“Of all the views to force upon another, that their love is not the same…”

Maybe you’re in love, maybe someone you know is. What’s the big difference between your love and another’s, and who has the right to tell you? Perhaps no one, if you happen to be heterosexual in Australia. If you’re in a same sex relationship though, everyone has an opinion, and you can’t express your love through marriage. At least not yet.

So what do you do?

Well, if you happen to have a few killer pop hooks at hand, you might do what Adelaide’s Gemini Downs have done and sing about your confusion at this double standard. On the eve of Australia’s federal election, the band want to know something really simple; when will same sex couples be able to legally pop the question?

“Will you marry me? Invite the family and tell the story of the day we fell in love?”

The issue of same sex marriage has become little more than a tool in the game of political popularity. We’ve heard promises of legislation being introduced within one hundred days, and conscience votes… maybe! The announcements seem timed for maximal impact with voters, but what will that translate to post-September 7?

Forget the pollies though, what do people want? Polling has shown a marked increase in popular support for same sex marriages with up to 64% of Australians in favour of same sex unions. It now comes down to whether people will vote on it.

Andrew Pople chatted to Jessica Braithwaite from Gemini Downs about brothers, marriage and the power of love (yet strangely not Huey Lewis).

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Andrew :: Who are ‘Gemini Downs’ and how long have you been making music?

Jessica :: Gemini Downs is normally a big 9 piece party band with a horns section, tap dancing percussion and catchy pop melodies. We play festivals such as the Big Day Out and Tour Down Under and we are fronted by myself and my little brother Sean, although my littler brother is taller than me now, so I guess I can’t really call him little anymore!

We started as a three piece about three years ago and have been growing in band size ever since. Even now we’re looking to take on more band members so pretty soon we’ll be able to double as a football team. We decided to strip it back for our ‘Will You Marry Me?’ song, because it is an issue so close to our hearts and we really wanted to just focus on the message and the words and the point of what we are trying to say.

A :: ‘Will You Marry Me?’ sounds like the love song Australia needs right now! What inspired this ode to inclusiveness?

J :: I have two older brothers and they are both in love. One of them can marry the love of his life but the other one can’t because he’s gay.

I look at my family and just think to myself, how can the love of one brother be any different to the love of another?

We grew up in a small town where being gay wasn’t all too readily accepted so I wrote this song for my brother to show him that we are right there beside him in the fight for equality, and I know we are not alone. When we first showed the song to my older brother it brought him to tears!

A :: Same sex marriage has become a political football of late, but with so many issues taking centre stage on September 7th can we have hope there might be some progress here?

It’s a shame to see the issue clouded by the mud slinging, terrible advertising campaigns and confusion that comes with an election. It really is such a simple thing. But I suppose the fact that it’s even on the agenda at all is a great sign of progress.

I always try to think of it as a step by step journey and with two out of three main party leaders now in support of marriage equality, my personal belief is that the tide will soon turn, and I will soon be dancing to the YMCA at my big brother’s wedding reception.

Can a song make a difference where political rhetoric fails?

Absolutely.

A song can cut through the crap. A song can inspire people and evoke emotions.

A song can take an issue or a story or a message and bring it right back down to its central meaning. Music is such a powerful thing because no matter what your political persuasion is, music is something we all love, so a song can speak to anybody.

FREE DOWNLOAD OF ‘WILL YOU MARRY ME’

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Gemini Downs | Andrew Pople