"The Joyful Beauty of The War and Treaty"

Summary

Podcast Summary: "The Joyful Beauty of The War and Treaty"

Released on February 18, 2025 | Host: Buzz Knight | Podcast: takin' a walk

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Introduction

In this heartfelt episode of "takin' a walk," host Buzz Knight welcomes Michael and Tanya Trotter of The War and Treaty. The conversation delves into their musical journey, their latest album "Plus One," personal stories, and the profound impact of music on healing and community.

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Guest Background and Personal Stories

Taking a Walk Down Memory Lane

Buzz Knight opens the episode by inviting Michael and Tanya to share a personal story about whom they'd like to take a walk with from the music world. Michael expresses a desire to walk with the legendary Nat King Cole, stating, "I walk with Nat up the Sunset Boulevard or I'll take a walk with him on Route 66" (03:37). Buzz shares a touching moment about walking with his late mother, highlighting the deep personal connections that influence their music.

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Describing The War and Treaty

Introducing The War and Treaty to the Unfamiliar

When asked to describe The War and Treaty to an alien unfamiliar with their music, Buzz articulates their unique blend:

"We are a mixture of every genre of music we love and somehow musically are able to tell the story with all those sounds without it being complicated or compromising what each genre means." (04:50)

Michael adds, "I believe the War and Treaty represents some folk, some Americana, some country, some soul," emphasizing their versatility and genre-blending prowess (05:25).

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Service and Community Outreach

Supporting Veterans and Mental Health

Michael discusses his commitment to supporting veterans through organizations like Home Base, a collaboration with Mass General and the Boston Red Sox:

"Veterans community is a very unique community. Anytime we hear of organizations like Home Base who just get it, I like to go ahead and tell that veteran to go on and trust them, let them in." (06:23)

Tanya shares her personal experience supporting Michael during challenging times:

"I think what I would say to the person that is the caretaker is to be compassionate, really lead with empathy... it's just a safe place for your loved one to be able to express themselves and let out those feelings." (07:42)

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The Healing Power of Music

Music as a Source of Healing and Strength

Lynn Hoffman, the companion podcast host of "Music Saved Me," probes into the therapeutic aspects of music. Michael affirms:

"Music is the voice of God in my life...music hasn't failed me when it comes to getting the message of healing the cross." (08:40)

Buzz echoes this sentiment, noting, "It's a soothing balm, you know, and it has always been since I was a little girl." (09:00)

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Highlights from "Plus One" Album

Exploring Key Tracks and Collaborations

1. "Carried Away"

   Michael describes the song as a musical journey blending country and R&B:

   "We start off with our love for country music... then we get to the intentional switch to R&B... it's like D'Angelo or Joe walking out of a Hank Williams song." (13:23)

   Lynn adds, "There's a sense of elegance to it as well." (14:37)

2. "Save Me"

   Buzz touches on the romantic and redemptive themes:

   "Everybody in their own way wants to be saved... in our relationship, we kind of did save each other." (14:55)

   Michael elaborates on how their love has been a mutual saving grace:

   "When my mom passed, Michael saved me from making the biggest mistake of my life... now we're traveling the world doing what we love." (16:07)

3. "Skyscraper"

   A deeply personal track where Michael shares his struggles with self-esteem and weight:

   "Skyscraper is a very personal journey... realizing that skyscrapers don't get beautiful overnight. There's a process." (20:01)

   The recording experience is highlighted by the raw emotion captured in Tanya’s vocals during a sick session, showcasing the authentic feel of their music (25:41).

4. Collaboration with Billy Strings

   Buzz and Michael discuss their collaboration with bluegrass artist Billy Strings:

   "The song is just talking about the moments where we were thirsting for something, and we found out that the drink was inside each other." (22:31)

   This collaboration showcases their ability to blend genres seamlessly, enriching their musical tapestry.

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Studio Experience in Muscle Shoals

Creating Magic Amidst Legends

Buzz reminisces about recording in the legendary Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, highlighting the inspiration drawn from icons like Aretha Franklin and Wilson Pickett:

"When you walk into that room, you have to suspend all logic because there's an expectation. You don't bring anything but your heart and soul." (24:38)

Michael shares a lighthearted moment about preserving authentic takes, even when facing challenges like illness:

"There's something beautiful about the rawness of your vocal cord, the pure honesty." (26:12)

Their time in Muscle Shoals was not just about recording but also about connecting deeply with musical heritage and authenticity.

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Maintaining a Balanced Relationship and Humor

The Secret to a 15-Year Marriage

Lynn Hoffman explores the dynamic between Michael and Tanya, who attribute their successful 15-year marriage to humor and consistency:

"Sense of humor is a major part of it. Just being able to laugh through good and bad." (30:14)

Buzz praises Michael's evolving sense of humor in the studio, fostering a lighthearted environment amidst the serious work of producing an album:

"He's very funny... we're having a good time. This is our 9 to 5." (27:24)

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Future Collaborations and Aspirations

Dream Collaborations and Genre Expansion

When asked about future collaborations, Michael shares a diverse list including legends like Ray Charles and contemporary artists like Josh Groban and Mumford & Sons:

"If I could have collaborated with anyone in the past, I would have loved to have done something with Ray Charles. Currently, I'm excited to work with Chris Stapleton and Morgan Stable." (31:06)

This reflects their commitment to exploring and blending different musical genres.

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Conclusion

Buzz Knight closes the episode by celebrating Michael and Tanya’s authenticity and musical genius, emphasizing that their genuine interactions and collaborative spirit have a profound connection with audiences.

"This is who you are. This is your reality, your real thing." (29:07)

Michael and Tanya express gratitude for their journey and the opportunity to share their music and life with listeners, reinforcing the episode’s central theme of music’s joyful beauty and healing power.

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Note: Advertisements and promotional segments have been omitted to focus on the core content of the podcast episode.

Transcript

[Ryan Seacrest]

Hi friend, it's your inner child calling and they want churros, a new toy and a new adventure. Or maybe five with the bestest besties on earth. Find your moment at Walt Disney World Resort. Are you still quoting 30 year old movies? Have you said cool beans in the past 90 days? Do you think Discover isn't widely accepted? If this sounds like you, you're stuck in the past. Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide and every time you make a purchase with your card, you automatically earn cash back. Welcome to the now it pays to Discover. Learn [e-mail] credit card based on the February 2024 Nielsen report stop hitting snooze on new tech.

[Buzz Knight]

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[Ryan Seacrest]

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[Buzz Knight]

Walk what I loved about being at the studio fame is the freedom that you feel when you walk into a room and you know that someone that you look up to. You marvel at your Aretha Franklin, your, you know, Etta James, your all those musicians, Wilson Pickett that walked through these doors, they were at the highest level of what, you know, they could give us as artists. Yeah, it puts you in a place where you have an expectation to meet.

[Michael Trotter]

Yeah.

[Buzz Knight]

So you don't bring any anything but your heart, your soul, and you allow your mind and you allow the spirit of that place to take over.

[Tanya Trotter]

Welcome to the Taking a Walk podcast with your host, Buzz Knight. And if you're a fan of this show, please share it with your friends and also check out our companion podcast called Music Saved Me, hosted by Lynn Hoffman, where she speaks with musicians about the healing power of music. Today on Taking a Walk, Michael and Tanya Trotter. They're the War and Treaty and they're here to talk about their incredible journey and their new album, their fourth called Plus One. Here's Buzz Knight, who with the War and Treaty on Taking a Walk.

[Lynn Hoffman]

Well, it's so great having you guys on the Taking a Walk podcast. I really appreciate it since it's called Taking a Walk. First of all, who. Who living or dead? Musician preferred, but not mandatory. Would either one of you or both of you like to take a walk with, and where would that be?

[Buzz Knight]

I used to take walks with my mom all the time, and she passed 10 years ago. This year makes 10 years. I'd like to take another walk with her.

[Lynn Hoffman]

That's nice.

[Buzz Knight]

Yeah.

[Michael Trotter]

Musician I like to walk with is Mr. Nat King Cole.

[Lynn Hoffman]

That's a good one. Yeah. Where would you go with Nat? Where would you walk with him?

[Michael Trotter]

I walk with Nat up the Sunset Boulevard or I'll take a walk with him on Route 66.

[Lynn Hoffman]

Oh, I like that. That's good. That's a good one. Congrats on the new album plus one and a tour that's going to take you into historic venues all over the place. We'll talk more in detail about that. But I want to ask you, can you. If I was a space alien and didn't know who the war and treaty is and had never heard you, how would you describe the Warren Treaty to me? The space alien?

[Michael Trotter]

I'm sorry, I have very little common sense, but, Tanya, you want to go first or you want to take it?

[Buzz Knight]

I would tell the space alien that we have a lot in common. You know, it's kind of hard to, you know, you've heard it before, you probably haven't seen it before. But we are a mixture. If the alien like music, of all the things that it would like about music, we, every genre of music we love and somehow musically are able to tell the story with all those sounds without it being complicated or, I believe, compromising what each genre means.

[Lynn Hoffman]

I mean, I think the Warren Treaty represents some folk, some Americana, some country, some soul. I was trying to describe you guys to someone that I was turning them on to you, and I said, imagine the staples singers in 2025. How would you guys feel about that?

[Michael Trotter]

Honored.

[Buzz Knight]

Completely honored.

[Lynn Hoffman]

Michael, I want to talk about your service to your country. And there's a charity that is local in Boston, but it's national, called Home Base. It's a venture with the Mass General and the Boston Red Sox, and they do important work, obviously, with the veterans community. But first of all, if someone is a veteran and listening and struggling, would you talk to them about how important it is to seek out places such as Home Base for help?

[Michael Trotter]

Yeah, Veterans community is a very unique community. And we. It's very hard to find organizations you can trust that would understand what a veteran is going through. So anytime we hear of organizations like Home Base who just get it, I like to go ahead and tell that veteran to go on and trust them, let them in. But for all the veterans out there that are listening, it's very important to remember that you have battle buddies. You aren't the only veteran. You aren't the first veteran. You won't be the last. There are veterans out there who have been through what you've been through. They've rucked in your combat boots. They know what it is to take off and put on that uniform, and they know what you feel. So reach out to your buddies so that you can feel a sense of belonging again.

[Lynn Hoffman]

And, Tanya, as someone who has lived with the love of your life, struggling at certain points, talk about how you had that, you know, profound help and influence there to have your love, you know, seek help when he needed it.

[Buzz Knight]

I think it, you know, what I would say to the person that is the caretaker is to be compassionate, you know, really lead with empathy. And you may not be able to completely understand what they're going through, but I think when you lead with compassion and empathy and you're listening and not trying to respond or make it better, it's just a safe place for your loved one to be able to express themselves and let out those feelings. And that's where I would start, is just telling them, just be a safe place to listen.

[Lynn Hoffman]

I produced this other podcast. It's hosted by Lynn Hoffman. It's called Music Saved Me. It's about the power of music, the healing power of music. And I think I know the answer to the question I'm going to ask you on how you feel, but either one of you jump in on this, or both of you. Do you feel music has healing power?

[Michael Trotter]

Absolutely. Absolutely. Music is. Is the voice of God in my life. I love music. And music hasn't failed me when it comes to getting the message of healing the cross. So, yes, I do.

[Lynn Hoffman]

I think you agree, Tanya?

[Buzz Knight]

Oh, yeah, definitely. It's a soothing balm, you know, and it has always been since I was a little girl.

[Lynn Hoffman]

Can you guys talk about some music specifically? Either artists or songs that have really impacted you over your life that, you know, whether it was a difficult time or just in general, have. Have lifted you up?

[Michael Trotter]

I would say simply Beautiful by Al Green lifts me up pretty good there, especially when I'm with my lady here.

[Buzz Knight]

That was a Song I used to sing, I guess since I was like maybe 7 or 8, and I sang it all through high school, and everything must change. You. I used to sing that song, and I believe it was Donny Hathaway that sang that. Everything has changed. Nothing stays the same. Everyone must change. Nothing stays the same. There are not many things in life.

[Michael Trotter]

That's good right there.

[Buzz Knight]

I love that song. Yes. Yeah, that's one of my favorite songs, Michael.

[Lynn Hoffman]

That's good enough. I was here melting in my chair of the beauty of it. Can you see the smile on my face here?

[Buzz Knight]

Oh, he messed up your smile.

[Michael Trotter]

But the thing is, bub, much conversation in with you at 30 minutes will allow. So.

[Lynn Hoffman]

That was a magical moment for our listeners.

[Buzz Knight]

And certainly Michael messed up the magic.

[Michael Trotter]

Well, they can come see us.

[Buzz Knight]

Oh, God. He's.

[Lynn Hoffman]

Oh, that was wonderful. I saw you guys. I was mentioning this before we started. I saw you bring down the house at the Ryman a couple years ago. It was at the UMG Country Radio seminar luncheon. He just knocked everybody out. That's when I said, I have to get these guys on the podcast. And tell me, though, describe to us, both of you, what's it like because you're doing this all the time, It's a regular occurrence. What's it like bringing a house down? What's that feeling like?

[Buzz Knight]

I don't. I mean, every time it happens, it just takes my breath away because you just don't know that it's going to happen. You know, people are just sitting there, they're watching, and you don't know what that final response is going to be. And so when it happens, it really sweeps you off your feet, and it's a reminder that it's so much bigger than you. Every single time it happens, you're like, there's something. There's God. There's a force that's magically connecting all these hearts at the same time from what's coming out of your mouth, and they're erupting and they are feeling it all at the same time, you know, so it's a spiritual experience. I have to. That's my only way to describe it.

[Michael Trotter]

Yeah. Buzz, I pray that we never become jaded. I pray that it's an earnest prayer of mine that we never take for granted. The opportunity to touch an audience, whether there be audience of fans or an audience of professionals such as yourself, who has heard it all and seen it all. I want to give my all. I want to give my best. I want my wife to give her all. Her best. I want to show what we've been working so hard to craft for the people that we took great pride in our work. So when we do that and we see this kind of reaction, it's humbling for us.

[Lynn Hoffman]

Well, let's talk about new music, the album plus one, and a tour also, that's going to take you to some pretty amazing places all across the country. The Troubadour, I think, is one of the places. And Irving Plaza in New York and some other places. Let's talk about some songs in particular that I love. And then I'm sure we're going to go through every song probably, but we'll talk about the ones that I left out or you love as well. First of all, the song carried away. That is so amazing. Talk to me about that song and why, for you, it's special.

[Michael Trotter]

Well, carried away. I'm so happy, Buzz, that you acknowledged Carried away. It's our journey musically, definitely. I think that we start off with our love for country music. You can hear it, the opening of the song. It's like Hank Williams band just stepped on the scene and has that good old country waltz. And you're walking with me, and be careful what you're asking me. We're doing all the things. And then we get to the intentional switch to r B. And I would say things like, man, it's like d'angelo the R B artist, or Joe walked out or, you know, and just started singing in the middle of Hank Williams song. But what I'm. What I will say is this. I believe country music would sound like this today if Kenny Rogers was still living and he produce the record on himself. He want that intentionality to be present, and that's what carried away is.

[Lynn Hoffman]

I think there's a sense of elegance to it as well.

[Michael Trotter]

Yeah.

[Buzz Knight]

Thank you. Thank you so much, Buzz.

[Lynn Hoffman]

And then there's the song save me, which, you know, as we were talking about healing and redemption, but talk about that song.

[Buzz Knight]

Yeah, I mean, you know, it's interesting because you don't hear people say things like, you know, this person saved me, you know, And I think it's okay. I think it's okay to have those moments when you want to be saved or you have been saved. You know, I think that's really what's missing a lot of times in love, you know, in love stories is the. I like to be a romantic. I think it's a great hopeless romantic. Hopeless romantic. When you approach a relationship from that way or a friendship from that way, Everybody in their Own way, wants to be saved from something on a health craze. And I'm about to shove three donuts in my mouth. I'm hoping Michael would save me from.

[Michael Trotter]

Don't save me from.

[Buzz Knight]

Don't want it from doing that, you know, let me go down with it and, you know, but with our love and with our field donuts.

[Michael Trotter]

Boston.

[Buzz Knight]

No, you gotta stay focused. You can't.

[Michael Trotter]

Oh, you're messing up Jelly donuts.

[Buzz Knight]

He's messing up the magic.

[Tanya Trotter]

Please.

[Michael Trotter]

Donuts.

[Buzz Knight]

I would want to be. I mean, in our relationship, we kind of. Not kind of. We did save each other. You know, I was kind of done with music and didn't want to really keep going on. And, you know, when my mom passed and Michael saved me from making the biggest mistake of my life, you know, and I remember not saying that I kind of didn't believe in love anymore, but I didn't have the hope that I would actually have this kind of love. And he saved me from my negative thinking, you know, and that I would. And now I'm in love with the love of my life. And we are traveling the world doing what we love to do and allowing people to share in, you know, our love experience. And in some way the audience and Michael and I, we save each other. You know, when we having a bad day and we get on the stage and that audience is giving us that love that we need to receive, or if they're having a bad day and we're on stage and we're singing and we're giving them what they need, we save each other in those moments, you know.

[Tanya Trotter]

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[Ryan Seacrest]

Hi friend, it's your inner child calling and they want Churros. A new toy and a new adventure. Or maybe five with the bestest besties on earth. Find your moment at Walt Disney World Resort. Are you still quoting 30 year old movies? Have you said cool beans in the past 90 days? Do you think Discover isn't widely accepted? If this sounds like you, you're stuck in the past. Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide and every time you make a purchase with your card, you automatically earn cash back. Welcome to the now it pays to Discover. Learn [e-mail] credit card based on the February 2024 Nielsen report, it is Ryan Seacrest here. There was a recent social media trend which consisted of flying on a plane with no music, no movies, no entertainment. But a better trend would be going to chumbacasino.com it's like having a mini social casino in your pocket. Chumba casino has over 100 online casino style games all absolutely free. It's the most fun you can have online and on a plane. So grab your free welcome bonus [e-mail] sponsored by Chumba Casino.

[Tanya Trotter]

No purchase necessary. VGW Group void we're prohibited by law 21 + terms and conditions apply. Welcome back to the Taking a Walk podcast.

[Lynn Hoffman]

Talk about a special song. In Skyscraper you talk about collaboration, the beauty of collaboration not only with you two, but some family members. Why don't you talk about that?

[Michael Trotter]

Well, I had our our baby daughter joined us on that song Skyscraper and singing the choir. So it was my baby daughter and then my mom, my sweet mother Debbie, my baby daughter Courtney. They joined and sang with us on the backgrounds. And Skyscraper is a very personal journey. It's quite telling about my frustrations with weight and how I tied it directly to my self esteem. But now I'm letting go and now I'm dropping the weight and I'm going for it and realizing that skyscrapers don't get beautiful overnight. There's a process there and that's what the song is talking about.

[Lynn Hoffman]

It sounds like you might have studied a little bit of how the mind works. Michael, is that true?

[Michael Trotter]

I think so.

[Lynn Hoffman]

The mind and the heart works. I think that's maybe a better way to approach it.

[Michael Trotter]

There you have it.

[Lynn Hoffman]

Another one I like is Teardrops.

[Michael Trotter]

Oh yes, that was cool.

[Lynn Hoffman]

That's a sweet one.

[Michael Trotter]

I love the fact that Tanya is so I can't wait for you to see the video to this one. And all our videos are. It's just tying in myself. We're focusing on really honing on this love story so that people can really get it. But teardrops in the rain is really dealing with our own insecurities in this relationship, you know, and how it's been a beautiful journey to share my doubts. Like, sometimes I feel you don't love me. I feel that you don't love me as much as the last guy because you were more tolerant. Or sometimes you don't feel that you. That I love you as much as the last guy. You know, this conversation is so beautiful. And we're like, does any of this matter? Or is it just like a teardrop in the rain? You know? And it's a necessary moment in the album.

[Lynn Hoffman]

Beautiful. It really is. And then the other one I want to single out is your collaboration with this. This Billy Strings guy. I think I've heard of a little fella there.

[Buzz Knight]

Oh, yeah, Phenom.

[Michael Trotter]

Oh, man.

[Buzz Knight]

Yeah.

[Michael Trotter]

He. I remember him me giving him the song. He sent it home. He's like, man, what's. What is that chord, man? Is that. Is that a diminished seventh? And he's like, you know, these kind of dark chords aren't in bluegrass. And I'm like, billy, if there's going to be anyone that can bend the rules, it's you. You're a rule breaker. But the song is just talking about the moments where I was thirsting for something, Tanya was thirsting for something, and we found out that the drink was inside of each other. We drank from one another and. And from each other's well, and our thirst was cleansed, quenched. This is a. This is poetry in the making, and we love the fact that it has this bluegrass gospel backbeat charge as well as in. In our earlier song we had released called. Called you by your name, which is a scripture. In Isaiah 43:10, he says, I, you are my witness. I called you by your name because you are mine. Even in that scripture, he goes on, God says, I've traded men for you, countries for you. You know, I gave up this one just to keep you. And it's just a beautiful love poem from the creator to us. And so called you by your name is. That's what we. We talk about. You know, even in this verse, Ty, she opens up with, there's a lily in the valley. There's a bright and morning star. You know, and we may never even see it, but you can definitely feel it. And, yeah, it's beautiful.

[Lynn Hoffman]

And the whole album is. Is beautiful. Can. Can you take us inside that studio in Muscle Shoals? What was that experience like? Give us a. An inside look at how creators like you make all the beautiful magic happen.

[Buzz Knight]

What I loved about being at the studio, fame is the freedom that you feel when you walk into a room and you know that someone that you look up to. You marvel at your Aretha Franklin, your. You know, Etta James, you're. You know, all those musicians.

[Michael Trotter]

Wilson Pickett.

[Buzz Knight]

Wilson Pickett that walk through these doors. They were at the highest level of what, you know, they could give us as artists. Yeah. It puts you in a place where you have an expectation to meet, you know, and you have to suspend all logic when you go into that, because there's an expectation.

[Michael Trotter]

Yeah.

[Buzz Knight]

So you don't bring any. Anything but your heart, your soul, and you allow your mind and you allow the spirit of that place to take over. And that's kind of what I did. Because there were days where I. I think we did a. A day where we were kind of sick and we couldn't really hit the notes the way we wanted to. But then we. When you go back and you listen to those records and you allow that spirit to take over, that's exactly what you want, is a rawness on some of these songs.

[Michael Trotter]

I interject here to tell you this about Tanya. Now, Tanya was very sick in Teardrops in the Rain. And a good part about being the producer, me, Michael Trott Jr. And good and bad part is that was one take. Her vocal performance was one take while she was sick. And that is one of the songs she wanted to go back in and record. And I said, no. I said, absolutely not.

[Buzz Knight]

I was like, what?

[Michael Trotter]

You're keeping that take? There's something beautiful about the rawness of your vocal cord, the pure honesty. You weren't relying on skill, you were relying strictly on feel.

[Buzz Knight]

And you were sick, too. Not that one. Not that song. But you were.

[Michael Trotter]

All my six songs never made it to track.

[Buzz Knight]

Look at that. How convenient.

[Michael Trotter]

Of being the boss.

[Buzz Knight]

Well, you have two bosses.

[Michael Trotter]

Well, not when it's. I'm the producer.

[Buzz Knight]

I'm the co producer. You see how we got the.

[Michael Trotter]

You are listed as the co producer on this one, Ms. Ma.

[Buzz Knight]

That's all right. Oh, yes, they all know.

[Lynn Hoffman]

See, our audience is getting a glimpse into where the name the Warren Treaty came from.

[Michael Trotter]

See, and that's why you're Buzz Knight.

[Buzz Knight]

That's right. It comes from that. We go back and forth in and Out. There's always war brewing inside of. Yep. And there's always peace on the other side.

[Lynn Hoffman]

So back to the studio for a second, though. How much humor goes on while you're in the middle of your process of creation? I think a little. I'm guessing a lot.

[Michael Trotter]

A lot. A lot of you. You know, Tanya, is Michael.

[Buzz Knight]

Is he the commander in chief in the studio? I've told him he has to let up in the studio.

[Michael Trotter]

But you should say how much humor, though, right?

[Buzz Knight]

He lightens up a lot. He is learning to lighten up. He's very funny. If you ever just experience him away from music, he's hilarious. So he's learning to bring that into the studio experience now because it's so. It's a lot of weight on you, you know, as a producer to be able to, you know, produce a product, especially with us being now with a major label that is going to present itself the way you want it to, you know, So I understand that it's serious as well, you know, for him, but he's very funny, and we've learned to make a light of it. Yes. An album, and it's serious, but we're having a good time. And this is our 9 to 5. You know, a lot of people wish they could do it, so that's that.

[Lynn Hoffman]

Yeah, but this is who you are. I mean, I will confess, too, I haven't told anybody this because I was alone. I then was leaving the Ryman at that event that I mentioned. So I happened to see these two stars off behind the barrier, walking out named the Warren Treaty, and you were both busting on each other. You were not in the middle of anything other than being yourself. So I think one of the things besides your amazing talent and music that connects you, I feel, with people, is this is who you are. This is your reality, your real thing.

[Buzz Knight]

Yeah. Yeah, it is the real thing.

[Michael Trotter]

Ain't nothing like the real thing, baby.

[Buzz Knight]

It makes people uncomfortable, though, because when they see, you know, a couple going back and forth, they're like, what's happening here? You know, our music director at the time, he's our production manager now, Max Brown. He's like. Now he just. He just looks back and forth. He's like, I'm not in it. I'm not in it. I'm staying out of it, you know, so it's so funny. But we have a good time together.

[Michael Trotter]

Wait a minute. Cutting jokes.

[Buzz Knight]

Yeah, we cut jokes on each other all the time.

[Lynn Hoffman]

Yeah. I think it's the secret to that. You've been married 15 years. Is that right?

[Buzz Knight]

Yeah.

[Michael Trotter]

Wow, man, Buzz, you got it. You got it going on, brother.

[Lynn Hoffman]

I think it's the secret to another 15 or 30 or however, as someone, by the way, who just celebrated his 40th, so.

[Buzz Knight]

Wow, that's amazing.

[Michael Trotter]

Show off.

[Buzz Knight]

Congratulations.

[Lynn Hoffman]

And as you could tell, I'm only 52, too, so how did that happen? Don't put it back.

[Michael Trotter]

I've seen some people get married pretty young.

[Buzz Knight]

Secret. What's your secret? Give us a. Give us a secret.

[Lynn Hoffman]

Honestly, sense of humor is. Is a major part of it. Just being able to really through. Through good and bad, be consistent with that, you know?

[Michael Trotter]

Oh, man, that's awesome. What? Awesome.

[Lynn Hoffman]

Yeah, because it's easy when it's good to laugh and. And have that, but when it's, you know, times are tough, which everybody goes through, what am I, Dr. Joyce brothers? Listen to me. What's going on here? Suddenly I've gone off course. Snap me out of it. Snap me out of it, would you, please? I want to close with who you want to collaborate with in the future. That would be on the dream list. I've heard some rumors about this, but I wanted to hear it straight from. From both of you.

[Buzz Knight]

We were just talking about this yesterday. Chris Stapleton and Morgan Stable, we're calling them out. What do you say?

[Michael Trotter]

Who do I say? Michael. Okay, I'm gonna throw. I'm gonna throw. Well, I'm going to bend the rules a little. I'm going to give you current, but I'm also going to give you pass. If I could have collaborated with anyone in the past, I would have loved to have done something with Ray Charles. If I can collaborate with anyone other than the Stapletons moving forward. It's so weird. Josh Groban was on my list, and now that we've done it, I want to do it again and again and again. Michael Buble is somebody I would love to have a chance to sing with. Collaborate with Mumford and Sons, good buddies of ours. Yeah. Brandi Carlisle.

[Lynn Hoffman]

Oh, there you go. Well, that showcases. That list. Showcases the diversity and genre bending. I love saying that genre bending. Genre bending nature of you guys. But I just have to say, my God, this is one of those moments where I sit and go, man, am I lucky doing this podcast and making this happen with the great the war entreaty. Michael and Tanya, thank you so much.

[Michael Trotter]

Thank you, Buzz.

[Buzz Knight]

We appreciate it so much for you taking the time to be with us.

[Lynn Hoffman]

I really appreciate it. Congratulations on the new music and thank you for all that you continue to give us and and you're gonna be giving us for many years to come.

[Tanya Trotter]

Thanks for listening to this episode of the Taking a Walk Podcast. Share this and other episodes with your friends and follow us so you never miss an episode. Taking a Walk is available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts and wherever you.

[Buzz Knight]

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[Ryan Seacrest]

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