Bernarr Ferebee, Audio Engineer – Black History Month, R.O.C.U.

Bernarr Ferebee is an audio engineer with 27 years of experience working as a Staff Engineer and Systems Engineer as well as in installation. He works for Eighth Day Sound. Since 2008, he has also served as CEO of Behind the Access, LLC doing artist management for his son Durand Bernarr.

Among the artists that Bernarr Ferebee has worked with over the years are Fred Hammond, Tom Jones, Frank Sinatra Golf, Tony Bennett, The Cure, Adele, Eminem, Stevie Wonder, Cash Money Millionaires, George Clinton and the Parliament Funkadelic, Aretha Franklin, Barry Manilow, JayZ, Nelly, Jill Scott, Rihanna, Whitney Houston, Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds and Earth, Wind & Fire.

He was also instrumental in providing sound reinforcement for The Million Man March, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, The World Youth Day with Pope John Paul and Hot 97 Summer Jam.

Bernarr has tireless, positive energy, is a team player, and a powerful force in encouraging others to work hard and succeed.

Here is Bernarr Ferebee in his own words:

In my early days as an audio technician, I did the gospel circuit.

Before that, I was singing myself, doing gospel. After a while, I began to take care of the sound in churches whilst still singing as well.

Then, I had a son. Life changed fundamentally.

I took a job as a welder. Did that for eight years. I knew steel work wasn’t for me. But I needed the benefits and needed to have a steady income to support my family.

However, when an opportunity opened to do sound and be back in the entertainment industry, I took it straight away.

This was when I began working for Eighth Day Sound. I have been with them now since 1993 – for 27 years.

Being there, I’ve had the opportunity to be with some amazing artists. It’s like because of my work ethics I fit right into the crowd. I was up early. I took care of my business. And I wasn’t out all hours of the night, getting crazy.

I worked with some big names… Sinatra, Tom Jones, Tony Bennett…

My first rock group was The Cure.

That was something else. It was loud as hell. They had some good songs. It was like being in the library. It might not be entirely your thing, but you can find something that will start your musical receptors pinging.

My first rap tour was with Cash Money Millionaires.

That what when you really saw the beginning stages of what rap tours were like. It was always like a playground.

A little later I took on the rapper Nelly.

In 1999 I did Earth, Wind & Fire. The band and I’ve had a good relationship ever since. I was their audio crew chief and went around the globe with them a few times.

Then I was out and about with Jay-Z for a while. And Jay-Z with Kanye.

I did some Adele as well. What a lovely individual. She was shy, but just great. It was such a pleasure to work with her.

Actually, I was out with Whitney Houston for a while, too. In fact, in her last year. Rehearsals in 2009 and touring until 2010 with her. It was a fantastic experience as well. A great band. The whole team, crew and all, were good to work with.

I was audio crew chief for Whitney, right until the day she died.

When you work and tour with a group, it’s like being in a family. We are close and always happy to see each other.

This is especially true when you do your job. That is Number One! When you do your job it’s always a pleasure to see you.

You look at your work environment as: this is the camp. Together, we make it happen and make sure to give the audience that full musical experience they came for. Because that and nothing else is what we have come to do.

Of course, our names are not on the marquee. We are in the background. But seeing the audience go crazy is pure joy.

Over the years, you grow up. You start to experience what the industry is really about. I decided to grow further into that business.

I started a management company. And also started a record label that takes care of my son.

When he was a teenager, my son went on tour with me. He was fifteen when I brought him to Earth, Wind & Fire. Because he was so young, he was there mainly for the experience. But he also did the job of production assistant.

My son went along with that experience for a while, until one day he said to me, “I want to do this, Dad. But not the production stuff. I want to sing.”

Now, ten years later he is a successful musician. His latest album even was No. 1 on Apple Music last September.

We did all the work and support together to make that happen.

What is working in the music industry all about? To put it all in a nutshell: Do your job, work as a family, watch the experience of the audience from the camp you’re working with that puts on the ninety-minute show. It’s a unique experience. Music unites people all over the world.

Over the last years, I’ve been doing consulting with upcoming artists.

Now, during the pandemic, I am doing even more of it. I am taking on the entertainment law side of this world I’ve made so many experiences in over the last thirty years.

I do have my hands full with my son, who is a client. It’s quite a feat. You have to separate those two. We have a client time to talk business. Then, we have father/son time to talk in private. We have to maintain that. It’s the only way that works.

I oversee all my son’s business affairs. Lately, we’ve been doing a lot of virtual events because of the pandemic.

In general, when I go on tour and prep gigs, I prep them in such a way so that if I have to walk out because of an emergency, someone can step up behind me and do the work.

I’ll be sixty-three this year. I believe in transparency and in sharing my knowledge with those who will take over after me. We are all in this together. I’m on my way out and others are on their way in.

At the moment, whilst we are waiting for shows to re-open, I am also taking classes. I’m trying to keep my mind sharp. And I am trying to keep physically fit as well.

We entertainment industry folk are people-persons. And we do jobs which require us to have psychological as well as physical strength and endurance.

When things finally open back up, it’ll be a rush getting everything set up again. In that moment, companies will expect you to hit the ground running. They won’t be looking for people who’ll say, “Oh, I can’t do that so fast. I’m not as strong as I used to be.”

Stay sharp people. We’ll be back in the game any day now.

More from Liam Klenk:

Keep Your Cool Backstage as a Stage Manager: 12 Insights

Roadies Of Color United – End Of The Year Reflection

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