Ekoostik Hookah: "OHIO GROWN"

With their new release "Ohio Grown," Ekoostik Hookah has once again shown why they are perennial festival favorites. One pass through this cd conjures images of hippies, young and old, dancing wildly on the Ohio stompin' grounds where Ekoostik Hookah calls home. Dubbed "schwa-heads," after the upside-down "e" used in dictionaries as a pronunciation aid (the first letter of the band's name), these good folk follow their group like revelers following a John the Baptist. 

My favorite songs are, weird phonetics aside, the alpha and omega- first and last songs. The cd opens with "Dragonfly," an ass-kicking song that effectively blends greased-lightning rock with grassroots country in a rump-shaking groove that gets the toes tapping and the teeth clicking. Even better is the last song they present, "Deal With It"- as true a hillbilly joint as ever plucked a gut bucket or busted a lick of clickin' spoons. Featuring acoustic guitar and a shit-kicking dobro, "Deal With It" brings me back to my roots as a kid listening to Bill Monroe and like-minded good old boys. I would personally like to see the boys do more of this kind of music. They take to it like a hog to corn slop. 

They've pulled off a good one here. "Ohio Grown."

SONG LIST:
Dragonfly
Raging River
Ohio Grown
Another You
Godspeed
Sweet Lucy
Music
Pass the Cider, Pass the Rum
Dancin' Outlaw
Deal With It

Check the boys out at www.ekoostik.com