Robert Britt | violin/vocals Josh Kimbrough | guitar/vocals Joe Norkus | bass/vocals
2001-2003
Straight No Chaser broke up in 2001 because Jesse Ainslie and John Neville were leaving to attend school out of state. Josh Kimbrough and Joe Norkus decided to concentrate their creativities on a side project they had been working on while SNC was winding down. The duo recruited fiddle prodigy and friend Robert Britt to fill out the band and produced their first demo, a cassette recorded in random kitchens, living rooms, and basements whenever the three had free time. They began playing shows with tape in hand and eventually amassed a small-but-loyal following. The band's formula is unusual but undeniably appealing: Kimbrough's disarming vocals and intricate guitar lines backed by Norkus' inconspicously bouncing bass and Britt's soaring burstings of scritching violin. Jonathan Schwartz joined the band on drums and they soon after recorded the Westfalia EP and, a few months later, their debut album, Hold Still... which were both released on Trekky.
Schwartz left the band as the members left high school. Kimbrough and Norkus relocated to Greensboro, NC, where they attended University. Britt nomadically toured with countless well known bluegrass groups, including Open Road (Ronder Records). While the distance proved a minor hindrance, the band managed to get back together to go into the studio with Stephen Tunnell (Vibrant Green) at Ridgehouse Studios in Pittsboro, NC. Jonny Tunnell (Vibrant Green, The Never) sat in on drums for most of session. The product was Girls Are People Too which featured several new tracks the band had written as well as re-worked versions of the songs on the rare and mythic 'Cassette', of which there are very few copies in circulation. Unfortunately, due to the evil of technology, the album was electronically deleted and lost forever. The band is officially on indefinite hiatus, but the possibility of future releases is very real and can be expected with childish anticipation.
Hold Still... is the first full album by Westfalia. Joined by Jonathan Swartz on drums, the group sounds more like
a rock band than earlier Westfalia which was more minimal and somber. This is what Kimbrough and Norkus sounded like in high school.
So Now You Tell Me?
Westfalia is the three song EP that was the band's first
release on CD. The EP gives a view of three different facets of the dynamic between Kimbrough, Norkus and Britt. A classic Westfalia lament,
a catchy drum machine pop song about President Clinton, and a spastic bursting anthem.
Hold Still... is the first full album by Westfalia. Joined by Jonathan Swartz on drums, the group sounds more like
a rock band than earlier Westfalia which was more minimal and somber. This is what Kimbrough and Norkus sounded like in high school.
Westfalia is the three song EP that was the band's first
release on CD. The EP gives a view of three different facets of the dynamic between Kimbrough, Norkus and Britt. A classic Westfalia lament,
a catchy drum machine pop song about President Clinton, and a spastic bursting anthem.
