ekoostik hookah

7:30 p.m. tonight at the Michigan Theater; Smokestack opens; tickets are $15.

Hometown: Columbus, Ohio

Date of Birth: Early 1991

Lineup: Eric Lanese (drums), Cliff Starbuck (bass), Dave Katz (vocals/keyboards), Steve Sweney (lead guitar), Ed McGee (vocals/guitar) and John Polansky (percussion)

Jamming Style: Rooted in bluesy, guitar-driven classic rock sounds; Katz's fluid keys provide a jazzier influence; recent addition of Polansky adds Latin flourish.

Michigan Venues Played: The Michigan Theater, The Blind Pig, The Magic Bag (Ferndale), Rick's (East Lansing), Club Soda (Kalamazoo), State Theater (Kalamazoo), The Intersection (Grand Rapids)

Smoke 'em if You Got 'em: A booking made in heaven, hookah has performed at Hash Bash for the past two years at the Michigan Theater.

Important Festivals: The band's annual Memorial Day outdoor festival, cleverly titled Hookahville, has drawn upwards of 10,000 fans to rural Ohio for three days of music and camping. And hashish - kynd, kynd hashish; New Year's Eve in Newport; Halloween in Newport.

What hookah percussionist Polansky thinks of Phish's "break-up": "I do think you're gonna see the same thing happen when the Grateful Dead fell by the wayside. Some of the mid-level bands will be packing people in coast to coast. I won't lie to you, I hope we keep expanding our audience."