HOOKAH STEW

HookahStew was formed by Adrian “Ace” Johnson, and Johnny Young in the summer of 1993, in the tiny dairy community of Trout lake WA. (pop.500). 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, Firehose), and set out to play some local parties and meet girls.The music was funky, eclectic, and sometimes annoying. Yet, the band continued to test the boundaries (and Neighbor’s tolerance levels) into the summer of 1994. Things were brought to a halt shortly thereafter, when Adrian passed away from a drug overdose outside of Denver Co, while visiting friends and family.After Johnson’s untimely death, Young and Andrews decided to keep the band going as a way to pay homage to Johnson, who conjured up the name for the group. They enlisted a local bassist, and exploded onto the scene, playing every little club in the Columbia River gorge that would have them. The response was overwhelming, and soon the boys were making a name for themselves opening for national acts that would pass through the area, and also secured a Thursday night residency at The Northshore Bar & Grill in Bingen, Wa.Not long into The Northshore stint, Andrews was lured back to Colorado, and HookahStew found themselves in high demand, and without a drummer.Hookah would limp along for another year with part time & fill in drummers, until meeting ex LA session drummer Kaz. With a dedicated drummer on board, the trio decided to take on the Portland Metro area, and in 1997 released their first CD “Mental Meal”. The disc was a hit with their fans, and received good reviews from local press.The band rode out the buzz of the record, and then decided to go in different musical directions for awhile. Johnny joined Smoochknob and MindFrame, Bean joined Glasschunk, and Kaz had his hands full with 17 kids.Hookahstew faded away for almost two years.Enter Mikey Masters.It was ’99 when drummer Mikey Masters offered The Stew some dates in The Coos Bay area of the Oregon Coast. The band had prior knowledge of Masters from the old Columbia river days with The Four Drunk Bastards, and decided a Hookah jam was in order after such a long break. Roger’s Zoo was the venue, and would be the catalyst for the latest HookahStew resurgence that still drives the band today. The chemistry between the band was magic, and as every show that followed grew in attendance, so did the bands repertoire of originals, and whacked out versions of classic cover tunes. The potential was there, but Mikey was soon whisped away to go on tour with Amy Clawson, a country rock act based out of Reno, NV. Johnny soon moved to the SF bay area and joined SF punk rock band The Mits, while dabbling in the LA scene with art rock songstress Johnnie Burton.6 months later, Young was asked to join the Amy Clawson tour when her guitar player checked out, and the stew was reunited. The band rolled on for almost two years, cutting an album, when it was time to look for a new bassist.“Ladies and Gentleman, introducing B. “Scummy” Powell.” Powell was called up to the majors when Amy needed a bassist for the latest tour. Young knew Powell from their involvement with Assisted Living, a modern rock band from Vancouver, Wa., and Young knew “Scummy” hadn’t any life aside from playing music, text messaging, and chasing girls. After a brief jam, and some fraternity style initiation tests (no goats were harmed), Powell was in. A year later Amy decided to slow down with the 300 shows a year to be closer to her family, but the Stew had been bitten by the bug, and wanted more of the rocknroll road life. So less than two years ago, the Stew re-assembled with Scummy on Bass, and started touring the west extensively in support of their latest CD "Hits from The Hookah", and have since gained many new friends and loyal fans.Coming up next? "RollerGirl"! the new single from HS will be available very soon. Rock! plain layout powered by HOT FreeLayouts.com / MyHotComments