Norman Westberg

• Name — Norman Westberg • Alias — Norman Westberg • Born — 27 June 1958 • Birthplace — Detroit, Michigan, U.S. • Genre — * Experimental rock • noise rock • experimental • post-punk • drone • ambient • Occupation — Musician • Instrument — Guitar • Years Active — 1982–present • Current Member Of — Swans • Past Member Of — Heroine Sheiks, Carnival Crash

Norman Westberg was born in Detroit, United States. He moved to New York City in 1980. He has older sisters and a brother, who turned him on to music. Initially, Westberg was interested in playing drums, but "something about the guitar overshadowed that". Before joining Swans, Westberg started a band with a friend from a punk rock club, "Bookies", and was a member of Carnival Crash. Westberg became a member of Swans after meeting the band's bass guitarist Harry Crosby at a house party, where Westberg was playing with his band Carnival Crash. Crosby asked Westberg if he wanted to audition for his band, and Westberg agreed, passing the audition. In 2016, Swans announced a change of the lineup, and Westberg was one of the people who left the band's consistent lineup, but continued collaborating with Swans. In February 2019, Swans recorded a new album later released as Leaving Meaning. Westberg played on "a couple of songs", including "Hums". Westberg played guitar on "Ebbing" from 2023 Swans album The Beggar, and would return to full member status on the band's next album Birthing.

Westberg's guitar can be heard on many Swans side projects including The Body Haters and appeared on several solo albums by Jarboe. Westberg was for a short-time a member of The Heroine Sheiks with Shannon Selberg (ex-The Cows) as well as John Fell (ex-China Shop). Aside from the present incarnation of Swans he has been playing 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). Westberg also appeared (credited as Norman Westburg) in a short film The Right Side of My Brain (1985) directed by Richard Kern and starring Lydia Lunch. Westberg made his first solo guitar performance in the 90s at The Cooler, but Westberg didn't like the way he played. Before he returned to solo recording, Westberg has been figuring out a way that would be enjoyable to him. He started "plugging all of his effects boxes into all of his tiny amps and let the guitar do what it wanted, only manipulating the boxes". In 2011, Westberg made a recording for his father-in-law, a saxophone player in the Navy’s band and music teacher. Jennifer, Westberg's spouse, heard the recording and encouraged him to sell them as limited edition custom made CDs. On February 25, 2012, Westberg released the recordings as two albums: Plough and Limited Edition of 75. Plough is a four-track EP recorded from 2006 to 2009 and features Westberg coupling guitar with banjo and DX drum machine. Limited Edition of 75, a one fifteen-minute-long ambient piece, pressed onto a disc decorated with an MRI pattern taken from the CD with Westberg's MRI scan. 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. In 2014, 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. Their debut album, Across The Neighborhoods, was released in October 2017.

In 2006, Norman Westberg married Jennifer Tull Westberg. Jennifer is a jeweler, and created the rings for their wedding. They have a daughter, Wilhelmina Opal Westberg, born on November 11th, 2009.

• Year — Title • 2012 — Plough • 2014 — Jasper Sits Out • 2014 — 13 • 2015 — Idling Live • 2016 — Not October • 2016 — MRI • 2016 — The All Most Quiet • 2017 — somewhere else • 2017 — The Chance To • 2018 — After Vacation (with Lawrence English) • 2019 — Bedroom Off • 2021 — First Man In The Moon (with Jacek Mazurkiewicz) • 2021 — Is It Safe Yet? • 2022 — Drag Acid #8 • 2023 — Aftermath (with Luna Honey)

• Year — Title • 1983 — Filth • 1984 — Cop • 1986 — Greed • 1986 — Holy Money • 1987 — Children of God • 1989 — The Burning World • 1991 — White Light from the Mouth of Infinity • 1995 — The Great Annihilator • 2010 — My Father Will Guide Me up a Rope to the Sky • 2012 — The Seer • 2014 — To Be Kind • 2016 — The Glowing Man • 2019 — Leaving Meaning • 2025 — Birthing

• Year — Title • 2000 — Rape on the Installment Plan • 2002 — Siamese Pipe

• Year — Title • 1986 — Dirtdish (Wiseblood) • 1998 — Delirium Tremens (Sulfur)