First published in  Lonely Goat Print Magazine Volume II - #5

ekoostik hookah's Hookahville
by Tim Cripe (May, 1999)

I'm going to let you in on something Ohio residents have known since 1990...ekoostik hookah jams. I won't try to offer any deep insight into their style of music except to say that it is something you do not want to miss if you are into rhythm based songwriting with lots of extended instrumentation.

I first stumbled upon these guys at Ziggy's in August of 1997 at a show I attended because Folkswaggin' was opening. I've been made aware of many bands from following Folkswaggin', but hookah has remained at the top of my list. hookah's first song out of the gate left me speechless. The rest of the set was cathartic. Every single song they played (all originals) would at some point reach that plane which so few bands can attain where you smile almost involuntarily because the vibe is that good and that strong. The only cover was The Walrus from The Beatles only eh played it like it should sound in the 90's not a slaved attempt to reproduce the same song as it was done at the time of its release.

It was December before they came back to Ziggy's and this time I was ready, at least I thought I was. I discovered that eh writes a lot of songs. This show was almost a completely different set, but lacked none of the glow I received at the first one. Simply amazing, again. By now I determined that I would be spending a lot of time trying to get to hookah shows. They only make it to NC about twice a year, so this would involve travel. Even better!

My first Hookahville was Spring of 1998. The lineup included Max Creek, Zero, Hypnotic Clambake, The David Nelson Band, Nathan Whitt & Chief's Tale and of course ekoostik hookah. The seven hour drive was barely noticeable to myself and two friends since we were pretty distracted with the excitement of the weekend. UNREAL is the word for Hookahville. It is like no other place I've been. The festival is self-produced like all of hookah's projects. You can not help but admire the determination of this band. Everything they do is funded by their music. No big sponsors or labels to water down the vibe. About 6,000 folks were at Hookahville that weekend. One friend went solely on our descriptions of the hookah vibe and never heard them live until the festival. That is impact. We returned to NC refueled, but not rested. How could we sleep in Utopia, when we knew it was over in two days?

Hookahville X was in the Fall of 1998. This time, I went with eight folks from NC. Only two of us had actually seen the band live. Again, the music does all the convincing you need even if it does involve a little drive. It was nothing short of spectacular. Lonely Goat was started one month later with the goal of bringing eh and other folks to NC more regularly. It is happening. ekoostik hookah will be at Cue-N-Spirits in Greensboro on Wednesday, May 19, 1999. Come out and experience it for yourself.