Gary Smith and the Houserockers
The Houserockers were formed in the fall of 1977 and by the spring of 1978 they were playing all the South Bay blues and rock clubs on a regular basis.
In January 1980 Gary Smith joined the Houserockers as the front man and leader. Overnight the Houserockers became the in demand blues band in the greater San Francisco and Monterey Bay Areas. When the promoter of the San Francisco Blues Festival heard about Gary Smith joining the Houserockers, the band was added to the lineup of the 1980 San Francisco Blues Festival. That launched a nearly 5 year run of Gary Smith and the Houserockers being the premier blues band in the greater bay area. During that period the band was featured at all of the major blues festivals in the region alone with being featured on many of the San Francisco Blues Festival Battle of the Harps. Gary Smith and the Houserockers helped to recreate the blues scene in the South Bay. Many clubs not known for having blues bands started a weekly blues night featuring Gary Smith and the Houserockers and so the new blues scene in the South Bay was born.
This group of highly regarded Blues musicians appeared at the 2021 San Jose Jazz Summer Festival. Their collective appearances over the past 45 years at the major blues and jazz festivals in California total over 30. In the field of Blues music these musicians have an impressive list of combined individual accomplishments. In addition to their major festival and concert appearances they have appeared on at least 80 albums and CDs. In the category of movie sound tracks, commercial sound tracks and TV appearances they have a combined 28 performances. In the field of Blues music instruction they have given or been part of over 50 in person Master Class events. In regards to Blues music instructional books and videos/DVDs they have over 25 to their credit. And lastly, in the category of awards and nominations for individual excellence in live performance, instructional materials and recorded performances they have a combined total of 5 nominations.
Gary Smith and the Houserockers play a mix of blues styles, ranging from the Chicago blues sounds of the 1950’s and early 1960’s, to the jump blues and swing blues sounds from Texas and the West Coast, the piano driven sound of New Orleans R&B.
The members of the band are: Gary Smith on harp and vocals; Sid Morris on piano and vocals; Frank DeRose on Bass. Jack Sanford plays the sax; Gary Weller on guitar, and Jimmy Mulleniux on drums.

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