Pitchfork

The Athens, Georgia music community, as close-knit as scenes come, experienced a tragic loss this past Monday as Will Westbrook, guitarist for Orange Twin-affiliated Elephant 6 offshoot the Gerbils, passed away.

Will was also an Olivia Tremor Control collaborator, a player in Neutral Milk Hotel's live incarnation, and a celebrated photographer-- it's his portrait of NMH that appears on the Elephant 6 website. Will's untimely death-- said to extend from unspecified recent health problems-- prompted an outpouring of grief from the Athens community.

"Will was a a great guy, and a madman as a guitar player," wrote Ben Crum of fellow Orange Twin act Great Lakes on his band's MySpace blog. "He will be sorely missed."

Along with Scott Spillane and John D'Azzo, Westbrook formed the core of the Gerbils, who came together back in Louisiana in 1992, later relocating to Athens. They released a pair of albums and several singles over the years (also breaking up for a period), the most recent being 2001 LP The Battle of Electricity on Orange Twin.

Some thoughts posted by J. Kirk Pleasant of former Athens band Calvin, Don't Jump! on the Elephant 6 message board touched on elements of Will's character unbeknownst to most. "He was very unassuming on stage," wrote Pleasant. "His beauty always lay in the very very subtle."

"It took him forever to do anything... record a guitar solo, line up a photo, make a cup of coffee. If anyone ever goes by the transmetropolitan in Athens, notice the tile before the entrance. Will did those tiles and took years (as I recall) to finish the job. Every tile was perfect and he made sure that when he did anything, it was perfect.

"He was an extraordinary photographer. I always admired him the most for that. His hands were perpetually cracked and dry. I keep seeing his hands in my mind today as this news sinks in. This is tearing me apart. I'll miss him."

Read more from Pleasant here.

Our hearts go out to friends and family of Will and all those he loved.