Jay is a 30-year guitar veteran and songwriter known for setting audiences on fire with his scintillating blues leads. One of his greatest influences is Boston-area native and blues guitar slinger Ronnie Earl. In the mid-90’s he used to regularly catch Ronnie on Wednesday nights at the Sit ’n Bull Pub. "He would walk right up to our table and lay down a crazy guitar lead right in my face…it totally blew me away.” And taught him more than a few lessons about how to please an audience. In Lamplighters and on “Out Of The Woods,” Jays pays back Earl and many other blues heroes, with interest.

When Jay Wentzell saw a guy firing off red hot solos with the jam band Captain Bangaroo, he said to himself, “I need to play with that guy.” And so began the all-out recruitment of Dan Rosenthal to Lamplighters. Unbelievably proficient with his instrument, he is the contributor who usually brings the color, style and inventiveness to basic song ideas, taking them higher and to a much better place. Influences include Phish, The Grateful Dead, Eric Clapton, The Allman Brothers…in short, all the greats. He loves (almost) all music, thrives on the unplanned, and thinks great listening is at least as important to a band as great playing.

Bassist Steve Brunelle has been playing professionally and writing music since he was a teenager. He played and toured extensively throughout New England in the 80s and 90s with bands including The Giancola Band, Slammer and Bates Motel. He also spent much time in the Southern California music scene, where he sharpened his chops playing with a wide range of talented musicians. Along with drummer Joe Beninati, the rhythmic foundation he lays down is the main reason you'll want to get up and dance at a Lamplighters show.

Without question the band’s primary locomotive, Joe finds inspiration from such jazz legends as Buddy Rich, Tony Williams and Elvin Jones, and classic rockers like John Bonham and Mick Fleetwood. He also cites more contemporary influences such as Steve Gadd, Jojo Mayer, Eric Harland, Chris Dave, Mark Guiliana, Matt Chamberlain, Carter Beauford and Jimmy Chamberlin. While playing professionally in New York with numerous bands, he also attended Lehman College to study percussion, theory, ear training and composition to become a more rounded musician. “I always loved rhythm, because as a drummer, playing utilizes your entire being.”

Mark Robinson penned several of the songs on the band’s debut album and provided piano, organ, strings, harmonica and backing vocal tracks during Lamplighters recording sessions. A fan of almost all genres, including rock, soul, Doo-Wop, British Invasion, funk, Motown, classic R&B, and punk or “new wave” bands of the 70s and 80s, Mark says that his influences are too numerous to mention. Nevertheless, he admits that careful listeners to “Out Of The Woods” will easily detect creative nods to Talking Heads, Warren Zevon, Peter Wolf, The Rolling Stones and Delbert McClinton.

Colin was instrumental in writing the final arrangements on “Out Of The Woods.” A gathering rock and roll storm, he brings an incredible resume to Lamplighters. As a very young man he decided to make vocal performance his career, and spent his early years as a regular performer in community musical theatre venues in Maine. He made the jump to opera in college, where he added technical proficiency in stage lighting to his repertoire. He has completed intensive opera programs at Si parla, si canta in Italy and FAVA Salzburg in Austria. He has studied with Jacque Trussel, earning a master’s degree cum laude in music majoring in Opera Performance and Vocal Studies at Purchase College - SUNY. Kickin’ ass as the frontman in a rock band is a new frontier for this guy, but let’s put it this way. Colin Whiteman performs with conviction.