20th Annual Parnelli Lifetime Achievement Award Honoree
“The previous recipients of this award have all been Production Managers or Tour Managers,” states Parnelli Awards Executive Producer and Publisher Terry Lowe. “But David Bernstein is truly in a separate category, one that touches all aspects of concert touring. From Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young to Lady Gaga and beyond, no one has served more clients than David and the internationally renowned company he built, Rock-it Cargo.”
Rock-it Cargo, today known as part of Rock-it Global, is a specialty freight forwarding and logistics company built for the entertainment touring, corporate live events, sports, television and film, and exhibitions industries. Today the global company boasts over 200 employees in 36 offices across the U.S. and around the world. As Bernstein scales back his personal involvement in Rock-it, he keeps busy with other entrepreneurial endeavors; building a new home in Santa Barbara; and spending time with his five children and granddaughter.
“We are a business of ‘characters,’ and David epitomizes character in every sense of the word,” says Bruce Springsteen’s Production Manager, a recipient of this award himself, and Bernstein’s longtime client and friend, George Travis. “Ambitious, persistent, and honorable, he’s honest and not afraid to step up to collaborate in taking the risks to get whatever the challenge is completed. He can hold his own with the most interesting manager and then know walking out the door that he better give more attention to holding his own with that security guy and forklift driver at the back gate.” In speaking of that legacy, the first point Bernstein makes is that it is all about the people at the company. “Any success is due to having a team around the world made of really great people who know how to make things move and are really passionate about the work they do,” Bernstein says.
Philly Boy
Bernstein was freight forwarded himself in Philadelphia in 1957, the fourth of five kids. He’ll tell you he was born into the moving business: His grandfather David, who he was named after, started in a horse and wagon. In the 1930s his dad’s oldest brother, Ben, founded Quaker Moving and Storage Company. “My Dad and his five brothers worked at Quaker full time and his sisters worked for the company part time, so clearly, moving things from point A to Point B is something that is part of my DNA,” he says with a laugh. Parents Stanley and Charlotte were tough, smart, and hardworking. Bernstein took piano lessons and played clarinet in the school band, but like all the other kids on the block, he was drawn to rock and roll. His oldest brother, Joel, was drawn to it as well, playing guitar. More importantly, brother Joel became a professional photographer whose career in rock started with a great shot of Joni Mitchell in 1968 at Carnegie Hall. Mitchell was impressed with Joel’s work enough that she introduced him to Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, (CSNY) who hired him. In 1970, CSNY played a show at The Spectrum, in Philly. That night, Graham Nash and Stephen Stills came to the Bernstein house and made a notable impression on the then seventh grader. “They got to our house after 1:00 a.m. and I stayed up the whole night till dawn with them and my brother. And my first ever ‘job’ in this business was carrying Stephen Stills’ guitar when they finished playing at sunrise.”
Bernstein’s real foray into the business came four years later when his brother Joel finished shooting a CSNY show at Roosevelt Field on Long Island and was preparing to go to the next gig at London’s Wembley Stadium in London. At the airport, they learned that the company that was to forward the gear was AWOL. But Joel knew where to go to avert disaster. He put a call into his dad and the then 17-year-old David got involved in what would be the first day of his career. “That shipment required an American Airlines 707 Freighter, and was paid for in cash,” Bernstein says. “Whereas I did not go to London with the shipment, I did catch the incurable, intoxicating, insatiable desire to get paid to go to rock ‘n’ roll shows.”
Next came a call from future Parnelli Lifetime honoree Richard Fernandez, then tour manager for the Eagles. “I first met David when he came out with his father to check out some Eagles’ equipment they were shipping to London for us in 1975,” Fernandez recalls. “He was very young. About a year later, when we were shipping to London again for the Hotel California tour, he came out by himself and set it all up. I have worked with David ever since, and in all his endeavors, he always pays attention to the details and is quick to react to any situation.” Fernandez adds, “I’m really happy to say David deserves this award for all his dedication moving equipment and people all over the world for 50 years.”
A couple of things next happened simultaneously: His father formed ACS, and young David worked for the new freight forwarding company. Meanwhile, David also got a gig working as a runner at the Palladium in New York City. “I used the opportunity to give out ACS business cards to anyone who would take it,” he says. This all would put him in contact with some of the heavyweights in the business including David Geffen, Elliot Roberts, and Bill Graham. He also attended New York University before dropping out in 1979 committing to ACS full time. He then moved the company to L.A., kept growing the client roster, and never looked back. “David was there during our early days and like many of us, by default became the guy who helped figure it out,” notes Travis. “He is a professional, and the face and phone number of ‘getting the gear there.’”
Beyond Rock ‘n’ Roll
Still to this day, Bernstein believes the largest logistics project he worked on was the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. It involved over 100 countries and would provide the skillset necessary for him to eventually have a Rock-it Cargo footprint on six continents. Everything from bobsleds to horses to Heineken beer was shipped. There were plenty of stressful moments, like when the West German volleyball teams’ uniforms got lost and then found by Rock-It at the last possible minute. On top of all that, there were terrorist threats causing extreme security protocols making everything else thorny. “Bringing in the guns used in the shooting sports got complicated,” he states.
Meanwhile at that time, the international touring business was growing exponentially when he connected with another player in the freight-forwarding world, Chris Wright. Wright had created Rock-it Cargo with Edwin Shirley of Edwin Shirley Trucking and production manager Roy Lamb as investors. In 1986, they and Bernstein joined forces, with Bernstein acquiring the Rock-it Cargo name to create Rock-it Cargo USA. In 2007, the two companies merged. While maintaining its dominant position in music touring, Rock-it Cargo has since expanded into other industries, such as corporate and branded live events, film and television production, sports events including Formula 1 and other motor sports, and theatrical productions including ballet and orchestra.
In early 1990s, Bernstein was part of senior management of The Management Company, which launched The Dixie Chicks (now the Chicks). In 1993, he bought Showpower, Inc. with noted live event entrepreneur John Campion. Together they built that company into the largest entertainment rental power company for live events before selling it to GE. Newer endeavors include Rock Labor, which provides labor for concerts at 14 major venues in the Northeast including MetLife Stadium. He also founded Fluent Cargo, a new software business enabling optimal routing solutions for shippers and freight forwarders.
But no entrepreneur is Midas—he’s had some failures, too. In 1995 he invested in Viscount Airways and had 15 737s lined up for a deal to fly NHL and NBA teams to their games. Then there was the lockout by the NHL, cancelling most of the games that season; meanwhile, the basketball teams individually decided to get their own planes. But Bernstein shakes it off, saying you always learn so much more from a failure than from a success.
Tales from the Road
Of course, you don’t have a four-decade plus career in this business without collecting some stories, and Bernstein has a cargo hold of doozies. In the early 1980s, his company was shipping a Frank Sinatra show from the Greek Theatre in L.A. to the Meadowlands Complex in New Jersey. He was sitting in his office when he got a call from the production manager saying they were missing an orange flight case, could he go to his warehouse and see if it was there? He did and it was. Bernstein was then told that they would have to cancel the Meadowland show as that orange case, still in L.A., held the score and parts of the Sinatra-specifically arranged music. “I don’t think we caused this issue,” Bernstein said to Sinatra’s man on the other end of the phone line. The reply was: ‘It’s not my fault or your fault—you know how I know? We’re both still alive.’ While not at fault, Bernstein quickly went to work with others, and they found a Learjet and got the flight case to New Jersey with mere minutes to spare for the second night.
They are near zero, but there have been some circumstances even Bernstein couldn’t work around. On Madonna’s Drowned World Tour of 2001, she was to perform four nights in Buenos Aires, with the first night being for the country’s president in a special televised show. The three 747s full of gear were coming from Mexico City when one of the planes was declared to have major mechanical issues and was grounded. He got another plane but there was no simple transferring the load from one plane to another—it all had to go back inside the terminal and be run through customs again, eating up valuable time. Once reloaded on the new plane, the three took off. “We’re 12 hours behind schedule when it lands in Panama City to refuel,” he says. “But it turned out that airport had no fuel because there had been a refinery fire the night before.” In likely one of the most difficult phone calls of his career, he called Madonna’s Production Manager Chris Lamb to say they weren’t going to make it in time for that first show, postponing it by a day. “We did get it there, and they did do four shows, but we missed that scheduled first one.”
Bernstein, who has worked with hundreds of industry professionals, including almost every single one of the previous 19 production and tour managers who have received this award, also worked with the award’s namesake Rick “Parnelli” O’Brien. “I knew him well when he was a stage manager for Queen,” Bernstein says, “and he was part of one of my favorite rock and roll stories.” The scene was Queen rehearsing in a Hollywood studio. Bernstein walked in early to measure the gear that needed shipping, and O’Brien introduced him to Freddie Mercury. Shortly after, band and crew broke for a meal. O’Brien went up to Bernstein and asked him if he would like to sit at the band’s table. “Now, while freight forwarding people are ‘officially’ part of the crew, we are at the very bottom of the rock and roll food chain,” Bernstein says. But when Bernstein expressed doubt to O’Brien that the band really wanted him to sit with them, O’Brien said, ‘Oh, David—Freddie thinks you’re cute!’ He still laughs about it today but adds: “Rick was insanely good at what he did, but more than that he believed in the mantra of working hard and having fun.”
People, Not Cargo
Bernstein has always been clear about the business, and spoiler alert, it’s not cargo cases. “Rock-it is a people business,” he states emphatically. “We’re running a service business and putting together a team of great people who have become a tight knit group is the reason for any success. That was the biggest challenge, getting that good team together.” Related, Rock-it has had extraordinary employee retention.
And client loyalty as well, as another former Parnelli Lifetime honoree will tell you. “In my career, there have been some things I’ve been able to do because of David Bernstein for the last 35 years,” explains production manager Charlie Hernandez. He has many stories, like for one band needing three 747 cargo planes and 80 sea containers to move the tour from Europe to South America to New Zealand and Australia and then up to Japan before coming back to the U.S. “It’s incalculable how many times he’s helped me and others move [a lot of gear] around this blue marble we live on.” For some other unnamed pop artist, Hernandez turned to Bernstein when he had to get a one-of-a-kind priceless guitar and effects rack from New York to London for a surprise appearance at Albert Hall the next night. But more importantly than those instances, Bernstein has been unwavering to Hernandez’s many philanthropic endeavors, especially his Just a Bunch of Roadies (JABOR), which Bernstein has financed and supported.
Hernandez was in China on a tour when Haiti was hit with a magnitude 7.2 earthquake devastating the island country in 2010. “I picked up the phone and called David and said, ‘I see you have an empty airplane,’ just like a teenager would ask to borrow a friend’s car just paying for the gas,” he says. JABOR got its hands on more than two million dollars’ worth of medical equipment and 48 doctors, nurses, and staff, and Bernstein got it all to the island. Rock-It also shipped door to door eight 40’ containers of donated medical beds from London to hospitals in Tunisia to better treat children injured during the unrest in that country in 2011. The list of charity shipments goes on.
‘Just Say Yes’
At the end of 2019, he stepped down as Rock-it Chairman and CEO but continues to serve as a member of the Board of Directors for Rock-it Global. Paul Martins, who joined Rock-it in 2019 as President/CEO, described that, “When he learned to fly an airplane, he told me that the approach dictates the landing. The devil is in the details, and he’s always made sure backup plans are in place. He has earned a customer’s peace of mind.” That philosophy is part of the five points Bernstein breaks down as his approach to work: Have a better idea; the approach determines the landing; expect the unexpected; you’re only as good as your vendors; and get it in writing. And a bonus point: “If you’re going to succeed in the service business, you better be personable; and when necessary, an expert in groveling.” But finally, at the end of the day, he still credits his dad Stanley who taught him so much and set such a great example as a person and as a businessman: “The most important thing he taught me is that when someone asks you if you can do something, no matter what it is, just say yes—then figure out how.”
Reflecting on his career in the industry Bernstein comments, “One of the more gratifying aspects of our business is to be part of the show production fraternity,” he says. “These are highly experienced individuals and companies that make the show happen night after night. Ultimately, the entire focus of all on the production crew is that moment when the house lights go down, the star hits the stage, and the show happens precisely as planned, on schedule, and no surprises except the ones the artist wants. Even after 40 years, that moment is still special to me.”
David Bernstein will receive his Lifetime Achievement Award June 3 at the Hilton Anaheim Hotel at the Parnelli Awards gala. For more information and to get tickets, go to www.parnelliawards.com.
