About  Us

​IdleTimers is a guitar and vocals duo that has performed at DC's Blues Alley, the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, and Nats Park. 
​ Specializing in 'citified country originals and popular cover songs,' they play songs you know ranging
​from Neil Young and Bob Dylan to Patsy Cline and Dua Lipa.

​The IdleTimers Danielle Westphal and Ken Giese perform originals and cover songs live.  Both sing and play guitar.   They co-produced and performed in the following shows:

• An American Musical Landscape, a destination show for tour buses visiting Washington DC, that they co-wrote,  produced and performed in for 15 years.  The show was sold in 2019.
• Nashville Connections, a songwriter showcase performed at the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville TN and Blues Alley in Washington DC. 
• Road Shows - Danielle and Ken co-wrote and co-produced many corporate shows for international conventions in Bermuda, Montreal, Orlando and Washington, DC, forming  DC-based  bands and adding in performers from the host location or host company.
• Clubs and Events - Danielle has performed for years with her own jazz band consisting of top musicians in DC.  She also sings with Swing Speak for private and social events.   Ken formed and performed regularly with The Idle Time Band.  Danielle and Ken were the core of the The Swooners, who performed  regularly in top Washington DC area music clubs and for community and social events.

Danielle Westphal ​bio- With her smooth, rich, and clear voice, Danielle Westphal has established herself as a popular and entertaining vocalist.  She headlines such well-known venues as Blues Alley in Washington, DC, the Dover Downs Wine and Jazz Festival in Dover, Delaware, and performs steadily in restaurants and clubs in the Washington, D.C., area.  Her warm, friendly, and relaxed style endears her to her ever-growing audience. Danielle's been performing since she was a little girl but got her real start winning leads in musicals at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Virginia.

She continued singing in college with The University of Virginia Singers and after college in local theater performances.  Although born in Paris, France to a French mother and American father, she's lived most of her life in the Washington, D.C., area, with the exception of a couple of years in Monte Carlo, Monaco.  While there she perfected her French, worked and sang in a luxury hotel and did jingles for Radio Monte Carlo. She also appeared on a popular French TV show.

Danielle started singing solo full-time after performing for several years with a popular vocal quartet. She is a vocalist who likes to sing everything from classic standards and jazz to Carol King, Karen Carpenter, and Patsy Cline.  Working with some of the finest piano accompanists around, she feels blessed to have them as well as other fine musicians to round out her swinging jazz combo.

Her list of accomplishments includes performing twice at the White House for receptions for President and Mrs. Clinton, performing on the former Presidential Yacht, the Sequoia, singing in a popular club in Paris, France, being invited to perform on the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center, and producing her first CD, High Standards. The High Standards CD received very favorable reviews as well as radio airtime, locally and around the country. It's also being played on Internet radio stations and can be heard at various times around the world. The CD contains 16 tracks and 17 songs, mostly from the 'Great American Songbook.'

​Dan Reynolds co-produced and did the CD's musical arrangements as well as plays the piano.  Peter Revell plays acoustic bass and Mike DeLisa plays percussion and drums, giving the album a fine jazz trio.  When asked what Danielle loves most about performing she says, 'I love the chance to tell stories through songs, to relate to the people who are listening, and most of all, make people feel good and enjoy themselves.'

Ken Giese bio- He’s written about 100 tunes and recorded about 60 with his various bands including the Circle K Band.  He played in a cover band called the Backyard Blues Band, which got Janet Reno dancing barefoot at a holiday party..  The Janet Reno miracle was parodied on Saturday Night Live and noted on the front page of The Wall Street Journal.  

Ken is a songwriter, singer, and guitarist.  He also plays piano and some banjo, bass, harmonica, and tuba. He first performed in a band at age 11 with other military brats living near Paris France.  He’s been playing ever since, solo and in rock and roll, country, marching, stage, folk, and other types of bands.  He took a break from performing in the 1980s and started again with the Backyard Blues Band in the 1990s, and then formed The Idle Time Band in 1998. 

He started writing songs and collaborating with other players and bands to produce recordings of his original songs.   His first recordings were with his High School Stage Band and later with Virginia Tech’s world-famous precision marching Highty Tighties.   He produced his Hokie folk collection in the 1970s, Etceteras jazz collection in the 80s, and BROKN2 light rock collection in the 90s in his home studio.  

He released his first-published collection titled Next of Ken with the Circle K Band featuring back-up vocals by IdleTimer Danielle Westphal. He has a pre-release version of a second collection titled DOS and is also working on his newest 10-song collection called Pro at Being Conned. 

Ken is a budding author who has completed one and is writing four more books.  He promotes his and friends' arts under the trade name Idol Time Arts, which can be found at www.idoltime.com.

Email  IdleTime@comcast.net  for more information.