Michael & Tanya Trotter:The War & Treaty

“When you love it changes people, it changes hearts.” - Tanya Trotter

“And we've got a history of fighting with each other on Earth. But the truth is we're all brothers and sisters.” - Michael Trotter

Michael Trotter Junior’s luck changed when he was playing at the Spirit of Love festival in Maryland. His future wife Tanya was in the audience. “The first note that came out of his mouth, I was like, oh my goodness, who is this?” A professional singer herself, Tanya was bowled over by his talent. After the show she gave him her cell phone number. Michael, who was homeless at the time, says before they even spoke he knew his life was going to get better. He was smitten and didn’t care who knew it. Soon afterwords they were inseparable. Six months later they were married. It  took many years and lots of hard work before they became the grammy nominated musical team that they are today.

Tanya had no idea that Michael had been deployed to Iraq twice before she met him. That was a part of his life he kept to himself. He never shared with her that he taught himself how to play music on Saddam Hussain’s piano in the basement of Hussain's palace. He never told her the chipped ivory keys made his fingers bleed, but he didn’t care, he kept playing. His thought was, “When the light shines, you gotta go with the light.”

Upon returning home from the war, Michael and his comrades were met by protesters throwing trash and calling them killers. Integrating back into society was challenging. He didn’t understand that he had post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Unable to find work, often he was homeless, and slept in his car. He could not find a steady job, but managed to find paying gigs from time to time.

Tanya learned about Michael’s deployment three years after they met. They were at a fourth of July celebration in Detroit when the fireworks began exploding. Michael dove under a table with his hands covering his head. After that there was no more hiding his past. Tanya was instrumental in getting him the help he needed through the Veterans' Association. After Michael was on steady ground they joined forces as a musical duo.

After that encounter Michael was moved to return to writing songs again. “I just started, you know, just really digging deep into what I believe. “I believe in humanity. Humanity is my religion.”

At an early age, Michael’s mother had taught him that his singing gift could heal and give people hope. It was his ministry. Tanya was raised in the choir at church. She could feel how singing from her heart changed people. It was soul work. They both grew up considering it a duty to use their talents to unite humanity. Separate or together, the only time either of them have veered off that path was when Michael was released from the military.

Their first big break came when performer/producer Buddy Miller asked them to perform a song during his set at Americanafest.

Michael explained, “Buddy caught wind of us from a friend and legend, Don Was. He told Buddy that he really needed to check us out.”

Buddy did, and loved them. Two weeks later they were scheduled to perform at Americanafest. When they got to the show Buddy wasn’t feeling well and asked Michael and Tonya to take his 45 minute time slot.

“We were beyond nervous.” laughed Tanya. “And to top it off, an hour before the show we got a call from Emmy Lou Harris asking if she could introduce us.” Nothing like being called to task by a dream, but they were ready for it.

Michael and Tanya found their way to where they are today by walking through the doors that appeared and listening to their hearts. Their path was never orchestrated.

“Wow. That's a great way of putting it,’ said Tanya. ‘Yea it wasn't planned. Let me tell you how unplanned it was. We got our name from fighting over changing it so many times.”

Michael chimed in, “We were debating our fifth name change, and I was getting upset, you know, because I wanted to change the name. And Ty said, ‘calm down Michael. This is not a war. This is treaty.’ And I'm like, what did you just say?”

“And she's says, ‘I'm just trying to remind you that this is not the war, but this is peace time, a time of treaty.’ And I was like, okay, honey, we're gonna name this band, The War and Treaty.”

The name felt right to both of them. It perfectly represented their time together on Earth.

The War and Treaty know first hand the benefit of coming from within. They found it does not pay to take your cues from the outside. It doesn’t pay to try to fit into a slot, because you are the slot. They believe their message of togetherness, unity, and inclusion chose them. According to Tanya, they feel it during every show. “I’m a firm believer that love changes things. And that's the thing that the War and Treaty is all about. Cynics may say, ‘Yeah, but when they leave their concert, they’re gonna go back to real life.’ Well, the truth is, the concert is real life.”

I asked them if they believed that your calling and your passion are the same thing. From what I’ve observed creatives who are successful are just being who they are.

Michael said, “I think that's right on. I mean, recently we were on tour with the Indigo Girls and one of the spots that came up was the Ryman [Auditorium]. I remember going through all kinds of emotions, and twists, and turns. I'm thinking what song, what set list should we put together?”

Then Michael was reminded of a documentary that he watched about another singer.

“When he played at the Copa Cabana thinking that he had to fit the venue, he changed his whole style. He flopped horribly. It was probably the worst performance of his entire career. And he had to go on television the next day to explain what happened, you know? So I thought about that. And I looked at my wife, and I looked at my band, and I said, ‘You know what? Screw all of that. We're just going to be who we are and do what we do.’ And we got three standing ovations.”

There’s a saying that nothing in God’s world is wasted. What seem like random events aren’t random. In fact, sometimes your path starts before you even know you’re on it.

In high school Tanya wrote on her yearbook picture that she wanted to be an international singer and change the world. At 17, following her dreams led her to a starring role in Sister Act 2. When Michael was nine years old he happened to see her in that movie. His parents only laughed when he told them one day he was going to marry that girl.

When looking at the timeline of the lives of the War and Treaty, you can see their partnership was mapped out long before they met. Michael and Tanya have found the quickest way to get to where they are going is to follow the signposts from within. Their childhood dreams are coming to fruition right on schedule. That’s what happens when you are pointed in the direction of true north.

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Text and artwork © Sue Shanahan