Main Page                    The Gestures

This Mankato based group had a fabulous top 50 Billboard hit in 1964, "Run, Run, Run". Soma couldn't keep up with the record demand and the band folded soon (about 1 year) after.
Gus Dewey went on to play with City Mouse. Gus passed away in January, 2004.
Page down for more info on Gus.

Gestures CD: Sundazed reissue at Amazon.com

Original lineup:
Dale Menten voc/gtr, Gus Dewey gtr, Tom Klugherz bass, Bruce Waterston drms

Dale Menten has released two CD's:
Dale Menten & The Live Bait Band:    Huntin' Sump'n     Order CD
Dale Menten and the Live Bait Band:   Somethin' Fishy   Order CD

Dale Menten website

Gestures Singles

1964 Run, Run, Run/Seems to me: Soma 1417
1965 Don't mess around/Candlelight: Soma 1426
1965 I'm not mad/Don't mess around: Promo Soma 1426
1964 Run, Run, Run/Seems to me: Apex 76939 Canadian
1965 Don't mess around/Candlelight: Apex 76953 Canadian

CITY MOUSE
Their 1st CD: "It's About Time" CD review at MnBlues

MPR article about City Mouse

The CD can be gotten via mail order from Billy Steiner by sending $17.00 to: City Mouse; 545 Belgrade Ave.; North Mankato, MN 56003, or found at select independent record stores.
Highly recommended.

GUS DEWEY

Gus, Oct 2003

January 5th, 2004: A voice stilled.
From a hit single with The Gestures to his days with City Mouse, guitarist was a fixture in the local music scene.

By Joe Tougas Free Press Staff Writer

MANKATO (MN)- A unique voice in Minnesota music faded out Sunday afternoon when Gus Dewey died at the age of 57.

Dewey had been hospitalized after suffering an aneurysm Dec. 26 while en route to a medical appointment for his recurring cancer. Though a legend among many Minnesota musicians, Dewey never reached the fame that seemed promised to him as a teenager. Yet in the 30-plus years that followed, his music shifted from radio-friendly pop to soulful blues and road-tested rock 'n' roll. He performed and wrote music that often countered his boisterous personality.

Although he worked a number of jobs to support himself, the most recent being a driver for an auto parts store in Mankato, music was his main occupation. It was a relationship that began with a stint as pop star. Born and raised in Mankato, Dewey was a member of the four-piece group The Gestures, who in the summer of 1964 recorded a single "Run Run Run" in Minneapolis. They were encouraged to do so by local radio station KTOE and Minneapolis' KDWB, where disc jockey Lou Riegert gave them airplay that spread across the country. The single made the Billboard national charts, was played on "American Bandstand" and received airplay on stations nationwide. Dewey and bandmates Bruce Waterston, Dale Menten and Tom Klugherz became young local celebrities. The band broke up about a year after the release.

From that intense career start, Dewey went on to work with bands in Minneapolis and Mankato, eventually joining City Mouse in the late 1970s and remaining with the group for several years. His musicianship matured, with his songwriting, guitar playing and singing - his voice was reminiscent of Eric Clapton's - often unveiling a surprising sensitivity. "His voice, there was nobody who sang like that, obviously," said Al Bjerke, an electrical engineer who shared guitar duties with Dewey in City Mouse. "He's one of the guys who should have made it out of here on that merit." Dewey was a top-notch musician, Bjerke said. He admired Dewey's guitar style, which was less meticulous and more natural than his own. "It was bluesy, kind of free-form," Bjerke said. "He had a feel for melody and harmony. He didn't like to copy the record like I did, but that gave us another balance." Klugherz said from the time he and Dewey met in 1959, the guitarist was always pursuing unique sounds. He remembers him going for a distorted sound from his guitar before distortion was in vogue.

Bjerke and Klugherz both considered Dewey a good friend, one whose often-grumpy demeanor faded fast. "He had that exterior, but you got past that and he was a big teddy bear," said Bjerke. Up until this year, Dewey remained an unapologetic heavy smoker and a steady drinker, and the singing and smoking took its toll on his voice. His lymph nodes and vocal cords were surgically removed in September (2003). By that point, his voice had been reduced to a whisper - he hadn't played or sang for five years. His last home in Mankato was a mobile home near East High School, where he lived with his longtime partner Andrea Smith. He had frequent bouts of anger and depression that were kept in check by Smith, Dewey once said. "She's the only thing that holds me together," he wrote in September. In early November, Dewey entered residential treatment for chemical dependency in the Twin Cities. Little more than a month into treatment, his cancer recurred. Two weeks ago, he was diagnosed with aggressive end-stage cancer. And while being driven to a checkup, his carotid artery burst and he suffered a stroke shortly after. He was being tended to at Immanuel St. Joseph's Hospital, where he died.

Dewey did get to see and visit with hundreds of friends a few months before his death. After his September surgery, a multi-band benefit concert in October brought him together with hundreds of friends and fellow musicians at the Kato Entertainment Center. Dewey held court at a table in the ballroom, signing CDs and T-shirts made for the occasion. For the event, Klugherz and City Mouse bandmate Billy Steiner produced a compilation CD of Dewey's songs performed live and in the studio over the years. That and a 1996 re-release of Gestures recordings are Dewey's recording legacy. Klugherz, who lives in Mankato, met Dewey in 1959 and remained friends him throughout his life. "In high school, I remember study hall," Klugherz said. "We were all in a classroom, but Gus was in a small glassed-in room in the back so he could not distract everyone else. Even then, he couldn't do things the way everyone else did." While respected as a musician, Dewey was self-effacing about his own abilities, claiming to hate everything he's recorded. Always known for a sharp tongue, a short fuse and a penchant toward dark humor, Dewey nonetheless let his softer side show to most anyone who spent some time with him, Bjerke said. That was on display at the Kato benefit, where Dewey communicated through a notepad, laughs and gestures.

In an interview a few days before the event, he wrote: "Many more friends than I thought. ... These people are being so nice to me." The huge turnout and the 10 hours of music volunteered at the event was evidence of Dewey's effect on people on and off the stage. "He made a mark on anybody who worked with him or saw him play," Bjerke said.

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This page 6/26/2004