Denver musician Kurt Ottaway debuts new band Bats Cats Rats

Kurt Ottaway’s new band, Bats Cats Rats, has already recorded eighty to ninety songs in just one year. The Denver musician, who has led groups including Twice Wilted, the Tarmints, Overcasters, and Emerald Siam since the mid-1980s, announced the new four-piece lineup this month. The group consists of Ottaway on vocals and guitar, drummer AJ Hathaway, guitarist Bobby Jamison, and bassist Todd Spriggs.

The band started rehearsing ideas in August 2025. Ottaway described the project as a way to make music with friends following the death of his longtime friend Eric Ryan in March 2025. Ryan, a former member of the body of souls and Dead Comets, had proposed a new live lineup for Twice Wilted before he passed away. Ottaway said the loss made it sensible to start making new music with close associates.

The new band is distinct from Ottaway’s previous projects. While Tarmints focused on dark garage rock and blues, and Emerald Siam explored psychedelic dream pop, Bats Cats Rats incorporates a different sound. Ottaway aims for guitar tones that resemble motorcycle exhaust notes. The group does not have any shows scheduled yet, but Ottaway said they will wait for the right opportunity or create one.

Ottaway emphasized the band's speed in writing material. He stated that he has never been in a band that can write songs so quickly and concisely. The group has had to be patient with the release process due to other life events, describing the work as being on a slow cooker. He wants the band to feel like the best he has ever been in, noting that if it does not feel compelling to him, there is no point in wasting anyone's time.

The band’s name and concept reflect a storytelling approach from the underground. Ottaway explained that the name suggests every person is a bat, a cat, or a rat. He cited a song called Vermin, which depicts an uprising of the underground to overthrow grotesque elements. The group keeps a low profile, with minimal social media presence and no official press photos released so far. They currently have an Instagram account where the algorithm suggests similar bands like Scratch Acid and Laughing Hyenas.

Ottaway noted that the gear the band uses is interactive with the performance. He described the setup as mechanical but integral to the live experience. The group plans to launch as a live entity soon, with performances expected to be intense. Ottaway joked that the shows will be 28 minutes of sheer terror, a slight increase over the 27-minute sets his previous band Tarmints was known for.