The musical diversity that has been arriving in Ames over the past few years has turned Ames into a 31-flavor kind of town.

One of the more noticeable genres catching on is jam bands.

“I would say that I have personally seen an increase in the last three to four years,” said Tom Zmolek, owner of People’s Bar and Grill.

Zmolek said he feels that in general, “the population has seen that too.”

Lum Foo, an employee of Boheme, has noticed that local band Medulla Oblangata “packs it in pretty good.”

Another local group, Didgidaki, has drawn an increasing turnout at Boheme as well.

“Some people come back and bring their friends. If they like what they hear, [they] look forward to the next time,” Foo added.

But what’s intriguing is the reason for the boom.

One reason may be that mainstream pseudo-jam band popularity affects lesser-known bands who perform with the same kind of sound.

The success of the Dave Matthews Band, Phish and Blues Traveler in the music business exemplify this theory.

Zmolek said eight years ago, a run-of-the-mill fan wouldn’t have been seen at an Ekoostik Hookah show, but because of the popularity of Dave Matthews and others, this type of music has become appealing to mainstream listeners.

Traffic jam

Ekoostik Hookah parallels The Grateful Dead in the way that it “tours like crazy.”

Touring is an identifying feature of most jam bands, and is a main staple in the schedule of Ekoostik Hookah.

The band’s newest member, Ed McGee, revealed that most of Hookah’s album sales are due to the band’s extensive road schedule.

Extensive indeed. McGee said the band spent about three months of a single year literally in the van.

The psychedelic jam band will appear for the first time at People’s Bar and Grill as part of the venue’s Thursday night series titled “Something’s Phishy, It’s Dead.”

Zmolek initiated the series to expose bands who play Grateful Dead and Phish-type music.

Lately the shows have started to incorporate genres that are similar to jam bands such as acid jazz and psychedelia.

Jelly vs. jam

Musical discussions that involve labeling the style or sound of a group can be a conversation worth paying attention to.

However, defining such characteristics of bands can also be troublesome and inaccurate.

McGee, who doesn’t like to title music, described Ekoostik Hookah as a rock ‘n’ roll band that covers a lot of territory.

Zmolek took plenty of time to carefully define the jam band genre as “free-flowing, rhythm-oriented, feel-good music.”

Foo felt jam bands are “off [the] mainstream” and “more soulful.”

But if one were to say that a jam band is based solely on improvisation, Ekoostik Hookah fits the mold perfectly.

Wham, bam, thank-you jam

“[We are] not afraid to delve into the improv world,” McGee said. He further explained that the band is known to “go out on a limb in a live setting.”

Ekoostik Hookah maintains a spontaneous environment by never using a set list and never repeating sets — a refreshing change for the average arena concert-goer who almost always witnesses a rehashed performance.

McGee admits that money can be a “problem for any artist of any kind,” as well. However, apart from some mainstream examples, McGee doesn’t think the issue will be a problem in the future.

“Music is for sharing,” he said.

And its definitely easier to share when profit isn’t the goal.

Hookahvilles and you

Ekoostik Hookah took sharing to a new level when it threw a party for a bunch of friends in Ohio in 1994. Eight hundred fans showed up at the event and since then, the celebration has become biannual.

At the 1998 celebration, over 12,000 people took part in the friendly atmosphere that exemplifies Hookah’s motto: “no hassles or bad attitudes.”

“There are clever ways to live in the system without feeling like there’s a cell around you,” McGee said.

Energy is a predominant focus of Hookah and a lot of other jam bands, which may be part of the reason why the genre is so popular. Speaking for himself and the rest of Hookah, McGee stressed that performing is “not a head trip.”

There is a certain relationship between the band and the audience that tends to cause the two groups to feed off of each other.

“As an audience member you can feel your significance when you are at a show,” said McGee, who was part of the Hookah audience until 1996.

This positive feeling reflects back to the band and “the band picks up on that,” which allows for a continuous ride of awesome energy for both Hookah and the crowd. This type of energy is never found at more passive performances.

“[You] can expect to see things that are inspired by the moment,” McGee continued. “The quality of the crowd sets the tone on any given night.”

McGee said the audience was less energetic than normal at a show after Thanksgiving dinner.

But when the crowd isn’t on a turkey downer, the show is an intense experience.

Crowd control

Zmolek has also witnessed that the crowds contribute significantly to jam band performances.

“[The] hard-core fans are so into the music. They’re what really keeps it going,” he said.

As long as hard-core fans are participating and supporting jam bands, their trendiness or mainstream popularity can be ignored.

If jam bands are simply a recreation of the ’60s, they won’t stick around forever.

The audience members who are attending a show because it’s the hip thing to do will fade back into the woodwork and take the genre with them.

However, Zmolek doesn’t foresee this happening.

He feels the majority of the crowd at “Something’s Phishy, It’s Dead” are there because they enjoy the music, not because they think it might be mainstream.

When all is said and done, what matters is not what is in or out, but what the music listener wants to hear.

Ekoostic Hookah will play at People’s Bar and Grill at 7 and 10:30 p.m. Tickets are $8 in advance.