The House Bandits BIO

Inviting fans of Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, and The Blues Brothers to come on over and check out “The House Bandits”, a

recently formed performing musical act led by the multi-talented front man Mikkael Jeterre, formerly the lead singer of the

internationally known Alt Pop/Rock Band “Rosemary’s Garden”.

The House Bandits secret weapon is their R&B horn section AKA “The House Arrest Horns”, whose members have played with

Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Barry White, and The Ojays to name just a few.

“This type of music project was something that I have wanted to perform for as long as I can remember,” says Jeterre. “I fell in

love with that Fat Stax Records Horn Sound after watching The Blues Brothers movie as a young boy, and have always wanted

to reproduce with my own band, what I and countless others consider to be the best music ever made.”

Jeterre, who recently relocated to Kalamazoo, MI from Hollywood, California, immediately started asking everyone he met in

town if they knew any musicians that he could a get new project going with. He was referred to Jay Gavan, an

accomplished songwriter and local guitar legend who’s played with all the best breakout bands in Kalamazoo including The

Corn Fed Girls and The Red Sea Pedestrians.

“I called Jay right away,” says Jeterre. “We had a brief chat on the phone and when I shared my musical vision with him it

instantly became clear that we both had the same passion and deep love for old school soul music.

“I had the same idea of starting the same kind of band myself and for quite some time, but somehow, I couldn’t ever seem to

find the right singer,” says Gavan. “So, when Mikkael and I met up and I learned about his extensive musical background I figured

that had to be more than just a coincidence.”

Maybe not, because after they met in person, Jay knew he was officially going to give it a shot. Right away he mentioned that

he knew a phenomenal local Bass Player named Mike Fuerst, that he had played with in other bands like the above mentioned

RSP and CFG. “I instinctively knew that he knew would be perfect match for The House Bandits, and he’s one of the best multi-

instrumentalists in the area hands down,” says Gavan.

Mike Fuerst, who also played bass for well-known bands like Daddy Longlegs and Knee-Deep Shag was always heavily

influenced by bass players like Duck Dunn (Stax), James Jamerson (Motown), and David Hood (Muscle Shoals Band), and he too

had also wanted to a horn-section-featured project like this for a long time. “I have been a lifelong lover of this genre of music,”

says Fuerst. “Now I’m on a clear mission to represent the classic basslines from these legendary musicians, and am more than

thrilled to be part of The House Bandits, where I can truly be an ambassador of this nearly-lost art form to the legions of people

who share in our love of the very roots of Rock and Roll music around the globe”

Former “Fantastics” drummer Tim Miller who was recruited to play drums for THB by Fuerst says, “It’s super fun to play these

beloved tunes that are literally part of our American roots with such solid musicians.”

“The only remaining piece of the puzzle was a keyboard player,” says Fuerst. “So, bringing in Ben Lau was an obvious choice as he is probably the best keyboard in the area and just totally gets what we were trying to do.”

“It was a no-brainer,” says Ben of joining THB. “When you make a living solely playing music you really do need to make good

choices with your time, and what you ultimately commit to period. From the moment we played our first song together I knew

this was something I could really get behind.”

“Early on in rehearsals we started developing our own sound and creating our own unique versions of these classics”, says

Jeterre smiling. “We instinctively started asking ourselves the WORD question. What/would Otis Redding Do? Then we took

things from that perspective and started running the songs through a THB filter if you will”.

The results were instantaneous and The House Bandits now had their own sound and voice to bring to the masses.

The House Bandits next step is to procure a booking agent and to start performing live across the State of Michigan and beyond.

Be sure to check them out when they come to your area!