The Beautiful And Talented Terry Bertus
by Ryan Johnson
@lordryanjohnson
Terry Bertus, the beautiful musical sensation eats, breathes, and lives music, and she knew from a very young age that’s what she wants to do with life. ‘Music is in my blood, I can’t run away from it, it finds me. From my parents to my Grandparents, we are all musically inclined. From my youngest days all I’ve ever wanted to do was sing, it was my passion. When I was 7 years old I remember going to one of my mum’s (Drucille Gomes) country gigs and from that time onwards I knew what I wanted to be a musician when I grew up.’
From the age of 13 or 14, she watched her mom perform with her band at the time. Terry even got on stage with her to sing a few songs, and remembers those moments quite fondly. Later on, she joined a few bands and sang at a few hotels and pubs. By that time, her mother started her own band, Kismet, and she joined that. After Kismet, she joined Wildfire until it broke up, when Chris Dhason (CJ) asked her to join the new band he was forming. Thus, Mintaka was born. ‘CJ pushed my limitations which I had put on myself on and took me out of my comfort zone, which I’m so glad he did and so thankful for it. Last year I was able to achieve something that I always dreamt of but never thought possible, Thanks to Viraj Perera and the grace of God. Viraj and I were able to start our own band called ‘ROCK THIS COUNTRY’.’
‘Rock this Country is a country/country rock band, with a touch of blues. We do the usual dance stuff that we need for dances and weddings and Sinhala bailas as well. We have an amazingly talented bunch of guys who have now become brothers to me. Rock this country comprises Viraj Perera ( Piano/synth/acoustic guitar/music director) Dexter Batcho (vocals/acoustic guitar), Wills Jay (Bass), Ashan De Silva (lead guitar), Ruwan Perera (Drums)and me, Terry Bertus (vocals). We perform every Wednesday at The Promenade, ODEL from 7pm to 11 pm which is a kind of laid back environment although you can shake a leg if you want to, and every Thursday at Curve, Park Street Mews from 8pm to 1am where you can dance the night away.’
As Sri Lanka is a small island, and the Colombo scope of music is quite vast, we inquired about the difficulties she faces as a musician in Sri Lanka. ‘The hardest thing about being a musician in Sri Lanka is seeing so many musicians looking at themselves as victims, in the light of recognition, work and success. This is the hardest for me. I believe that none of these external sources can determine this. If you are gifted or if you have developed your skill your product will always be good and you shouldn’t be victimised by anything external, YOUR SUCCESS IS IN YOUR HANDS.’
Music being in her blood, and coming from a musical background, she expressed her love for music as “Music was my first love, it’s something that I wouldn’t want to live without! For me, it’s my passion and something that lifts my spirit. It’s a sense of freedom and music has the power to move your soul. No matter who or what or where you are music is inspirational and it comes from the heart that’s what I love about it.”
