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HookahStew to perform on Old Town stage
HookahStew will perform Saturday and Sunday on the Old Town stage on Second Street Southeast between Chicago and Delaware avenues. The music will begin after the parade on Saturday and run until 4:30 p.m. Sunday's show will run from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Covered seating and beer and wine will be available. There is no admission charge.
HookahStew was formed by Adrian œAce" Johnson and Johnny Young in the summer of 1993 in the tiny dairy community of Trout Lake, Wash. Joined by Colorado transplant Mike Andrews on drums, they worked up a dozen tunes inspired by their influences at the time ” Fishbone, Primus, Alpha Blondy, Bungle and Firehose.
The music was funky, eclectic and sometimes annoying. Things came to a halt the following year when Johnson died from a drug overdose while visiting friends and family in Colorado.
After Johnson's untimely death, Young and Andrews decided to keep the band going as a way to pay homage the co-founder who conjured up the group's name. They enlisted a local bassist and played clubs in the Columbia River gorge area. The response was overwhelming and soon the band was opening for national acts that passed through.
After Andrews was lured back to Colorado, HookahStew used parttime drummers for a year before adding ex-Los Angeles session drummer Kaz. The trio worked in the Portland Metro area and in 1997 released their first CD œMental Meal." The disc was a hit with fans and received good reviews from local press.
Eventually, the band drifted apart for a couple of years before reforming to play some dates in the Coos Bay area. Roger's Zoo was the venue that would be the catalyst for the latest HookahStew resurgence that still drives the band today.
The musicians continued to perform both together and with other groups in the following years.
Less than two years ago, HookahStew reassembled with B. œScummy" Powell on bass and started touring the West extensively in support of their new EP.
