by Christopher Johnson
Every community has their guy when it comes to music. That local celebrity everybody knows by name and nickname. That can shred a guitar, dispense knowledge like an encyclopedia, and recount some fascinating lore from a rich life on the road. Stuff that’ll make you laugh, cry, and listen so intently, you forget to blink and sometimes breathe. That person for Clare is Tommy House.
Tommy has been a Clare native his whole life, and a student to music just as long. He’s still learning, and he’d happily tell you as much. Yet, his expertise is undeniable. Truly, a professor of sorts. Baptized in the waters of blues rock, prog rock, pop rock, jazz fusion and probably too many others to list. The bottom line is, he’s a bankable asset for any act. A true chameleon.
There was even a time when he offered lessons at Shafer Music in Mount Pleasant before it closed. Young musicians couldn’t ask for better mentorship, and to this day, House remains passionate about guiding others in multi-instrumentalism and songwriting
Now, House is proud to share his first solo record with the world. Self-titled as “Tommy House and Friends”. Which came off the press this past holiday season, just in time for the new year.
It was produced and arranged by Northern Shore Productions and recorded in Nashville. The vinyl LPs pictured were pressed at Third Man Records, owned by Jack White.
The record itself is comprised of some top-tier collaborators such as Dwanna Hughes, a soul singer. John Schlitt of Petra, Caitlin Rushing, and Bill Smiley of Whiteheart, who produced the album.
It’s only natural that House should employ the most premium talent on a record. Because it’s consistent with how he’s lived and networked for decades. Over the course of his journey, he’s shaken hands and brushed shoulders with countless greats across a wide spectrum of genres. From a friendship with bluesman Larry McCray to impressing Trace Adkins during a recording session.
House began playing music at eight years old on piano, taught by his aunt alongside cousins and others. He joined band in sixth grade on trumpet and credits “incredible directors” during his high school education, including Lloyd Connelly—who holds more than 400 copyrights across arrangements and original material—and Ken Fenley, whom he remembers as “the taskmaster.”
Under their wing, House helped form Clare High School’s first-ever jazz band before briefly continuing his music studies at Central Michigan University.
“I ran out of money”, Tommy recalls. “My parents were like, “yeah, well Tom, we’re not sure if you’re going to be that dedicated to it’, and then around that time, I just started playing guitar”.
At 19, House locked himself away and committed fully to mastering the instrument. An intensive, isolated practice he calls “woodshedding,” when a musician tunes out the world and focuses entirely on repetition and mastery.
This determination would eventually follow Tommy west, to Yellowstone in the mid-70s. A place he describes as “paradise”, which he still romanticizes. By 1977, he found his way from Wyoming to the West Coast and arrived in the City of Angels, Los Angeles. A peak time when Van Halen had just signed with Warner Brothers to produce their legendary debut album.
Tommy remembers walking down the Sunset Strip, soaking up the fever dream of culture that defined the era. Emboldened by this landscape of “freaks”, he learned fast that this was a city of high stakes tables and big risk. It wasn’t going to be easy.
“You know, I was aware of KISS and the New York Dolls, and some of the glitter rock”, House explains. “But I’m seeing all these freaks, man. Dudes with eyeliner, heels and goofed up hair. You know, we had long hair too, our bands back in the 60s and 70s. But this was a freak show, and you had to pay to play.”
The LA scene was evidently a Wild West for ticket marketing and back scratching when it came to what defined a bankable act. Tommy remembers some dreadful performances, but they were bolstered because the funding enabled it. Unveiling a rigged, disheartening reality.
Ultimately it was a turn-off for Tommy.
“I ran away from it,” he admits. “I hated it there. I wasn’t going to starve. It was decadent. It was out of control. I wasn’t going to get anything else out of it but dead”.
What followed afterwards was the hair band and Christian rock movements of the 80s, and then the eventual grunge explosion in the 90s. When theatricality began to thin out.
“Yeah, I went through that”, he admits. “The whole “I wanna be a rock star” phase. We all did. I got into playing in a lot of different bands. I played bass in country bands just to make some cash.”
House would eventually circle back to Michigan—to Mount Pleasant. Where he would call home for the next 20 years as he homed in on bass guitar as a defining concentration. While navigating between gigs, a marriage and an eventual divorce. Two decades of life lived and gained wisdom.
During that period, he built a robust guitar collection, including a five-string Jasper and a short-scale Fender Mustang. Some instruments had to be sold to make ends meet, while others, like the Mustang, remain with him today.
“I still have it,” he says. “It’s worth a chunk of money now. I have a good collection of guitars today, but I had to let a lot of beauties go to get to the next level.”
From those trials emerged a renewed passion for songwriting. In 2001, House formed a new band and recorded an album with partner Marty Froman—an experience that proved costly.
House says he was swindled during production, and the album ultimately became a cringeworthy vanity piece for Froman, leaving House financially scarred and uncredited.
“We went to court,” says House. “But we didn’t have any paper trail. The old handshake didn’t matter. So, whatever. It got thrown away. In the old days, you just knocked somebody around pretty good and then they paid you. These days? Not worth the consequences.”
After recovering from a career wound, Tommy would find consolation as a guitarist for several jazz fusion bands. Unlike the Froman experience, these were excellent players and offered much better synergy. The band was called Two Hip, and it produced two records during House’s involvement.
Later, his affinity for blues would be tempered with the formation of The Real Deal. Which was a blues band that opened for a lot of big acts. Despite hitting the ground running for a few years, House left to pursue other ambitions.
Eventually, as the 2000s and 2010s elapsed, Tommy would adventure away from Michigan again. Instead of going west though on his own, he and his new wife Karen, went south to the Florida Keys in 2020. Where he now regularly travels.
It was there that he met Caitlin Rushing, a budding musician, after approaching her at a coffee shop in Islamorada. She would become one of House’s closest collaborators.
“She went into the Keys because she heard you could make more money than on the mainland,” House says. “She was trying to break out on her own. She’d already done an EP, and when I met her, she was recording her first full album in Nashville.”
Rushing credits their chemistry as a major force in her creative growth
“We became fast friends”, she said. “And he invited me to a performance he was having that night. I remember being amazed by his guitar skills. After that, I asked him to help me on my first all-original show, and he accompanied me, and we packed the house.”
Rushing became a key collaborator on House’s 2025 record as both musician and co-writer. Their song “Nothing to Lose” was workshopped over a phone call, and she holds co-writing credits on several tracks.
“Since then, he has become a close friend and mentor”, Rushing continues. “He has a natural gift and an excellent ear for music and creation; it was fun to be part of his album, which he also recorded in Nashville. It turned out amazing, and I can’t wait for him to release it and share it with the world. It’s truly unique. Just like his personality.”
Fast-forward to last year’s Clare Art and Music Festival, which House helped organize. Attendees may recall House and Rushing performing together in Artist Alley prior to Smoke Show taking the stage.
Tommy became involved with Smoke Show when the band’s singer, Natalie Shattuk, was scouting for a keyboardist. Her uncle, Charlie, reached out to House to see if he would be interested in applying his skills to a pop-rock fusion role. Eager for a challenge, House accepted after being intrigued by Shattuk’s voice samples and magnetic stage presence.
Their first performance together took place during the Artist Alley showcase last summer alongside other local acts, including Rushing, Crazy Chestur, and Troubadour Sweetheart. House and Shattuk reunited this past December for a debut show at the Gem Theatre in St. Louis, owned by Natalie’s father. The packed, energetic performance allowed Smoke Show to shine in optimal form.
Tommy dedicated the album to his late wife, Karen. Who during one of their last conversations, encouraged Tommy to finish what he started.
It is finished—and beautifully engineered. Yet House hasn’t slowed to savor the accomplishment. He’s already arranging his 2026 sophomore project.
“I’m already over it,” House says with a smile. “I’m moving on to the next stuff. I’m writing more. I got all kinds of lyrical content. And it’s going to be more genre focused. I’m pretty stoked, and can’t wait to stay busy. It’s going to be a gas.”
