Gesture 🎂

In 2019 I remember seeing Gesture on flyers and I have also reached out to them as well when I was working in radio at UTRGV as the Program Director. Time has passed and now we have the Happy Birthday EP! Listening to this album for the first time the sound just captivated me as I knew what I was getting myself into. With the songs playing one by one. Each with their own energies to be hand. From their "emo" to their "softer" played songs. Listening to Happy Birthday really made me feel connected/being able to relate to the sound along with the lyrics especially in "Sickened, Tired". Have you listened to Happy birthday? Well go for it it's on Spotify! Link: https://open.spotify.com/album/7rjfMw4jJAmH3BHXECAt60?si=m1bWdR_SQtSrZUCylwA3cw This week's feature is Gesture, @gestureband

We begin with the members of Gesture "Armando Gonzalez, Julio Cantu Jr., Kristopher Fred Gallardo, and Andrew Vela." They continue by mentioning what they've been enjoying as of recently "As of lately I’ve really been enjoying the new Prince Daddy & The Hyena singles that they’ve put out. The new PUP album as well. And this Spanish pop singer from the 80’s named Jeanette. Been enjoying watching a lot of tv shows and movies as well." I've listened to PUP before for sure! Not too much, but a bit. Ah yes MOVIES. There's at least one movie I want to watch tonight, but it surely is hard to choose. Gesture would like to give out a couple of shout outs "I’d like to give a shout out to Ryan Bluhm (of Riley the band) who recorded our music and really pushed us (on more than one occasion) to get our tracks out there. They saw the potential in us and I’m really grateful they gave us their time. Nate Garza for doing the mixing and mastering on the EP and showing us these songs in ways I could never have imagined when I first wrote them years ago. VTHC for constantly putting on the best shows and having us on some of them. I’m truly convinced VTHC is more than just hardcore. It’s the valley music scene. And it’s a very accepting one at that. The Sauce House/Disease Freak crew for constantly having us and being great friends. Chillwavve Records for uploading Gesture’s catalog on their YouTube page. My parents for never kicking us out during practice at any hour of the night. And a huge shout out to any one who’s come out to any of our shows, any bands we’ve played with, and anyone whose shared our music. It means so much." I love the friendship and the support given to each other. I especially love "my parents for never kicking us out during practice at any hour of the night" that's just love for sure. I wonder if they ever asked their parents what they thought about the band or about the shows they've been on? Just the experiences had.

We start off by asking what can be said about the band itself "Gesture is a band. I wish I could just answer like that as a goof. But to tell you 'about the band' I guess I could call us a band that likes to have fun. We write about our own issues, but we never miss a moment to maybe find some humor in it. Julio and I started the band because we had both been in bands back in the 'scene days.' And we had been going to shows a lot and started being nostalgic for when we used to play. So we decided to stop talking about it and just do it. We started off as 'Paper Terrace' back when we had former members, Enya Edgar and Karlos Rosell. I always thought the image of a terrace made out of paper was a great indicator for the lyrical content that was going to be brought in our music. We kept getting misheard as Paper Terrorist and figured we should probably find something easier. (Gesture gets misheard for Jester, so we haven’t made much progress.) We landed on Gesture after our drummer, Julio, suggested it. We all agreed it was a great name. Simple and catchy. It wasn’t until months later, that Julio told us he got the name from his favorite Overwatch League player of the same name. Enya and Karlos left due to creative differences shortly after. This was back in 2019 and we still had no music out. Andrew (of The Sight of Impact) and Kris (of Riley!) hopped on a few shows we had lined up as place fillers. But they’ve since gone on to be our permanent members. We played many shows with some of our favorite locals and band’s we wouldn’t have dreamed we’d be playing with when we were younger. It wasn’t until 2021 that we finally released our EP." Reading this and seeing "we write about our own issues, but we never miss a moment to maybe find some humor in it" what would life be if we couldn't look back on our experiences and be like oh yeah that happened huh? Looking through the tracks on the EP there's a song called Paper Terro...Terrace that's a nice call back! Good song as well. Interesting to see the band name change, the changes that have gone through as well to be where they're at now.

What does Gesture wish to evoke from the listeners as they explain "When I listen to new music that catches my attention, it’s comparable to seeing a movie that sweeps me off my feet. I’m a very emotional guy and I cry a lot when I’m listening to music or watching movies. And it isn’t even because the music or movies are necessarily sad. Sometimes, a new song just hits me in that right way, my arms get goosebumps, my face goes a little numb, my eyes get watery. It’s a beautiful feeling. If I can get anyone to even listen to my music, just because they want to hear one of the songs again. That’s all that matters." I totally get that for real. From films and music. It's not even because its "sad", but it just touches you or it just hits you in a way you didn't expect it to. It's like listening to "Sickened, Tired" from the 1:15-1:48 "its a part of growing old that's what we're always told....another day seeing myself age." Due to the vocals, the screaming, but then you have the sudden change to a softer more gentle sound afterwards. Then 1:55 on ward the emphasis on the word "myself" with the yelling until the end you hear along with maybe even picturing the singer falling to his knees. That is what gives me "goosebumps."

With learning more about Gesture as a band, what about it's members? What does each member bring into the band as they say "That’s the great thing about this band. We’ve all played in different bands with vastly different sounds and have grown up with different favorite bands. But we do all have this common love for playing music and trying to find our own sound. I bring my love of everything and anything remotely pop with hints of baroque melodies. Julio has his love for metalcore and his roots deep in prog metal. Kris is probably one of the biggest SoCal Punk guys I know in the RGV and he might as well be a historian in it, along with being the most musically gifted in the band. And Andrew has been cutting his teeth in the music scene since ‘08 and knows the performative and technical aspects that go with putting on a good show. It’s a group I couldn’t be more happy with and truly feels like we’ve known each other since grade school." That certainly sounds great! Very interesting to know that each member has their expertise in different genres and already having the experience of being in a band. What if they didn't have prior band experience? Would it have been different? I think in the end they would have still pulled through and released what they could. They're not just a band, but they're friends!

When it comes to "Sickened, Tired" what do you wish to evoke to the listener with this song? With lyrics such as "26 years of problem after problem...It's a part of growing old. Another day seeing myself fade into grey." What do these lyrics also mean to them? As they explain "Sickened, Tired was the one song that was the last song written for the EP. And apart from The Autophobic’s Soliloquy, it’s the only one that wasn’t written years ago. It was a last minute addition when I came up with this riff and vocal melody. The band and I knew we had to finish writing it and add it to the EP quickly. At the time, I was still working at this hospital job that I had been at for 7 years. And I hated it. It was a Monday-Friday/9-5 type job and everyday felt the same. I felt myself getting older and going nowhere. I had plans for myself that started seeming like they were never gonna happen. A lot of that emotion is what went into the song. 'It’s a burden growing old' is a play on the whole 'Dont grow up, kid. It only gets worse' older people like to throw at younger people. Working at the hospital, I was the young one. Everyone there was much older and they loved telling me it. As if I didn’t already know. I feel it’s something anyone can relate to, at any age. We’ll always be older than the day before, and this song is kind of a reminder of that. '26 years of problem after problem. Working hours, endless hours on myself, by myself' is me feeling probably at my lowest. 26 was a pretty defining age for me. Felt lost, alone, and overworked. I kept feeling like every week, something would go wrong. And to think of another 26 years of that to happen, just sounds like absolute torture. It’s a pretty grim line in a song that sonically sounds a bit upbeat. 'Another day, seeing myself fade into gray' is a line that I wrote while looking at myself in the mirror and just not liking what I see. I’ve aged. I’m going to keep aging. There’s some noticeable gray in my hair now. I feel it was the right way to start off this song that is basically about the fears of growing older. I still haven’t seen that M. Night Shyamalan movie about the beach that makes people get older in a few hours. But it probably could’ve featured Sickened, Tired." As they mention their hospital job and experiences. It reminds me of my defining years being 22, 24, and 25 (currently) Almost dropping out of school. Being stuck in a job I really disliked. Sitting down and not doing much for a whole year until I got a new job. At my new job hearing the chief say "I've been doing this for 10 years" as he kicks back on his shitty black 4 wheeled (I'd 5 say 5 wheeled but one is broken) desk chair. I felt like I was going nowhere, but I'm somewhat content now. I had the most fun working as a Program Director and I missed it so much. Now still interacting and meeting so many members of the community I'm having fun. It's fun. This song, "Sickened, Tired" really hit it for me. Knowing that it was the final song added and that it was made quickly is crazy!

When listening to "Another U" and with the lyrics "we can't stand each other...can't find another u" and it being the shortest song on the EP it is still very impactful. What can be said about its length and fast paced instrumentals? As they say "Another U’s origin can actually be traced back to this voice memo on my phone from May 6, 2017. It’s this 22 second clip of me playing my unplugged Gibson SG and me singing 'I know we can’t stand each other.' I had forgotten about that voice memo for maybe another year or so. Then Paper Terrace formed and we needed songs. I found that little gem in my phone and tried workshopping it. I sort of mumble in the voice memo, but I made new lyrics anyway. It wasn’t supposed to be such a short song. But I couldn’t imagine the song being any longer. The message of the song is there. Anything else would probably come off as superfluous and untrue. I remember going to practice the next day and the band asking me if I had written more for the song. I felt scared to tell them that 'That’s it. That’s the song.' They were a little hesitant. But once we played it in front of people, we knew that it could never be any longer. A lot of times, we’ll have people telling us they wish it could be longer. But they still love the song for what it is. But going from the voice memo to where it is now is a HUGE change and I, myself, am very happy with the outcome. The drums Julio added are so thrash and punk and the 'oo’s' in the background are insane to me. I didn’t write it in 2017 with all that in mind. But it’s amazing to see it put together the way it is. Such a short song shouldn’t have such a long answer. My bad." No need to apologize! I could not imagine this song any longer. I feel that it holds so much with so "little" if that makes sense. From a 22 second voice memo to a really great 44 second song. If people want a longer version it's time to make a 1hr "Another U" YouTube loop video. I wonder how it was playing that song for the first time live and just ending it so fast? What they felt and what came after. Well from the feedback received the song is well received from what's mentioned.

From "another u" to "The Story of My Experiments with the Truth "and the usage of "you" in this song and mentioning "should have not wasted all my time on you...you'll live inside this screen forever." Does this song correlate with "another u?" If so, how and if not what do you have to say about the song? As they explain "I prefer to not have these songs be solely about breakups. But, I did write the bones of both Another U and The Story years before Gesture was even a thing. I wrote The Story back in 2016 actually. So it’s older than Another U. But they’re both about the same girl. I’ve changed them a lot since then, but the bones are still more or less the same. I was in my longest relationship and that breakup just undid me in a way I had never experienced. I was listening to a lot of Midwest emo and pop punk and knew I couldn’t just sulk in my misery. As cliche as that may be. So the 'you' in question is both about the same person. Another U is more about me believing that hole in my heart will never be filled, and The Story is about me recognizing that I’ve been looking at that relationship through rose tinted glasses and that I can and will move on. Not exactly breaking the mold story wise. But I’d rather write something more personal than to fake my emotions. And luckily, I think it shows. I’m glad you asked this. Didn’t think anyone would notice." I was playing "Another U" and "The Story of My Experiments" and I did notice the usage of "you" between those songs. I was flipping through those 2 songs back to back and I just found it interesting especially with the track placement. The song " The Story of My Experiments with the Truth" does end with "walking out the door. Now I'm GONE!" which we will talk about, but firtst I think with "Another U" as they mention "is more about me believing that hole in my heart will never be filled" as "The Story of My Experiments with the Truth" as mentioned "is about me recognizing that I’ve been looking at that relationship through rose tinted glasses and that I can and will move on" in the end as I mentioned how they track ends "walking out the door. Now I'm GONE!" hits the nail on the coffin. I wouldn't say "cliche" as these are the experiences they write about it and it's something to look back on and move forward from.

What was Gesture aiming for when creating this EP? What sort of feelings/thoughts/experiences does this hold for each of you? As they share "We were aiming to bring back our favorite aspects of recorded music and live music. We wanted our live shows to be performances and we wanted to make sure our EP wasn’t something you just listen to once and forget about it. Yeah, if you listen to it once through and enjoyed it. There’s nothing wrong with that. But the songs are in their order for a reason. The lyrics to the songs all have meaning. And if anyone relates or comes to their own conclusion to the songs and wants to see us live. Then we couldn’t be any happier. For me (Armando): the road to getting this EP made was daunting. The band started in 2018. We didn’t release music until 2021. I probably mentioned that already. But it truly felt it was never gonna get released at times. We had first started recording in an actual professional studio back in 2018 when we were first starting out. It felt insane to us. And we all felt very nervous and unsure of ourselves. When I heard myself singing, it was so cringe and embarrassing. Enya’s dad was a producer for big norteño bands like Duelo. So I was really afraid of singing as confidently as I normally do. Especially since I am far from a classically trained singer. Enya left the band and those recordings got scrapped. We started recording again with Ryan in 2019 and managed to get two demos out in 2020. Ryan got new recording equipment and graciously let us record our whole EP with them and that’s when I got excited again. Ryan understood our goal with this EP and made sure it sounded exactly how I pictured it in my head and even added more. The 3 year journey was definitely worth it once we released the music. (Julio): For me, I wanted to do something a little different than what I'm used to with this EP and still stick to my roots. I pushed myself to learn different styles of drumming so I can better express myself and push my limits. I still don't feel like I'm at my limit yet so my drumming will definitely change as time goes on. This EP matters a lot to me because making music is cool and all, but making music with people that you can bond with outside of music at a deeper level just makes the end product even sweeter and definitely worth all the work we put into it. I strongly believe in 'everything happens for a reason' and the story of Gesture, as it is today, is definitely something Mando and I never thought would be but everything happens for a reason and I wouldn't change it for the world. I'm extremely proud of the boys. (Kris): This EP fucks.

I don't really know what to say. From scrapped recordings, the feelings, the feeling of getting demos out. The EP getting recorded. With everything that happened from the beginning to now, as Kris says "This EP fucks." It was all worth it.

Do they have any favorite songs off the EP? "This one’s really tough for me. I guess it’d have to be a tie between Surfin 4 Babez and The Autophobic’s Soliloquy. Surfin 4 Babez is my favorite because it was one of the first songs I wrote with the band that I felt had a full song structure. Verse, chorus, bridge, solo, and outro. It’s about me wishing I had died in a car crash to get over the pain of heartbreak. Very melodramatic. But the song truly is therapeutic for me. It used to be very painful. But every time I play it, I get this endorphin rush that fills my whole body and I want to just jump and slam the floor with my feet as hard as I can. And that guitar solo is a lot of fun for me. The Autophobic’s Soliloquy is more a song of loss than it is about anything else. I was going through this terrible relationship with a girl and my grandpa had just died at the same time. And anytime I listen to that song, it puts me in that same time zone. But I’m not sad. And it’s one of the few songs I actually enjoy listening to of my band. I still get a little embarrassed when someone plays my music in front of me. But that’s one I genuinely feel proud of writing." I feel like a lot of artists get embarrassed when you play their music at hangouts, events, and shows. Even just in the car perhaps when there's so much to listen to, but hey they fuck with it y'know. When it comes to "The Autophobic's Soliloquy" I was going through a breakup years ago. We were at the verge of breaking up and my dad was getting open heart surgery. I was listening to Dismantling Summer by The Wonder Years. Spending the nights home alone. Spending the evenings in that hospital room. It's just as Gesture mentioned earlier it's not that the song is sad it's just that it hits. Overall I fuck with the EP, but my favorite for sure is "Sickened, Tired."

What does Gesture wish to experiment with/bring onto their new project if they're working on it "I actually am working on new material. Still trying to finish these songs and show them to the rest of the band. But I’m a perfectionist and I get distracted with my film stuff a lot too. But I do plan on subverting expectations on this new one. I don’t want it to feel the same as what was on the EP. And that’s another thing, I don’t want the next release to be an EP. I want it to be a full length album with big themes and emotion. I am excited for what the future holds." With that being said I do look forward to what they come out with next! Even if it's from another 22 second voice memo.

How does it make Gesture feel when people can connect with their music or find a sense of relatability with it? As they say "It’s probably one of the best feelings when someone tells me they can relate to the songs or just enjoy them in general. It’s the reason we play music. To have this connection with the audience."

What are Gesture's thoughts on the local valley scene,

"The scene isn’t what it used to be"gets thrown around a lot. And it isn’t. But that’s not a bad thing. What we have in the valley scene right now is this amazing creativity from so many new groups that are inspired by really obscure artists. Artists like Diseasefreak, Sycamore, and Lure Division are doing things for the local scene that I only remember the older crowd doing when I was younger. These groups are going getting the attention themselves. And if you have gone to their shows, you see that they bring in a crowd. And then we have crews like Tiger’s Blood, A Bunny Product, and Honest Booking bringing down artists that you wouldn’t normally expect here in the RGV. The scene isn’t the same, but I’m still excited for what it brings.

They add one final comment,

We’re grateful to be playing music and I hope we can continue doing so while we have the time. And to anyone who’s made it through my painfully long answers, BUY MERCH AND PHYSICAL MEDIA FROM THE BANDS YOU LOVE. Streaming isn’t enough to buy peanuts at the gas station. I know we don’t have any merch or physical media currently. But we will be raising money to hopefully do so. And that money will help fund any future recordings, tours, music videos, etc. Because unless we’re getting 10,000+ streams a month. We can’t really afford much. Thank you.