Music Is Just The Day Job & Mime Is The Real Passion For The Gametes

Born out of "corporate chemical-testing gone awry [sic]", Brisbane-based conceptual pop-punk act The Gametes have just released their debut album, the enigmatically titled concept piece The Astronomical Calamities Of Comet Jones. While singer and main man Tom Harden is ecstatic about the album, he tells us that there is a deeper ambition behind its release.

"We're mostly just using it to fund a new project that we're working on," Harden explains. "It's called 'Mime Time'. The album, it's fun to release and all, but we're mostly using it for funding. We're working on starting a fully fledged mime school, and we're hoping to bring mime all over Australia, basically."

Much time, thought and imagination has gone into the creation and marketing of the new school, with multiple levels of mime-related curriculum to be available to the public. "First we're going to do a simple 'Mime Time' package, then we'll start a premium package called 'Mime Time Plus'," says Harden. "Miming is basically performance minus one sense, 'Mime Time Plus' is going to be theatre minus all senses. It's going to be taking place in sensory deprivation tanks."

To fund a project of such scope, the album was going to have to be a compelling and vital piece of art, and that's exactly what they've achieved. Drawing influence from the conceptual works of the likes of Bowie and Radiohead, as well as cinematic science fiction, The Astronomical Calamities Of Comet Jones is a totally tripped-out sci-fi rock opera. Harden is justifiably proud of the results, although he always has the true goal in mind.

"The concept came from the recent trend of superhero movies coming out," he states. "You know, like Spiderman and Batman and all of them, and we realised that that's what people like, people like heroes. So we decided that if people like heroes, what can we do? So we had a look at other movies, we had a look at Alien Covenant, which was a big hit. Also that movie Life, and we figured that people like heroes but they also like space. They like a very out there, outer space experience.

"So we had a look at the data and we figured out that most of the big hit movies are heroes and space. They also like it a little bit dark, a little bit gritty, so we said, 'Let's put all of these elements together, and make a record that will fund 'Mime Time.'"

So what is it about mime that is so attractive and vital to you and the band, and what do you feel it contributes to society as a whole? "That's actually a great question," compliments Harden. "There's just something about mime. When you see a mime and you see them perform the theatrics of it, it's just so great, and because I've got my headphones in and I'm listening to my self-help narrative, I don't actually have to take my earphones out. I can keep watching and consume this media while I'm still listening to my self-help TED talks. It's fantastic.

"So you can be walking down a sunny Brisbane street, or in Vancouver, or in Japan, it doesn't matter, and you're listening to your self-help TED talks on your headphones and you don't have to take them out, you can just consume media through mime."

Harden and the band are so set in this direction, they are actually willing to let the band fall by the wayside so they can pursue this new goal. With such a strong focus on the mime side of things, he lets a band secret slip when asked if they can combine the two facets, that is, mime the band's performances.

"I don't want to let the cat out of the bag, but suffice it is to say that most of our performances have in fact been mimed," he reveals. "I don't think people realise this. But you've heard it here first, so you've got yourself a real exclusive there. How fantastic!"