I love the new songs (Last Regret and Whipsaw Wind) by Doyle Turner and Ted Hajnsiewicz, The International Treasures. Their songs fit their kind and personable nature; they pick up on details that make universal emotions feel personal. You can see them playing the new music live at Dusty’s Bar on August 31.
You have released two new singles (Whipsaw Wind and Last Regret). Does that mean an album or EP might be coming in the near future? (Fingers crossed!)
Ted Hajnasiewicz: Maaaaybe? We have songs we’re toying around with. For now, we had this fun project with Molly Maher producing, and we wanted to share the songs in “proper single” format – or “double single”, depending on what side of the street you live on (today, singles are one song. Once upon a time though, singles were on a 45 RPM record – two songs). Long/short – there will be an album yes! Just not sure on timing yet 😊
Doyle Turner: The power of the Mighty Ted Hajnasiewicz Brain conceived one chilly January day of a “Proper Single!” Remember 45 vinyl records? Both Ted and I have fond memories of 45s. I remember sending in the tops from breakfast cereal boxes to get Kool & The Gang’s “Celebration!” It’s a thrill to be making something that is such a throwback, and we’ll be taking pre-orders at the upcoming album release show on Sunday, August 31st.
What is a whipsaw and how did that become the inspiration for a song? (OK, I did look it up and I love the push/pull nature of it – but still want to hear what it means to you and how it spurred a song.)
TH: I don’t even recall what prompted us to write “Last Regret”? Probably a genius Doyle idea. It was a very early co-write for us – I think before we’d actually met in person. It was just a fun song to pull together. What got me most was the detail in Doyle’s lyric. “One handed roll” – made me think of my grandpa, who used to roll his own cigarettes, one-handed. That detail, sorta made me forget what we were writing about. 😊 I was captured in the moment.
For me, the celebratory nature of the song, I think might have been Ted making melody without even knowing what we were singing about? 😊 I hope it worked in the end.
DT: This song was written almost exactly two years ago. Ted and I met in the Singer/Songwriter Songwriting Challenge, and the prompt back in August of 2023 was “Blade.” I remember thinking about how summer storms seem to be getting more and more intense and short-lived than the summer storms I remember from my youth. I was thinking of the way the branches whipped in a storm, and how some people in our lives do that sort of thing – whip us back and forth and stir everything up within us. There’s the action of the trees as well as the back and forth of wanting to know the truth, but not really wanting to know the truth of a relationship.
Tell me about Last Regret. You seem to celebrate “last regrets” in a healthy way. Maybe no tears, no pedestals? Or maybe celebrating the opportunity inherent in last regret?
DT: This song was one of the first songs that Ted and I co-wrote, and through the process we discovered that we had both grown up in environments that contained a lot of smoking, and how there is an inherent nostalgia whenever we smell cigarette smoke (smoking is STILL bad, kids!) We both watched people struggle with that addiction, trying to quit and promising themselves that this cigarette was the last one, and then falling back into the habit. It made a pretty good metaphor for some relationships.
You worked with Molly Maher on these songs. She has such good energy. What is it like to work with her?
DT: First and foremost, Molly is a genius. She helped us through pre-production and assembled the most amazing players: Isaac Levy (Behr), Noah Levy (Brian Setzer, Honeydogs), and Blair Krivinek (Sonny Knight and the Lakers, Nachito Herrera). Throughout the lead up and the recording, Molly’s had a steady hand on the wheel while exuding this quiet confidence. She was incredibly humble and open from the get-go. We are hoping to get on her schedule to do future projects, as she is utterly amazing.
TH: Oh my, Molly is a gem of a human! When we first dreamt up this project, we were thinking we wanted this old nicotine-stained country sound for these songs. I’d known of Molly for years, and even interacted (booking emails, etc.). But literally just met her weeks before Doyle and I were dreaming and scheming – and she came to mind as someone who could capture that vibe AND more important cause off to me as super sweet and kind – something critically important to us when we work on projects.
Molly turned out to be that in spades. She is a musical genius for sure. And a great leader – she orchestrated every detail of this, from studio, to musicians, to help with song structure, to amazing snacks (snacks are a basic necessity in my mind and heart). Mostly though – she’s just a delightful human with a love for life – that energy is infectious, and I think helped shaped this record in ways we could not anticipate.
Tell us about your upcoming show.
TH: I mean – DUSTY’S! What’s not to love! We’ll have our dear friend Joel Sax kick the early evening off (a 5-8 affair, on Sunday August 31). Then we’ll play as a quartet (Doyle and me, with Joe Meyer on bass and Brent Fuqua on mandolin). We’ll do a set of Treasure treasures. THEN – we’ll do a little “thoughts and prayers” set – basically a somewhat open jam, where someone calls out song and key, and we see how it goes. I’ve been doing this sort of thing at Dusty’s all year, and so far it’s not disappointed. 😊
DT: We’re releasing this album at Dusty’s Bar in Northeast on Sunday, August 31st from 5 – 8. We are incredibly fortunate to have Joel Sax open the night, then Joe Meyer and Brent Fuqua will join us for our set. Dusty’s Big Green booth is such an iconic venue, and a location where Ted and I have had some pretty incredible musical moments. It seemed like a natural fit to return to Dusty’s to release this “Double Single.” The cover of the 45’s is a shot of a beautiful glass ash tray on the bar top at Dusty’s, with all of the reflected neon that Phyliss Hajnasiewicz caught in her photography.
Mostly Minnesota 