Many times when we see that a band has more than five members, we predict certain combinations of instruments. But Gestures isn’t your ordinary band, so they haven’t tripled up on guitar players. They don’t even have one guitar player. With two drummers (including Mark Cisneros from Medications), one clarinet, one trombone, one saxophone, and one tuba, Gestures has all the elements of a jazz band or a classical ensemble. Yet the driving rhythms and melodies clearly draw as much from punk rock as they do from jazz or classical music. You won’t hear any vocals, but it’s just as easy to imagine a guitar playing some of the parts that are instead played by trombonist Bob Chapman or saxophonist Kriston Capps (who is also DCist’s weekend editor, so he did not participate in this interview). In fact, it’s easy to hear some of the same psychedelia that permeates albums like Sookie Jump by The Rude Staircase (a band in which tuba player Jon Lebovitz was a member.) Yet, for the large variety of influences and their occasional tendency to go completely unhinged, all of their songs are actual songs, not extended jam sessions. Which is why we’re eagerly anticipating their upcoming EP.
We sat down with drummer Jess Matthews and clarinet player Rebecca Mills to talk about the roots of their unique sound, playing in Europe and where you can find them on Halloween.
Find them online at: http://www.myspace.com/gesturesdc
Catch them next: Tonight at the Metro Gallery in Baltimore opening for So Percussion. Or in D.C. at the Big Bear Cafe on November 9.
Buy their CD: At one of those upcoming shows.
What are your day jobs when you’re not playing music?
Rebecca: I work at the Federal Aviation Administration. I make signs. And web sites.
Jess: I just do music. This is it. On the clock, right now.
How long has Gestures been around?
Jess: A couple of years. Three years? The first tour was recently.
When did you start doing music full time?
Jess: Like four months ago.
Do you do a lot of the writing?
Jess: No, we write everything pretty collectively. I think I often come in with some neat ideas and we’ll work around them. But yeah, I’ll do more of the legwork.
