the Deep South, forged in the desert heat. Tom first picked up a violin because he thought all magicians had to play an instrument (long story). Over time, that obsession with sound led him from orchestras to underground punk shows, picking up everything from mandolins to harps along the way. Eventually, the violin gave way to something grimier, louder—something that hit like a bar fight and lingered like a ghost story. The music keeps coming. KATC first kicked down the door in 2022 with "(Tonight, We Are) Immune," and hasn't stopped since. The first full collection, Hatless and Blind, dropped in 2023, followed by the Crossed Palms EP, then by Spell of the Cockroaches. Now, the fourth chapter—tentatively titled Hard to Swallow, (or maybe Bones of the Sweet)—is brewing for Summer 2025.