Stephen Montoya
Dr. Stephen Troum is a hand surgeon by day and the lead singer of a rock band by night.
What happens when a top-tier hand surgeon swaps scalpels for a six-string guitar? In Fort Worth, you get Dr. Stephen Troum — a man who stitches tendons by day and rips solos by night, fronting the Troumatics as they roll out their second full-length album, "Keep on Flowing," on Nov. 18. For Troum, medicine and music aren’t separate worlds — they’re two sides of the same coin, each demanding precision, passion, and a steady hand.
Born and raised in Greensboro, North Carolina, Troum’s early fascination with the human body charted his path to a career in medicine. “Middle school, junior high — I was always mesmerized by how the human body worked,” he recalls. Anatomy, physiology, the mechanics of healing — it all fascinated him. That curiosity led him through Emory University in Atlanta, Wake Forest University for medical school, a general surgery residency at Mercer University, and finally, a hand surgery fellowship back at Wake Forest. Nearly three decades later, he’s a respected hand surgeon in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, board-certified and recognized by the Texas State Legislature as an honorary Surgeon General of Texas in 2004. His research has appeared in top journals, and he has been featured in national media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. He currently works at his own practice, Privia Medical Bone & Joint Clinic, and operates at Baylor Sergicare in Fort Worth.
Stephen Montoya
But beneath the white coat and scrubs beats the heart of a musician. Troum’s love for music started at home, with a piano, an acoustic guitar, and a pair of bongos in the house. From the recorder in elementary school to self-taught guitar chords in adolescence, music was always part of the fabric of his life. “Once you learn three chords, pretty much, you got a lot,” he says with a grin. Over the years, he refined his craft — first dabbling, then performing, and now fully committing to the Troumatics, a three-piece band he fronts alongside drummer Dan “Sonic Boom” Elliot and bassist Wyatt “Doc Riot” Webb, a family physician. Troum’s stage name? “Doc Roc,” of course.
The band’s first album, 2023’s "Watch Me Burn," announced their arrival on the Fort Worth music scene with raw energy and hooks that stuck. Now, "Keep on Flowing" is a reflection of Troum’s world view — introspective, socially conscious, and grounded in resilience. The album’s lead-off single, "I Am a River," finds its roots in the tumult of recent years — pandemic anxieties, political strife, and the blurring lines of truth in the media. “We’re metaphorical rivers flowing through life,” he says. “At some point, we have to find a way to coexist with all these challenges.” Unlike "Watch Me Burn," which leaned heavily on relationships, "Keep on Flowing" addresses the broader, more complex canvas of existence in the 2020s.
Stephen Montoya
Recording the album was a patchwork of studios and collaborators — from Joe Tacke at Cloudland to Todd Pipes and Peter Wierenga, with a couple of songs carried over from earlier sessions with Taylor Tatsch. Each track is a testament to the band’s commitment to craftsmanship. “I hope listeners go on that journey, enjoy the musicianship, enjoy the songwriting, and if they want to dive deeper, find something personal in the lyrics,” Troum says.
Despite the weight of his medical career, music is never a mere hobby. The band has been a serious project for the past three years, building momentum with radio play, festival appearances, and a supportive Fort Worth music community. Troum is conscious of timing. “I’m always worried I’m getting too old for this, and maybe I already am,” he admits. “But as soon as I thought of it, I said, let’s just do it.” His instinct has been vindicated — the snowball of success is rolling, and there’s no sign of it stopping.
Troum’s dual existence is a testament to the possibility of pursuing both craft and calling. By day, he operates with surgical precision; by night, he channels raw emotion through guitar strings and lyrics. And as Fort Worth listens to "Keep on Flowing," they’re hearing a man who has learned to keep both his hands and his dreams alive.
“I do love doing the music part of it,” he says reflectively. “It’s certainly a passion outside of my profession that I like doing. I’m going to retire eventually from medicine, but I can continue to do music as long as possible.”
