Shannon Palmer has posted on the E6 Townhall that Will Westbrook, guitarist for the Gerbils, passed away on Monday. While details at this point remain sketchy, it is known that Will was having health problems in recent months. Apart from being an amazing musician who left his mark on some extraordinary songs with his band, Will Westbrook was a photographer whose work can be seen on the band's albums, including the cover of 1998's Are You Sleepy? (below). My heart goes out to his family and his many friends and admirers, who are suffering a great loss this week.

To mark his passing I'm turning down the lights on Optical Atlas this week and leaving some Gerbils MP3s for download, to introduce his work to those who might not have had a chance to hear this very underrated E6 band. The Gerbils (who also include Scott Spillane, John D'Azzo, and--periodically--Jeremy Barnes) formed in Ruston, Louisiana, before relocating to Athens. They have released two albums, Are You Sleepy? and The Battle of Electricity (Orange Twin, 2001), as well as a handful of singles. The most recent Gerbils live performance (to my knowledge) was July 15th of this year, recorded by Sloan Simpson and archived here at his Southern Shelter music blog. They also performed at the 2006 SXSW festival as part of the Orange Twin showcase.

Glue
Crayon Box
Grin
The Air We Share
Share Again

UPDATE:
Ben Crum of Great Lakes has shared his memories of Will on his band's MySpace blog.
J. Kirk Pleasant of Calvin, Don't Jump! has also written a moving eulogy at his MySpace blog.
Pitchfork coverage here.