əkoostik hookah

Əkoostik hookah
Background information
Origin	Columbus, Ohio
Genres	Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Jam band
Years active	1991–present
Associated acts	Katz-n-Jammers Screamin Peach The Spikedrivers John Mullins Band One Under
Website	www.ekoostik.com
Members	Dave Katz Steve Sweney Eric Lanese Eric Sargent Phil Risko
Past members	John Mullins Cliff Starbuck Ed McGee Johnny Polansky Steve Frye Donald Safrenek [1]

əkoostik hookah is a jam band from Columbus, Ohio. Formed in 1991, they host a biannual music festival called Hookahville, formerly located at Legend Valley in Thornville, Ohio or at Frontier Ranch in Kirkersville, Ohio. Currently takes place at Clay's park. The spring Hookahville happens over Memorial Day weekend, and in fall, over Labor Day weekend. Hookahville has performances from many bands and is headlined by əkoostik hookah.

The band has made multiple national tours in the US,^[2] as well as performing in overseas locales like Amsterdam and Jamaica,^[3] although they may more commonly be found playing local Columbus, Ohio venues like Newport Music Hall, and Lifestyle Communities Pavilion. They are also fixtures at Nelson Ledges Quarry Park in Garrettsville, Ohio. The band has shared the stage with many of today's top touring "jam bands", as well as stars such as Willie Nelson, Arlo Guthrie, Bob Weir, and Bruce Hornsby.

The band's name, pronounced "Acoustic Hookah," was taken from dictionary entries for the two words. The phonetic spellings were chosen, and the schwa (ə) became the band's official symbol. "Schwa" is also the title of a song by keyboardist and primary songwriter Dave Katz. The band endorses a number of charitable causes,among them Pittsburgh's ongoing BurghSTOCK Concert Series that benefits area non-profits that assist homeless and disabled military veterans.

Members

• Dave Katz - vocals/keyboards/acoustic guitar (member inception-present)
• Steve Sweney - lead guitar (member inception-present)
• Eric Lanese - drums/vocals (member 1993–present)
• Phil Risko - bass/vocals (member January 2010 – present)
• Eric Sargent - vocals/guitar (member April 2010 – present)
• John Mullins - vocals, rhythm guitar (member inception-1996, 2006–2010, no longer with the band as of 2010/04/05) ^[4]
• Cliff Starbuck - bass/vocals (member inception-2009, left band at the end of 2009 to pursue other musical projects)
• Ed McGee-guitar/vocals (member 1996-2005)
• Johnny Polansky-percussion/drums (member 2000-2005)
• Steve Frye (aka "Octofrye") - drums (member inception-1993)
• Donald Safranek - percussion (member 1992-1994)

Timeline

Discography

• Under Full Sail (1991)
• Dubbabuddah (1994)
• Double Live (1996)
• Where the Fields Grow Green (1997)
• Sharp In the Flats (1999)
• Seahorse (2001)
• Ohio Grown (2002)
• Under Full Sail: It All Comes Together (2007)
• brij (2013)

Filmography

• Spring Hookahville (2004)
• New Year's Eve (2005)
• Live at the Newport (2007)
• Almost Legal (2011), The film was recorded at the March 12, 2011 concert at the Newport Music Hall in Columbus, Ohio in celebration of the band's 20th anniversary. It was produced by Desert Custom Photography Las Vegas

References

1. ↑ http://www.dubba.com/schwa/schwa.php
2. ↑ Billboard, Allmusic.com
3. ↑ Dave Weissman, Ohio Jamband ekoostik hookah Return to Athens. Athensmusician.net, 2/8/05. Accessed August 21, 2007.
4. ↑ JamBands.com

External links

• http://www.ekoostik.com
• http://www.hookahville.com
• http://www.hookahheads.com
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoyTLmM2VtU: This video of Arlo Guthrie & Ekoostik Hookah from Hookahville 2000.
• Ekoostik Hookah collection at the Internet Archive's live music archive