September 4, 2012

At the Bar with Diamond Rowe


After months of trying, the Bar is excited to welcome singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Diamond Rowe of rock band Tetrarch.

For those just joining us, tell us a bit about yourself.

Well, my name is Diamond Rowe, I'm 22 and I was born and raised in Atlanta, Ga. I play lead guitar for the band Tetrarch which basically my life. Since I am always doing something Tetrarch related, I dont do much outside of music, but when I do, I like to hang with friends, eat (haha), watch sports (ROLL TIDE!) and just have a good time!

So is Diamond Rowe your real name?

Yes, Diamond Rowe is my real name haha. I think I get asked that question at least once a day haha. The real kicker is when people find out my middle name is Rose. They're like "OMG!! DIAMOND ROSE ROWE!!". Not to toot my own horn, but I think I have a pretty cool name. Haha. :)

How did Tetrarch come about?

Tetrarch was started by me, Josh, and another friend that we went to highschool with name Tyler. We started jamming together in the 9th grade but things didnt really become serious to about our junior year of high school. From then on we just started playing shows and really getting out there and trying to build our name up as much as we could.

For those who are unfamiliar with the term, a “tetrarch” (yes, it's a real word) is a ruling body of four people. Tetrarchs primarily existed in the Roman Empire. Why did your band go with this name?

Oddly enough, me and Josh actually settled on the name Tetrarch in history class back in the 10th grade. Since there are four of us in the band, we figured a name that meant a rule of 4 people was pretty cool and it just stuck.


What influenced your taste in music?

I actually had a good friend in high school that initially got me into rock and heavy music. From then on, and discovering my favorite bands Metallica, and Korn, I never looked back and knew this was the music for me. I like every type of music imaginable (except for maybe acid jazz and modern country haha) but metal is definitely my thing!

Anyone in particular inspiring you these days?

Other then the obvious musicians that I like, my parents inspire me everyday! They are so supportive of everything I want to do and always have been. I can only hope that one day I am as good of parent or even friend as they have been to me.

I’m glad to hear your parents inspire you. What do they think of your decision to be a professional musician?

They are 100% supportive of what we want to do and absolutely believe that we are going to get there haha. Sometimes they tell us more then we tell ourselves haha. All of our parents feel the same and its so great to be surrounded by people who are so encouraging. It helps so much.

I’ve watched you rock that guitar like a goddess. What other instruments do you play?

Well, by all means I am better at guitar then any other instrument haha, but I also play drums, bass, I played the flute coming up in high school and middle school, and also played 2nd bass drum in the marching band.

Are you a self-taught musician?

I actually took lessons for about a year and a half which helped me a lot. Other than that I am self taught on guitar. I would like to pick up lessons again though, which may sound strange, but definitely think it helps expand my horizons of guitar playing a bit.

From your Tumblr and your videos on YouTube, it seems like you guys have been on the road a lot lately. What’s that like?

Being on the road is AMAZING. It's the best thing in the world traveling the country and seeing new places with your best friends and brothers. Our last long tour was a 32-day run up the east coast which was phenomenal. We met a lot of new fans and friends and we cant wait to get back out there soon!

So what all is currently happening with Tetrarch?

A lot is going on with Tetrarch right now haha. More then EVER. Earlier this year we joined with Outerloop Management along with bands like Veil of Maya, Darkest Hour, We Came as Romans, and many more amazing bands. So we feel so honored to be apart of that lineup. We recorded a new EP at Audiohammer Studios in Orlando with Jason Suecof and Eyal Levi which was a pretty amazing expirience. Those songs are currently being mastered and will be complete soon. We are also shooting our first music video next month with Ramon Boutviseth. He's the director behind the videos of bands like Trivium, Dream Theater, Chelsea Grin and many more so that should come out looking pretty DOPE! Other than that, the other things we have going on I can't really mention, but I guarantee that they will blow everyone's mind. :)

We have only formally released one EP so far, and that was our 2011 release "The Will to Fight". That was a great EP for us, and really got our foot in the door with a lot of things including our current Managers Derek Brewer and Brian Judge from Outerloop Management. We couldn't ask for a better management team to work with and we are expecting BIG things in the next few months! :)

Watching musicians do the live tour thing always fascinates me. What was your first gig, and what did it feel like the very first time you got up stage?

Haha, our first gig was actually at this place called The 7 Venue in Douglasville, GA. We had been playing talent shows and stuff at our high school, so we werent as nervous as we could have been but it was definitely nerve wrecking. We played first one a show full of local bands, none of which are together anymore, and we were kind of the underdogs haha.

What are some challenges you’ve personally faced in this business?

Luckily, I haven't faced any huge challenges in the business yet. We have worked hard and gotten pretty lucky with a lot of things. I would say the hardest part is gaining respect from others to take your band seriously. I don't just mean the suits in the business, but your local peers and friends as well. Fortunately, we earned respect pretty quickly in my opinion but it's definitely about being persistent, being good, and always growing. I think too many bands let miniscule problems detour them from getting anywhere.

This is really good point about bands letting the little things derail success. You, however, seem very focused and determined. How do you maintain that?

Yea, it really baffles me seeing bands break over over the stupidest things. If you all have your mind on the same goal and the same drive and passion, little things will blow over before it even begins to do any real damage. I know what I want out of this career, and the rest of the guys in my band have the same exact want and passion so its easy for us to sift through whats important and whats not. I also think that a lot of bands let too much outside influence determine what's going on in their band. We try to never let what people who have no idea what's going on in TETRARCH influence us in any way. We talk things out with each other, keep business and such to ourseleves within the band and that makes all the difference.

How does Tetrarch function as a unit? What are your rehearsals like and what’s the band’s creative process?

In all honesty I think that having a set way of functioning is one of the most important parts of being in a succesful band. Its definitely not something that you can be sporadic and unorganized with. We have been lucky enough to come up with a good method that works for us and keeps us productive. We generally like to reherse 5 times a week for about 4 hours a day. When we have something coming up like a tour or a big show we generally pratice a little more than that. Depending on what we have coming up or going on, in practice we usually run our set exactly how its going to be live from beginning to end. Talking, movements, everything. Practice is the most important part of becoming the best that you can be and luckily we all enjoy it which makes it not feel like work at all. When we are writing, usually me and Josh will come in with a song that we have been working on together and we start hammering it out in the practice room with everyone and getting their ideas as well. So we generally have a very well-oiled machine that seems to be working for us and has for a few years now.

And what does the future hold for the great Diamond Rowe?

I plan on continuing to do what I do, and that is work hard to achieve all of my goals in life. Tetrarch has enough goals, and plans to keep me busy for the next 30 years, and since we are working extremely hard to make this a FRUITFUL career, I am going to continue working hard making sure that happens!

Diamond, thanks so much for stopping by.

11 comments:

  1. This is cool. I love how you spotlight artist's that we might not get to see.

    "I also think that a lot of bands let too much outside influence determine whats going on in their band."

    I definitely agree with this.

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  2. I've known Diamond since she was in grade school and to honest she is one of the most down to earth person I know and i wish them all the best in the future and if your ever in the South Carolina Area let me know I will be there to support you 100%!!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Michele, Diamond went to the daycare that i was employed at i know her whole family :)

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    2. Nice to meet you, Michele.

      Delete
  3. I think I'm in love with this band.

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    Replies
    1. We generally like to reherse 5 times a week for about 4 hours a day.

      That makes two of us.

      Delete
  4. @ M

    I lost your comment by mistake. Please repost.

    ReplyDelete
  5. *My original comment was about Diamond's name*

    I guess her parents probably knew that she wanted to be a rocker. For some reason her name has that rocker's touch to it.Though its her real name, it's a nice one that fits her to a tee.

    ReplyDelete
  6. *sees Diamond on lead guitar*
    *cries tears of happiness*

    Almost makes me want to dust off the old bass and start rocking out again :) Thanks!

    ReplyDelete

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