By Don Campbell
Campbell Communicaions
HOOD RIVER — As befitting a newly opened modern-meets-historic chic hotspot in downtown Hood River, fresh music will reverberate within the vintage brick-and-mortar lobby of Lightwell Hotel and Spa weekly on Wednesdays.
The Ben Bonham-led Lobbyists, a trio of well-seasoned gorge-area pros — featuring Bonham on guitar, Ronnie Ontiveros on acoustic bass, and Tim Ortlieb on drums — is taking advantage of a chance for the band to dig deeper into the world of jazz, swing and blues in a retro setting.
This trio, in its many years and incarnations, is no stranger to the gorge. They’ve managed to mix up a variety of sounds within the trio and other formats: punk rock via the Bonneville Power Trio, the sea-breeze island sounds and ‘20s and ‘30s vintage hokum of the Hapa Hillbillies, tribute ensembles playing the music of J.J. Cale, and a variety of other musical pursuits.
This new gig, in addition to music of some modern purveyors of the art form, it is affording guitarist Bonham the chance to write new instrumental material, which excites him.
“We’ve been pussyfooting around jazz for many years,” says the popular bandleader and renowned gorge luthier. “This gives us the chance to really grow our interaction as a trio.”
The Lobbyists caught the attention of Lightwell owner and developer Carrington “Ceb” Barrs, who’s also heavily involved with Hood River’s popular The Ruins music venue, some years back. “First of all, they are three of the best musicians in town and three of the nicest guys in town,” Carrington says. A lengthy dialogue ensued over several months, and they worked toward developing the jazz vibe which they all share. “They fit the vision,” says Carrington.
The trio explores early jazz, Great American Songbook tunes, ‘40s jazz, and Bonham’s latest inspiration, the music of guitarist Jim Hall. “It’s straight-ahead jazz,” he says. “After a year of playing at The Heights’ Volcanic Bottle Shop, we’re starting to get a sense of what we do together. We’re all working hard for this new, different impetus.”
The ground-floor Lobby Bar, known as “The Bob,” is where the trio performs. Nicknamed for Bob Carnahan, a well-known former owner of the National of Historic Places building who passed away in 2024, the high-ceilinged lobby is acoustically magical for Bonham and company. “Quite a few musicians have been showing up,” says Bonham. “They say it sounds good everywhere.”
The Lobbyists will hold down Wednesdays for the foreseeable future, with other musical offerings in the works. And it should be noted that the lobby piano, which found its way to the original hotel in 1938, has been returned and restored, and will find new life as well.
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