The husband-and-wife singing duo Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Blount Trotter bring their passion for life to their music. WEMU’s Lisa Barry talks with them about the ups and downs they’ve experienced in their career and in a pandemic since the release of their sophomore studio album, "Hearts Town."
The War and Treaty recently performed as part of the Ark'sAnn Arbor Folk Festival and have, at one point, called Albion, Michigan home. The husband-and-wife singing duo are increasingly attracting national attention for their music but have also been dealing with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Tanya contracted the virus near the beginning of the breakout, their nine year-old son just recovered from a case, but sadly Michael's uncle just passed away from the virus.
Tanya and Michael say they are using these experiences to bring more focus to what's positive in life and are devoted to helping others reignite their passions for each other and the day-to-day experiences of life. Michael, who openly talks about the PTSDhe experiences from serving in the Iraq war, talks about another experience where he found himself at the end of his rope wanting to end it all.
Tanya, who Michael describes as "deeply spiritual," had a knowing that he was contemplating suicide and held his face in her hands and asked him to give her "five more minutes" to hang on and she promised to always show and give him a reason to live. They turned that experience into a song on their latest release "Hearts Town" and say the song "Five More Minutes" now has a powerful impact on people especially those struggling from the ongoing pandemic.
Ann Arbor's own Max Fecteau-Brown plays guitar and bass with the duo and is also their music director. Michael calls Max 'his other half" when it comes to creating and sharing music.
The War and Treaty continue to create during the global health crisis, but they're not sure when they will next be able to perform live and in person. But they say they want to help people feel good and be happy and realize despite everything going on in the world right now there is much to live for and to not give up!
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— Lisa Barry is the host of All Things Considered on WEMU. You can contact Lisa at 734.487.3363, on Twitter @LisaWEMU, or email her at lbarryma@emich.edu
