Jesse Ainslie | guitar/vocals Josh Kimbrough | guitar/vocals John Neville | drums Joe Norkus | bass/vocals
1999-2001
Before there was Mortar and Pestle and before there was Westfalia,
there was Straight No Chaser. Straight No Chaser was formed
in 1999 by Josh Kimbrough, Jesse Ainslie, Joe Norkus and John Neville while all
four members attended Chapel Hill High School. The bands’ two EPs document a distinct and understated legacy.
A band known for songs that subscribe to unique and inherently complex structures while retaining the accessible
innocence of a young band.
The lyrics are simultaneously nonchalant and earnest, relflecting the enthusiasm of youth, but doing so tastefully.
The band broke up in 2001 when Ainslie and Neville left for
school in New York. Kimbrough and Norkus went on to form Westfalia with violinist Robert
Britt before relocating to Greensboro, NC where they formed
Mortar and Pestle. Ainslie currently fronts the alt-country/folk collective,
Friends Band, in New York. He also plays as a touring member of Castanets, also from New York.
Rock the Episcopaleans is Straight No Chaser's six-song document. Split between
restrained instrumentals and the hottest high school indie pop you've ever heard, this EP, recorded by Jay Murphy, is an
interesting history lesson for fans of Mortar and Pestle and Westfalia.
Rock the Episcopaleans is Straight No Chaser's six-song document. Split between
restrained instrumentals and the hottest high school indie pop you've ever heard, this EP, recorded by Jay Murphy, is an
interesting history lesson for fans of Mortar and Pestle and Westfalia.
