June 27, 1958 (age 65) New York City, United States
Genres
Experimental rock
noise rock
experimental
post-punk
Occupation(s)
Musician
Instrument(s)
Guitar
Years active
1982–present
Musical artist
Norman Westberg (born June 27, 1958) is a guitarist from Detroit best known for his work with Swans. Present through almost the entirety of the band's existence, Westberg was brought on for Swans' debut album Filth (1983) and appeared on every album through 1991's White Light from the Mouth of Infinity (he also played on the 1995 album The Great Annihilator).[1] Westberg became a full-time Swans member once again when Michael Gira reactivated the group in 2010.[2]
Westberg's playing can also be heard on many Swans side projects including The Body Haters and solo albums by Jarboe. Before Swans he was a member of Carnival Crash. Westberg was for a short-time a member of The Heroine Sheiks with Shannon Selberg (ex-The Cows)[3] as well as John Fell (ex-China Shop). Aside from the present incarnation of Swans he currently plays in the NYC bands NeVAh (with Vinnie Signorelli & Algis Kizys) and Five Dollar Priest (formerly Size Queens) (with Ron Ward of Speedball Baby & Bob Bert among others).[4] He also appeared (credited as Norman Westburg) in a short film The Right Side of My Brain directed by Richard Kern and starring Lydia Lunch.
On February 25, 2012, Westberg made two limited edition solo releases available at his webstore.[5]Plough is a four-track EP recorded from 2006 to 2009 and features Westberg coupling guitar with banjo and DX drum machine.[6]Limited Edition of 75 features one fifteen-minute-long ambient piece and is packaged in one-of-a-kind imagery—each disk being decorated with a unique MRI from a CD Westberg was given in hospital.[7] Both CD-Rs are packaged in handmade sleeves: Plough with a signed inner and Limited Edition of 75 signed and numbered on the disk itself.
In February 2014 Westberg released a third limited edition solo CD entitled 13, which was then reissued through the ROOM40 record label on November 13, 2015.[8]
In 2014,[9] Westberg joined with Mark Shippy (U.S. Maple), Jim Sykes (Invisible Things), Matthew Wascovich (Scarcity Of Tanks), and Mike Watt (Minutemen) to form the art rock project band Hidden Rifles.[10] Their debut album, Across The Neighborhoods, was released in October 2017.[9]
^"Norman Westberg Instruments & Performance". Discogs. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
^Yardumian, Aram. "Beatific Annihilation_Part 2: Swans, My Father Will Guide Me up a Rope to the Sky, Young God Records, 2010". Retrieved March 25, 2012.
^Kennedy, Patrick. "Biography: The Heroine Sheiks". Allmusic. Retrieved June 8, 2010.
^"Norman Westberg Personal History". Retrieved March 25, 2012.
^"Atmospheric Undertakings by normanwestberg on Etsy". Retrieved March 25, 2012.
^"Plough – Music by Norman Westberg". Retrieved March 25, 2012.
^"Limited Edition of 75 – CD by Norman Westberg". Retrieved March 25, 2012.
^"Swans guitarist Norman Westberg announces solo album 13". Fact. September 18, 2015. Retrieved September 19, 2015.
^ ab"New Hidden Rifles' album out now". Hidden Rifles. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
^"HIDDEN RIFLES: Across the Neighborhoods: CD". Razorcake. July 25, 2018. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
NormanWestberg (born June 27, 1958) is a guitarist from Detroit best known for his work with Swans. Present through almost the entirety of the band's...
Westberg (1920–1997), an American brigadier Niklas Westberg (born 1979), a Swedish footballer NormanWestberg, an American guitarist Maria Westberg (1853–1893)...
began in 1999, as a collaboration of Shannon Selberg, George Porfiris, NormanWestberg and John Fell. Selberg emerged as a major songwriter in the complete...
Pravdica, NormanWestberg All tracks are written by Michael Gira, except "Hums" by Gira, Kristof Hahn, Christopher Pravdica, NormanWestberg Adapted from...
it, but rather reinforcing." All music is composed by Michael Gira, NormanWestberg, Christopher Pravdica, Christoph Hahn, Thor Harris and Phil Puleo,...
and electric guitar Clinton Steele – acoustic and electric guitar NormanWestberg – electric guitar on "Better than You" Jenny Wade – bass guitar Anton...
that recorded this album features Gira, Kristof Hahn, Phil Puleo, and NormanWestberg from prior Swans releases as well as Gira solo collaborators Thor Harris...
various segments Bill Rieflin Christoph Hahn Clinton Steele Larry Lame NormanWestberg Algis Kizys Technical Billy Anderson - recording and mixing engineer...
identical to the LP) was released called A Long Slow Screw. Michael Gira NormanWestberg Algis Kizys Jarboe Ronaldo Gonzalez Ted Parsons Jack Balchin - sound...