Cathie Berbena Lloyd greets the visitor with a smile and a handshake, and then turns on her heel for an in-depth tour of 4Wall’s Nashville operation. The impeccably clean and organized warehouse is clearly the sign of a tight ship; even the office dog Harley James is well dressed.
4Wall Entertainment’s success has long been specializing solely in lighting, and that’s the game they brought to Music City. Just like their other locations (Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York, and Washington, DC), they offer rentals, sales, system integration, and design. “I love Nashville — the people, the tours, the vibe,” Berbena Lloyd says, smiling. “There is such a mix of old and new it is never boring, and keeps us looking forward to the next day.” As for Berbena Lloyd herself, from an early age she was determined to be a large animal vet, and no doubt would be wearing that attire today if, as a 15-year-old, she didn’t impulsively volunteer to run a spotlight for her older sister’s operetta. Then there was no turning back, and the newly anointed thespian began a journey of learning everything about lighting that continues to this day.
As a young adult, Berbena Lloyd obtained a job at Harrah’s in South Lake Tahoe. “I was one of the technicians and a board operator, helping with load-ins and outs,” she says. She became acquanted with Vari*Lite products and spoke with that company about getting work, and learned they didn’t have any openings on the road (at least for someone of the decidedly female persuasion). But they did put her to work on the manufacturing side. In 1988, they were short of technicians to send out with INXS’ Kick tour. INXS had no problem with having a woman on the tour, and that’s what took her game to the next level. She credits LD Aland Henderson’s “tough love —he trained me, and he was brutal,” she laughs. “He would stay on me the whole time and would yell quite a lot. He was preparing me for the worst, so he had me unload and load trucks, organize everyone’s power, set up the systems and anything else he could pile on my plate. He wanted to see if a ‘girl’ could take it, and told me it would be the hardest tour I would ever do, and he was right!” After succeeding with the tour, there were still lots of bands that said no to having a woman on the bus. Interestingly enough, Mötley Crüe didn’t blink, and the next thing you know she was working with legends Jake Berry and Dale “Opie” Skjerseth. “Those guys were great to work with, and always treated me fairly.”
She wound up in Nashville in 1993, where she transitioned into management. Through acquisitions, she ended up working for PRG. In 2011, 4Wall tapped her about becoming GM of their new Nashville office. Their facility is convenient to the Nashville area, and features a rehearsal space/area to set up for events and tours, allowing for test runs before going out the door.
Growing Pains
Like the kid at the new school, the first few years were a little awkward. “Michael [Cannon, Chairman] is very specific on how to run things,” and Berbena Lloyd had just come from the corporate culture of PRG, so that adjustment had to be made. Then there was getting the Nashville scene acquainted with 4Wall. Having a wide variety of equipment in great shape, completely prepped and ready to go on a moment’s notice with confidence was a key factor in getting traction in this “small” town. “One thing I like so much, and no doubt our clients do too, is that everyone is really proud to work here, and it keeps morale up for the whole office.” But there were growing pains.
“When we opened this shop in 2013, we had the first year blues,” she states, frankly. In addition to the natural aches and pains of a new business in town, the old convention center was shut down and the new one hadn’t been completed yet, so that made for less work for everyone in town. But she knew that as soon as the new Music Center opened, they would start ramping up, and they have. Also helping was that they were on the ground floor of working on the OZ Arts Center along with some really big conventions, like Harley Davidson. Now they do a range of corporate work, big and small, from rental packages for conferences to full system installations. Today, the office has 21 full-timers on staff plus a four person install team, and “everybody works so closely with each other and are truly interested in helping in every way.”
Since she knew Nashville, she never doubted that the move to Nashville for 4Wall was a good one. “When I saw on the equipment coming into the Nashville warehouse, I told Michael that this town has never had such a variety of equipment in such good shape. There are places that keep their equipment for pretty long, but 4Wall purchases new and will turn around and sell within a certain time frame. So we always have the latest and greatest in technology.” Another thing she knew would be popular was all the trussing they offer, comprised mostly of Tomcat product, which they also keep in excellent shape. “We sell a lot of truss so the rental stock stays pretty new due to constant backfilling, which is a new way of doing things in Nashville,” she adds.
Berbena Lloyd is pleased to say they’ve also started to build out their labor pool and have been taking on full touring shows. They have supplied for the Women of Faith tour, Toby Mac, Jack White, Sam Hunt, Dan + Shay, Canaan Smith, and Moon Taxi, among others. Lloyd and her team also have great sub-rental relationships with the other local companies in the area. “We’re friendly competitors, and we do get along well with the other lighting companies. We do bid against each other and, while sometimes I’ll be disappointed when we don’t get a job, we certainly don’t take it personally. We just work on getting the next one!”
While the Nashville office certainly follows the successful 4Wall business plan, “every one of our offices is a little different. Like in New York, it’s always going 300 miles an hour and there are so many people coming and going it’s truly amazing. And the Las Vegas Headquarters has a different vibe. But I think clients here are a little bit less rushed, and they like to come visit, eat some of our candy, learn the dog’s name, and that just makes it all a pleasant and personal experience.”
The Nashville 4Wall does have a different vibe, and it starts with Harley James, the Dachschund/Chihuahua mix (a.k.a., “Chiweenie”) who usually comes around when visitors come through the door. “People ask to say hi and are disappointed if he’s not in that day.” And, of course, Berbena Lloyd has her own “only in Nashville” moments. The System and Design Installation Team has been increasingly busy, and recently they worked for a client who wanted the “latest and greatest car wash, which involved a lot of lighting. The guys told me I would need to go down and see what they did, and you sit in your car and go through it, and I thought, okay! That’s alright!” she laughs. They also do a lot of clubs, and actually did the install work on the Bell Tower and Acme Feed, which is co-owned by Alan Jackson. “Brad Nelms is our Systems and Design Manager. He runs the Southeast Division, and his skill set for installs and renovating current in-house systems is amazing. Plus he is a lot of fun to work with, which is such a great bonus for us here.”
There are other bonuses working in Nashville too.
“Nashville has huge history and the music is a result of all lot of that. We all know music and lighting mix very well. Being centrally located also helps quite a bit due to the easy access here to the East, plus Nashville is also home to the famous Goo Goo Cluster… so need I say more?”
For more details, please visit www.4wall.com.
