About That Song: The International Treasures
About That Song #11
In our special series, singer-songwriter Sarah Morris interviews artists about the songs that shaped them.
Hi! I’m Sarah Morris. I’m wildly in love with songs and the people who write them. There have been a few songs in my life that have been total gamechangers—songs that made me want to be a songwriter and songs I’ve written that made me feel like I am a songwriter. About That Song is a space where I can learn more about those pivotal songs in other writers’ lives.
Our 11th guest is a duo: The International Treasures! Ted Hajnasiewicz and Doyle Turner have been solo artists and involved in various musical projects over the years. Their debut album as an act, Together, We Are The International Treasures, comes out Sept. 18, 2023.
The International Treasures. Photo credit: Tom Smouse.
Sarah: Hi Ted Hajnasiewicz! Hi Doyle Turner!! As your album title informs us, together, you are… The International Treasures! Thank you so much for agreeing to sit down (together) and talk a little about songwriting in advance of your album release. I’m fortunate to be able to call you both friends, and I think of us as songwriting companions in a way. So while we’ve discussed songwriting from a lot of angles in the past, I’m excited to get to learn a bit more about your songwriter journey.
So! Ted and Doyle! Do you remember the song(s) that you heard that made you want to be a songwriter? Tell us about that song.
Ted: I don’t remember a specific song that made me want to be a songwriter. I just remember thinking I wanted to be, or pretending to be a songwriter, long long before I could play an instrument. I’d write silly little ditties, sing them into our tape recorder (poorly), while tapping the device to keep rhythm. Or I’d sing songs I made up in my head while doing the dishes or mowing the lawn. Back then I had a much better memory than I do now, so I could recite an entire “album” of material in my head while mowing our lawn.
Sarah: Oooh! Would you say you had a sense that people could “be a songwriter” from an early age? And it never left?
Ted: I don't know whether I “knew” this or just didn't think at the time that I couldn't or shouldn't. I think that’s the beauty of youth and innocence. You don’t yet have your brain telling you what you can’t do.
Doyle: I came to songwriting really late. I never thought I could do something like write a song. I played covers for decades, but I kept getting the gentlest of nudges from my songwriting friend Mark Fogelson about writing originals. About that time I did a listening room show, and I was asked to play “Humble and Kind” by Lori McKenna. During my preparation, I searched for an acoustic version and ran across hers, which is gorgeous, nuanced, and phrased in a way that’s all hers.
I fell in love with this straight-to-the heart type of writing. It’s conversational, easily accessible, and feels like a type of truth you don’t get from any other art form. There are lyrics of hers that just sear something deep inside. Amongst lines about root beer popsicles, saying “please and thank you,” and porch lights, you get a line like “bitterness keeps you from flying.” I wanted to write like that.
Sarah: Me, too. I hear that song and I want to aim my pencil like an arrow at that kind of writing. Once you began writing, did you feel like a songwriter immediately? It took me a few years of writing before I believed it—was there a song that gave you that “a-HA! I AM a songwriter!” moment? Tell us about that song.
Ted: I dunno about that. Honestly, I used to think of myself and my friends as the “amateurs” and anyone on MTV or the radio as the “real songwriters.” (I didn’t know many of them didn’t write their own songs.) Truth be told, I’m not sure I thought of myself as a “real songwriter” until joining the Singer/Songwriter Songwriting Challenge. I think getting to rub elbows with real songwriters (virtual or IRL) helped me realize yeah, I’m a writer too. That’s probably my a-HA! moment.
If I had to pick a song, I’d go with one I wrote in 2019 called “Darling What About Me.” It is one of a few times where I felt like maybe I’d gotten it right. Or maybe where I wasn’t letting my head get in the way before I could get my thoughts down. It just…flowed. Which for me is important. If I can get out of the way and just let it happen, I feel I’m in my happy songwriter place.
Doyle: Sometimes when starting a new song, I still wonder if I’m a songwriter yet! Ha! Neil Gaiman says, “Finish things.” When I started writing with the Singer/Songwriter Songwriting Challenge and learned that I could finish a song by the deadline, it felt like I became a bit of a songwriter. When I began to write regularly and I had those songs that “fall out” happen every so often, I thought I might be getting there.
“Stay Safe Out There” for me was one of those that came quickly, and I still don’t know if I fully understand what happened or is happening with that one, but I know it feels right and true to me. It feels like I got it somewhat right with that one.
Sarah: I remember hearing that song in the Challenge. I thought it was so excellent, I felt compelled to send you a message to say, “Hi! Your song is wonderful”—and now we’re friends! Songs are magic! Speaking of magic songs, do either of you remember the first song you wrote together? Did you feel a sense of “we’re onto something here” right away?
The International Treasures. Photo credit: Tom Smouse.
Ted: We co-wrote a song for the Challenge, and I remember thinking it was so fun and easy. Doyle brings so much excitement and talent to the table. The first song that made me go “whoa” was the song “This Ring.” I had an idea and part of a first verse that I shared with Doyle. I told him what I wanted to write about but was not able to put to paper. He took that, and dangit he wrote the most eloquent lyric! He’s really truly gifted; I’m blown away by his ability to capture what’s on his heart and mind in song. (Or in this case, what was on my heart and mind.)
Doyle: Ted and I did a co-write for the Challenge that I believe was called “Barracuda,” and it was a lesson in writing quickly. Ted has a gift for writing quickly and so very well. The process went so easily! It is so exciting writing with Ted. After that first one, he asked me to co-write “This Ring” with him. He handed me a verse and all of the melody, and I filled in the second verse and a chorus. It turned into this bittersweet, beautiful, heartbreaking song. I knew at that moment that writing with Ted was something I wanted to do forever. Full stop.
Sarah: How wonderful to find someone that you enjoy the process of writing with. As a listener, I hear that mutual admiration and enthusiasm all over this new album. One last question: You’ve each released quite a few solo albums before making this album as a duo, so I gather you were both well-informed about the challenges and glories of album making! Was it a certain song that made you want to make The International Treasures official? A song that sent you toward the process of album making?
Ted: Yes: “Carry Me Home,” because it was so fun. I thought that was going to be our big single. Of course, that was before so many of the other songs that are on the album existed, and while I still love it, it’s not my favorite child of ours anymore (sorry CMH). But that was one that made me excited we were entertaining the notion of a “duo” album.
Doyle: The album actually came from an aha moment that Ted had when we were given a tour at Joe and Susan Meyer’s place after we played a house concert there. We walked into this beautifully decorated quonset studio. There were a bunch of musicians jamming away in the studio. The sound was like this warm 70s vinyl LP. The color of the studio is rich and warm, and the lighting was just gorgeous. All of that combined and hit us. Five steps in Ted turned to me with wide eyes and said, “We have to record here!”
I said, “Ted, we don’t even know these people!” Five months later we were recording in that space, and that is the magic of Ted Hajnasiewicz. We had been demo-ing songs for an EP, and that moment brought a clarity to the project where we would record live-off-the-floor with primarily bluegrass musicians, and our song selection changed completely because of that space and because of Ted’s genius.
Sarah: Congratulations on bringing all of this joy (of space, of song, of each other) to life in your new record!
Together, We Are The International Treasures will be available everywhere September 18. In the meantime, you can pre-save the album and get a ticket for the September 17 release show at The Parkway Theater.
Listen to “Wild”
Together, We Are The International Treasures Album Credits
Joe Meyer - upright bass
Mikkell Johnson - fiddle, banjo, backing vocal
Brent Fuqua - mandolin
Dean Severson - pedal steel
Nikki Lemire - harp, piano, backing vocals
Ricky Parker - drums
Troy Foss - drums
Steve Peffer - piano, organ
Chris Holm - harmonica
Doyle Turner - vocals, guitars
Ted Hajnasiewicz - vocals, guitar
Love Choir: Joe, Mikkell, Nikki, Troy, Molly, Phyliss, Doyle, Ted
Recorded at Century Oaks Studio, St. Joseph MN
Produced by the International Treasures
Engineered, mixed, mastered by Tross Foss, Supple Studios
Sarah Morris. Photo credit: Tom Smouse.
Sarah Morris is a superfan of songs and the people who write them, and a believer that certain songs can change your life. A singer-songwriter / mama / bread maker / coffee drinker who recently released her fifth album of original material, she’s been known to joyfully sing with people in her Big Green Bathroom.
