MUSIC AUDITIONS
BLUES
ARIZONA, USA
04-04-2025 13:30 GMT
Keith and the Cockroaches
Current Score: ★☆☆☆☆ ☆☆
"I want to grow my fanbase. "
People also searched for: Guitar, Tom Waits
Biography:
Emerging from the silt of the Mississippi Delta, Keith and the Cockroaches weaves the roots of rock, punk, and blues into a rough and raw approach to American storytelling. Orchestrated by a multi-instrumentalist known only as Tom, KATC uses its lineup of guitar, bass, drums, and vocals to craft a range of compositions, from rowdy punk proclamations to subdued and haunting ballads. It’s no wonder that KATC draws inspiration from blues greats like Robert Johnson and B.B. King as well as from punk-rock standbys like The Cramps, The Ramones, and Social Distortion. Currently based in Phoenix, Arizona, KATC first began releasing music with their first single, "(Tonight, We Are) Immune," in September 2022 and plans to continue releasing a new single each month.
Originally from Jackson, Mississippi, the man behind KATC spent a few of his formative years in New Orleans and elsewhere throughout southwest Louisiana. The culture, history, and landscape of the southern swamps heavily influenced the music Tom would go on to make in later years. Much like the sprawling poetic compositions of artists like Tom Waits, each song by Keith and the Cockroaches is a story set to music. These stories are often dark and brooding in nature, telling of murderous lovers and unrequited obsessions. While the music sets the stage, the vivid imagery of each story forms the essence of KATC’s creativity. For Tom, music is often just the vehicle for conveying emotions and ideas that fall short in words alone.
But despite having been inspired by music from an early age, Tom actually started out performing as a magician. In his teenage years, Tom would take himself out into the French Quarter of New Orleans and busk magic. In fact, Tom even holds a world record as an escape artist. But when a young Tom told his grandmother, a singer, that he wanted to be a magician when he grew up, she mistakenly thought he was proclaiming his desire to be a musician and asked him what instrument he wanted to play. Already very familiar with the world of multi-talented Vaudeville performers, Tom assumed his grandmother meant that a magician should also be able to play instrument. So, from there, he decided to pick up the violin.
Tom spent several years in school playing the violin in different orchestras as he moved from town to town and school to school. But eventually, he found himself at a high school that had no orchestra program. Desperate for a musical outlet, Tom searched for bands to join but didn’t find much need for a violin player in the world of punk and alternative rock. Eventually, Tom resolved to learn to play the bass in order to make himself more useful to the bands he felt drawn to. After tackling the learning curve to learn bass, Tom eventually returned to the violin before learning mandolin and harp. Nowadays, Tom will play just about anything that has strings. But regardless of what instrument Tom picks up, all of his musical endeavors carry a heavy tinge of punk and blues.
Keith and the Cockroaches' first collection of singles plus one unstreamed song, "Without A Net (Hatless and Blind)" on the similarly named ablum "Hatless and Blind" was released in Summer 2023, followed by the 5-single EP "Crossed Palms." KATC's third collection (tentatively titled "Spell of the Cockroaches") will enter stores in Winter 2024. You can follow Keith and the Cockroaches on social media via both Facebook and Instagram. You can also follow and stream KATC on spotify and Apple Music where you can find all of their newest singles. Lastly, you can learn more about Keith and the Cockroaches on their website at www.loudhabit.com.
Career Goals | Objectives:
To gain more fans and to sell merch
Music Education | Training | Qualifications:
I was trained as a violinist when I was young. When I moved to a town with no orchestra, I joined various garage bands to express myself musically and learned various musical instruments in that manner.
Musical Instruments | Studio Equipment:
Guitar, hollow-body electric guitar, acoustic guitar, Telecaster
Influences | Sounds Like:
Tom Waits, Alice Cooper, Lemmy, Mike Ness
Live Performance History | Residencies | Touring Experience:
No, not with Keith and the Cockroaches.