əkoostik hookah is a rock band from Columbus, Ohio

Columbus, Ohio

Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...

. Formed in 1991, they host a biannual music festival called Hookahville, typically located at Legend Valley in Thornville, Ohio

Thornville, Ohio

Thornville is a village in Perry County, Ohio, United States. The population was 731 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Thornville is located at ....

 or at Frontier Ranch in Kirkersville, Ohio

Kirkersville, Ohio

Kirkersville is a village in Licking County, Ohio, United States, along the South Fork of the Licking River. The population was 520 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Kirkersville is located at ....

. The spring Hookahville happens over Memorial Day

Memorial Day

Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War...

 weekend, and in fall, over Labor Day

Labor Day

Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September that celebrates the economic and social contributions of workers.-History:...

 weekend. Hookahville has performances from many bands and is headlined by əkoostik hookah.

The band has made multiple national tours in the US, as well as performing in overseas locales like Amsterdam and Jamaica, although they may more commonly be found playing local Columbus, Ohio

Columbus, Ohio

Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...

 venues like Newport Music Hall

Newport Music Hall

The Newport Music Hall is a music venue located at 1722 North High Street, Columbus, Ohio, across the street from the Ohio Union of the Ohio State University. It is "America's Longest Continually Running Rock Club"....

, and Lifestyle Communities Pavilion

Lifestyle Communities Pavilion

Lifestyle Communities Pavilion is an indoor-outdoor concert venue, in Columbus, Ohio. Officially nicknamed "The LC," locals still refer to it as "PromoWest". It is part of the downtown Columbus entertainment area, known as the Arena District, which also includes Nationwide Arena, Huntington Park...

. They are also fixtures at Nelson Ledges Quarry Park in Garrettsville, Ohio

Garrettsville, Ohio

Garrettsville is a village in Portage County, Ohio, United States. It was formed from portions of Hiram, Nelson, and Freedom townships in the Connecticut Western Reserve. The population was 2,262 at the 2000 census. On July 1, 2006, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that 2,203 people resided in the...

,and are one of the biggest draws of the season. 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

Schwa

In linguistics, specifically phonetics and phonology, schwa can mean the following:*An unstressed and toneless neutral vowel sound in some languages, often but not necessarily a mid-central vowel...

" 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)
• 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)

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)

Filmography

• Spring Hookahville (2004)
• New Year's Eve (2005)
• Live at the Newport (2007)

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
  Internet Archive
  The Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
  
  's live music archive