We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Terry Tertiary a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Terry, thank you so much for taking the time to share your lessons learned with us and we’re sure your wisdom will help many. So, one question that comes up often and that we’re hoping you can shed some light on is keeping creativity alive over long stretches – how do you keep your creativity alive?
As a band, Divine Timing keep’s creativity alive by allowing our 4 members, myself, Terry Tertiary (Lead Singer/Lead Guitarist), K.mo (Bass/HipHop Vocals), Matt Roberson (Drummer/Vocalist/Guitarist), Kirk Diggler (Live Production and Background Vocals) to openly be themselves through the music we create and the community we foster. We are a HipHop/Rock/Pop band and we don’t shy away from the fact that our group has 4 songwriters, 4 triple threats, 4 MCs of various genre ability and immense musical knowledge between us all. No, what we do is showcase it within songs and by allowing all of us to take lead while the rest of us accompany beautifully. Once we leave the rehearsal atmosphere, we listen to the words of our drummer Matt, “don’t forget to have fun!” And we take that to heart, once the technical parts are practiced and understood, we fully let go of the seriousness of it and flow with a theatrical passion based on the message of what we are conveying sonically. Likewise, we will cover our band mate’s original material, like K.mo has amazing originally released music that the band has renditions of and we love to cover my popular singles as well. We’re currently working some of Kirk’s original HipHop pieces into our set and Matt has wowed us by presenting original Gospel Pop songs at shows we’ve never heard. With these expected and unexpected artistic surprises, creativity will continue to flourish.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
Divine Timing, is a 4-Piece HipHop/Rock/Pop band from Columbus, OH founded during Spring ’22. We are the sweet spot between The Beastie Boys, The Roots and Linkin Park. Terry Tertiary is the Lead Singer and Lead Guitarist. Terry has been a professional musician for 15+ years, has work half a decade in radio, has curated small shows at Coffee houses and festivals that have helped break people’s careers to the next level and is also a major force in the Columbus, OH music scene, deeply assisting with Milo Arts and Co-Owning The Dallas, a Creative Community Space in the Milo Neighborhoood of Columbus, OH. K.mo is the Bassist. K.mo is one of the most talented HipHop artists in Columbus and also Co-Owns a successful clothing brand by the name of JUDO. Matt Roberson is the Drummer. Matt is a fine artist, having had his own gallery in Gahanna (Mural Art Gallery) and constantly working on large murals and wood sculpture installations. Matt is also the owner of Mission Coffee in Columbus, OH. Kirk Diggler is the Live Production and Background Vocalist. Kirk has been involved in the Columbus music scene longer than any of us and is a well known HipHop producer and artist, working with rappers, singers, bands, instrumentalists and more for over 2 decades. Kirk is also an Army Veteran. And I’d be wrong to not mention that Kirk, Matt and myself are all fathers. With these backgrounds we compose messages of Ifa, Christianity and Science to a popular music format that comes from our souls and speaks to many. That is why, we consider ourselves a “super group.”
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
One major skill is knowing how to navigate a realm of power without letting it corrupt you. We are proud to say that we have not and will not allow success to inflate our egos. Individually we all do a great job of asking second opinions on life situations that may be challenging, let alone musical ones. This is important when working with groups and if you can trust your band with real world challenges, musical ones are child’s play.
An important piece of knowledge would be to discuss the split of profit made when working in artistic groups. This goes for bands and beyond. People must know what they are receiving and why. As a band, we split evenly. We all work hard in our roles, inside and outside of the band so it made since for us to split pay equally since we all split work equally. This was discussed at the beginning. Even before making money, we discussed the benefits of doing a show for free, that’s what lead to the pay days.
The last skill I can suggest, especially in the realm of arts and entertainment, is being open to change in your practice and in your mind. This is inevitable and the best preparation you can have for it is being mentally prepared to shift especially when that shift could help you achieve your goal in a shorter period of time.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
Yes, as a band, Divine Timing would love to partner with music venues, bands, bars, festivals, showcases and other platforms where our message can be heard, felt and understood. As a matter of fact, on January 11, 2024 we will be performing at Winchester Music Tavern, in Lakewood, OH, right outside of Cleveland and we’ll also be performing at Dunlap’s Corner Bar. Both are upcoming collaborations. Currently, we would love to discuss gig swapping with bands or providing a show for them in Columbus, OH for them to perform/profit/grow, if they would be willing to do the same for us in their hometown. Likewise, we would love to work with venues in cities Ohio and throughout the United States. Any venue that has great foot traffic and is looking for an amazing, energetic, talented and theatrical band to wow their crowds, we’d love to work together. If a venue needs an opener for a major band with diverse genre fusion we’d love to work. The same goes for bars as well. Please reach out to us via email or phone and don’t hesitate to send a direct message on social media, like Instagram to start the conversation. We’re flexible and capable.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/divinetimingmusic
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/divinetimingmusic/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/divinetimingmusic
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@DivineTimingMusic
- Email: [email protected]
- Phone Number: 614.735.3143
Image Credits
-Melissa “TreeGoddess” Dillon (Photos 1 and 2) -Ryan McCuskey (Photos 3, 4 and 5) -Michael Lea (Divine Timing Logo)
