Today we’d like to introduce you to Ben Bonham.
Hi Ben, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I am from the UK and I started playing music professionally whilst managing Windsurfing Centers around Europe in the 1980’s and early 90’s. In 92 I moved back to the UK and worked as a musician for 3 years before moving to the USA. For the first 20 years in this country I was a full time musician, working mostly in the Pacific Northwest, and primarily in and around Hood River and Portland. For the last 15 years I have also worked as a Luthier – building custom stringed instruments, and setting up and repairing instruments. That is my main focus these days, but I still gig a couple of times a week.
For a while my band, The Hapa Hillbillies had a weekly gig at The Ruins in Hood River. There, I got to know one of the co-owners, Ceb Barrs. Ceb ended up having me build him a custom resonator acoustic bass guitar, and through that process we really got to know each other. When Ceb mentioned that he was about to undertake a re-build of the old Hotel Oregon, in downtown Hood River, either he or I suggested (I can’t remember) that my jazz trio play in the Lobby when it opened.
Back in the the early 2000’s we had a regular Monday night gig at The Hood River Hotel – as a Vintage Hawaiian Swing band, I felt we were re-inventing the tradition of bands playing in fancy Hotel Lobby’s in Hawaii in the 1920’s – it was all the rage back then. The mix of locals and suprised and delighted visitors was the best audience I’d ever had.
We kept that gig for about 8 years, until the Hotel sold and the management changed, along with an interior remodel. Gone were the huge old drapes and carpet that provided a perfect sonic environment for our acoustic music.
Ever since then I have been on the lookout for a regular Hotel Lobby gig…. so when Ceb said he was re-doing the old Hotel Oregon (Its previous name) and was interested in having us play, I was over the moon. It took many years and I would frequently visit Ceb as he and his team of locals got stuck into the renovation. We would walk around the ripped out ground floor as Ceb would point out where the bar might be and where we might end up playing our music.
It was a very long 3 years – and I can’t even begin to imagine the scope of the job Ceb and his team took on – it was a BIG project!
We played for the opening party, which was packed – and like a who’s who of Hood River and The Gorge – and it just felt perfect. Since then we have played every Wednesday evening from 6:30 – 8:30pm to friends, locals and visitors from all over the place. It really is the best regular gig I have ever had in 35 years of doing this.
The space is perfect, we are frequently told how our music fills the entire ground floor, whilst remaining background enough for conversation, even for those very close to us. My aim is to provide a light and lively accompaniment to everyones experience, wether they are staying at the hotel, eating dinner, having a drink with a friend, playing checkers, reading a book – or even coming to listen to us play!
Tim Ortlieb (Drums) came up with the name ‘The Lobbyists’ almost immediately when Ceb first told us about the Hotel re-build. It was the perfect name. Ronnie Ontiveros (bass), Tim and myself have been working together for over 15 years and share a joy and love of the music we play. We have developed a particular style of playing, where we react to each other constantly – often it seems without knowing what we are doing – and we are able to improvise wildly within the frameworks we set up for ourselves.
Whilst much of what we play are jazz standards from the first half of the last century, many are tunes that I write specifically for our guitar/bass/drums set up. These new original tunes often allow us to really let loose, as there is no blueprint or recorded version of what we are doing to influence us. This is very exciting for us. We also are very fortunate to have a wide range of musician friends – some local, some passing through The Gorge on tour – who sit in with us on occasion and really spice things up.
We have a huge repertoire of songs. We rotate 4 different set lists. If you came every Wednesday for a month you would hear different tunes each time. With one exception. We start each show with a Duke Ellington composition called ‘Things ain’t what They Used To Be’. I like that sentiment. Some things are better, some things are worse, nothing is the same, and the music I like has never been very popular since the 1920’s and 30’s. I like to think we are part of a growing interest in keeping this style of music going, and that we are adding our own vibe to the art form.
The Lobbyists. 6:30 – 8:30 Every Wednesday at The Lightwell Hotel and Spa, Hood River, Oregon
The Lobbyists deliver the finest in instrumental Swing, Jazz, and Blues, featuring three of Hood River’s most exceptional musicians.
Tim Ortlieb is a rare gem – a drummer who listens as deeply as he plays. Ronnie Ontiveros brings his infectious joy and masterful command of the upright bass.
Leading the trio, Ben Bonham draws from his rich experience both locally and in the UK, captivating audiences as a guitarist, songwriter, and entertainer.
The Lobbyists play with effortless style, deep musicality, and an undeniable passion for their craft, creating a sound that’s as refined as it is exhilarating.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Being a musician is very much not a smooth road. For many reasons, Good music comes from the heart, and the interaction between people who have a deep respect and understanding of each other – or sometimes from other strong emotions towards each other! However, it is always the music with the most emotion that moves people. Emotions are definitely not a smooth road. Also the commitment to working evenings, often late, and often having to work other jobs to make ends meet, all contribute to making this a hard path. Do you know of any other profession that pays (if you are lucky) the same $$ amount as it did 35 years ago? That is the reality of being a regional working musician. Even touring these days only pays for itself if you can sell a bunch of merchandise.
Despite all that, it is an incredibly wonderful thing to do – I think there is no higher calling in life than that of a musician. Those of us who find a way to make it work, are very very fortunate, and I would have it no other way.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Much of the answer to the first question covers this. I have made things all my life. I started making music in my early teens – entirely due to the Punk movement in Bristol, UK where I grew up. It was a do it yourself ethos which I already practiced – my parents had no money, my father was a furniture maker and taught Design at College. As kids, when we wanted something, we made it. I made my first guitar, and my 2nd and 3rd guitar – which I played in a band in Bristol when I started at Art School. Then windsurfing took over for a bit, but I came back to gigging and in the last 10 years my primary creative outlet has been designing and building custom guitars and other stringed instruments.
I have tried to stop gigging, as it exhausts me now in a way it never used to when I was young, but I cannot. Like most people who create things, I am rarely happy with what I have done. In the last 40 years of gigging many times a week, there are very few times I remember thinking “well, that was great, we sounded really good, I played/sang as well as I can”. I don’t think what I do is bad – but I always think I could do it better – and I want another go at it. That’s why I keep gigging.
I have also worked as a graphic designer – I have done a ton of work for other musicians – Record/CD artwork and layout, posters and flyers, business cards and other promo materials. I have also done this for all of my musical endeavors.
These days I am most proud of my next gig … and the instruments I am building.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
I played music on the streets all around the world, and then for many years at Farmers Markets in Bay Area. I played at 29 markets that were within an hour or so’s drive from where I was living in Oakland, 5 or 6 days a week for 3 years or so, from 8am – noon. That was the best networking I ever did. I met so many great people and got booked for so much stuff that eventually I quit playing the markets. I also made decent tips and went home with bags of fresh produce!
The other thing I recommend is having a bass player who is the nicest person in the world, who is always friendly and delighted to meet everyone, and when you are tired, pissed off, not in the mood at a gig, can lift even your miserable spirits with their infectious joy and openness. That’s my advice. I guess they don’t have to be a bass player…
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.bonhamdesign.com
