Pointing to the backside, giving the finger and nose-picking are not the most typical symbols used between band members when playing music.

However, members of Boulder band Wide Mouth Grin find every possible way to communicate with one another despite the barriers. Steve DiCesare, composer and lead guitarist, is almost entirely deaf. For people who know such technical terms, he has a bi-lateral, sensorineural hearing loss of approximately 80 db.

His hearing began to diminish when he was only 10 years old, but that didn't stop DiCesare. He already had started writing his own music on the piano and guitar. His mom encouraged both him and his brother, who is also a deaf musician, to get into music at a young age.

"My mom was really into us learning about music until problems started. Then, she became a hearing protection freak - 'Wear your plugs! Wear your plugs! Steeeven!' I might be the biggest individual ear plug consumer in the state," DiCesaresaidduring an interview over email. In order to protect the hearing he has left, DiCesare wears special industrial grade sound-blocking headphones.

When it comes to composing, most of DiCesare's diminishing hearing lies primarily in the lower registers. He must compose by playing through headphones and mixing the sound to emphasize the bass and drum parts.

"I usually write the stuff on guitar with an octaver pedal. This transfers the notes into a lower register. I can still hear some bass sounds," says DiCesare. "I don't think I would be able to do this without the reference to the bass or without having heard the sounds growing up. I sense the vibrations rhythmically. Without my prior references, I don't think I could distinguish variations in tone. I do that visually and watch Mark and Greg's hands."

Despite the fact that some members have known and played with DiCesare for years, writing, collaborating and performing doesn't come easy. The band doesn't play by bars and stanzas. They take an improvisational approach by incorporating American Sign Language, facial expressions and signs they invent themselves. From song names to musical notation and major and minor keys, almost everything has a sign.

Keyboardist Greg Ehrnstrom is the newest addition to the band, but according to DiCesare, he's the missing link. Drummer Todd Weiner has worked with DiCesare in other bands over the years, while bass player Mark Brummer has known DiCesare since junior high.

"We started hanging out in fourth grade," DiCesare says. "I was in one class and Mark was in the adjacent class, with one of those folding walls in between. One day during math time, I hear (I could hear well then) a rhythmic tapping on the wall next to my seat - like a series of two-three-two tapping -- so I throw my elbow against the wall in time with a little fingernail scratch on the off beat.

"I guess that was our first 'jam.' We started passing notes through the slots in the wall. Then we found out that we both played guitar. Eventually, we had to flip a coin to see who could play bass in our band. He won, luckily!"

When it comes to recording, DiCesare has designed specific rehearsal spaces to best suit his needs. He's even tried constructing tubing devices from the guitar and speakers to the bones in his head.

"We had some wires and other things to try to conduct a cleaner vibration to my protective headphones to get the sound better for me. One year we used a Plexiglas booth, where I'd stand in this cocoon-like glass box. It all sucked. I was also in a padded closet under the steps with a window cut out in the door so I could see the band. Now I just stand practically on top of Todd with one foot on the keyboard," DiCesare says.

But the ideas don't stop. Patrick Tracy, who occasionally does sound for Wide Mouth Grin, has been encouraging DiCesare to try a device called the neurophone since they met at Penny Lane in Boulder over a decade ago. Tracy was doing sound at the coffee shop and DiCesare was playing with one of his past bands, Shankis.

According to Wikipedia,the neurophone was invented by G. Patrick Flanagan in 1958 at the age of 14.This electronic deviceclaims to transmit sound through the body's nervous system directly to the brain. Although it was patented by the U.S. in 1968, it's not yet FDA-approved.

However, Tracy is a firm believer in the device. "The neurophone is promoted as a learning enhancer more than anything, and I feel strongly that DiCesare is a good candidate due to the fact that he had his sense of hearing during the most important phases of development when he was younger," he claims.

Yet DiCesare is hesitant. "Changes are scary, I guess. I've become very accustomed to dealing with what I have and getting better working with it," he says. "I'm not sure how this would work in a live playing setting, but if it did work, it might help me hear things when I'm alone - writing and practicing."

Not only is this quartet able to collaborate and produce live shows, they all manage to promote themselves and book their own shows. As their families continue to grow in numbers, they have that to balance as well. When they're not with the band, members have diapers to change and games to play with the kids.

What's next for Wide Mouth Grin?

"We'll keep jamming, playing clubs and recording - we're having a lot of fun. It's hard, but we're altogether in desire to get to the next level, which is building a local fan base here in Boulder, Denver and in Colorado," DiCesare says.

While the band continues to seek and meet their goals, DiCesare hopes to fulfill some dreams of his own. "I hope to 'see' Wide Mouth Grin one day and hear one of the shows. That would be cool - to 'see and hear' my band play."

For more information on the band, check out www.widemouthgrin.com.

Check out a fun, detailed interview with Steve DiCesare here.

To read more on WMG, be sure to read Amy Gahran's awesome blog entry,
Eight parents, seven kids, four jobs and a band.

Don't miss the following upcoming performances:

10 p.m., July 1, Pearl St. Pub, 1108 Pearl St., Boulder. Free. For more information, call 303-939-9900.
July 4, Jamestown Fest (Details TBD)
(TBD), The Dark Horse, 2922 Baseline Road, Boulder. For more information, call 303-442-8162.
July 9, Dulcinea's 100 th Monkey, 717 E. Colfax Ave., Denver. For more information, call 303-832-3601.
July 26, Dam Brewery, Dillon