Emerging from the acoustic string band tradition, Quickdraw String Band plays a repertoire of Country Blues, Folk Songs, Celtic, contemporary covers, and a bit of Ragtime. They have been performed around Whatcom County for six years: 2003-2009, but are currently on extended hiatus.

In March 2003, Matt Novak, Allegra Ziffle, and former founding member Jesse Stein, performed for a peace rally in front of the Federal Building in Bellingham under the band name Dogleg. The following month they were hired for a groundbeaking festival for the Village Green Park in Fairhaven, Washington, where they brought in bassist Robert "Goldtooth" Ray, and later that month brought in mandolinist Dave Maguire to play for the Bike to Work Day festivities at the Boundary Bay Brewery in Bellingham, for which they changed their name to Quickdraw M'Graw. Jesse left in the summer of 2004 to travel Alaska, and since his departure, Quickdraw further defined their sound and Allegra took up the banjo here and there to fill in for Jesse's absence. August 2005 saw the release of Quickdraw's debut CD release, Blasting Caps, for which Quickdraw saw another name change to Quickdraw String Band. Shortly after recording Blasting Caps Allegra moved to Olympia then Portland. During this time Quickdraw earned its name as a three-piece. Very unique in their adaptions of various acoustic genres, Quickdraw is not old timey or bluegrass, sometimes ragtime, country blues, and folk. Their style often defies categorization into any singular acoustic genre, but is definitely solidly grounded in acoustic tradition. This is exactly what makes them completely unique. Goldtooth often states that nobody else is doing what Quickdraw is doing musically in Whatcom County, and if they are, "they ain't doing it quite like us." It is the strong and varying backgrounds of all three members that make the combination so intriguing and distinct. Dave has played in Cajun and Punk-influenced bands in the past, and recently played a stint on mandolin with the local Bellingham bluegrass band, "Feed and Seed"and currently plays guitar with Hoss. Matt has done time with three other string bands, and is currently playing with Pretty Little Feet. He has also earned him a name as a solo act releasing two solo albums. Goldtooth, though strongly schooled and raised in Appalachian tradition, brings a strong blues and swing influence to the table, recently played with Pirates R Us and the Otters, and currently plays with The Spencetet and The Sonja Lee Band.