War and Treaty one of six acts stopping at Revelry Room
Michael Trotter Jr. taught himself to play piano while in the military serving in Iraq in 2004. When he later met seasoned performer Tanya Blount, sparks began to fly. Their marriage began a new musical collaboration.
They called themselves The War and Treaty — a name representing the pull between trauma and tranquility. It’s a sound manifest on the duo’s July EP, “Down to the River.”
The War and Treaty stop in Revelry Room for a concert tonight, Nov. 30, at 9 p.m. in support of that EP. Their show is the first of six in five days happening at the Southside venue. Randy Steele will open for The War and Treaty.
Trotter states on the couple’s website that he arrived in Iraq an untested soldier, stricken by fear and self-doubt. His captain made it his personal mission to see to Trotter’s survival.
While his unit was encamped in one of Saddam Hussein’s private palaces, they found a black upright piano that once belonged to the dictator in a corner of the basement. When Trotter shared the fact he could sing, he was encouraged to teach himself to play piano on that confiscated keyboard.
“I wrote my first song after that captain was killed,” Trotter says. “I sang it for his memorial in Iraq.”
Soon after, it became his mission to sing at the memorial services for those who had fallen. For the next three years, he sang songs that brought solace and comfort to the members of his unit. His efforts eventually garnered wider recognition — he came in first in “Military Idol,” the Army’s version of “American Idol,” during a competition held in Germany. After his discharge, he was featured on the Hope Channel program “My Story, My Song.”
After the couple married, they secured the services of musicians whose skills add a distinctive sound to The War and Treaty’s blend of roots music, blue grass, folk, gospel and soul. Their EP touches on a variety of genres, but isn’t confined to any particular one.
The album’s first single “Hi Ho,” is now being heard on radio stations throughout the country.
“I was sitting on the banks of the Euphrates River in Baghdad dreaming about one day being able to play and sing professionally for people all around the world,” says Trotter. “As we recorded our music, I constantly had flashbacks of those desert dreams. I thought to myself that this is actually the perfect ending to usher in a new beginning in my life.”