Music industry veteran Walter James “Herbie” Herbert II, a former manager for Journey and the Steve Miller Band, and founder of Nocturne Productions, died at his home on Monday, Oct. 25, 2021 in Orinda, CA. He was 73.
Herbert was born Feb. 5, 1948 in Berkeley, CA. His entertainment career started as Santana’s touring truck driver for San Francisco concert promoter Bill Graham Presents. Becoming friends with Santana musicians Neal Schon and Greg Rolie, he formed a band with the two musicians and Ross Valory from the Steve Miller Band to form the Golden Gate Rhythm Section in 1973. The new band would later become Journey, and would rise to the forefront of the arena/stadium rock acts.
Journey songwriter/keyboardist Jonathan Cain describes “Herbie’s vision” in breaking new ground in concert experiences in his 2018 book, Don’t Stop Believin’: The Man, The Band and The Song That Inspired Generations. As he tells it, Herbie’s vision was to enhance the fans’ experience by putting projectors into the venues, allowing the audience to not only see the band up close but, for the first time, to visually “follow” the cameras back through hallways and to their dressing rooms on the large video screens. This was an exciting voyage into an inner sanctum never seen by most fans. The band’s belief in their manager’s vision was so strong, Cain adds, that they all put “seed money” into what became Nocturne Productions.
Industry veteran John Lobel, now retired, worked at Nocturne with Herbert from 1980 to 1990 before joining Light & Sound Design. Speaking from his home in Los Angeles, he told PLSN, “Herbie decided to bring everything in-house, except for audio. Herbert’s overall umbrella company for Journey was Nightmare Productions. Nightlights was the lighting division. Eventually it just became Nocturne, which was Journey’s production company for lighting and video. Everything had a ‘night’ theme. Herbie and the band started it and were the original owners. Eventually the others got out of Nocturne and it was just Herbie and Neal Schon. When Pat Morrow got off the road — as Journey’s road manager and an instrumental part of the way Herbie took care of the radio and record people — he managed Nocturne. Ken Mednick, then Valdis Dauksts and I managed the lighting division. John Draper — a brilliant, funny, great guy, recently and sadly departed — managed the video department. When John left to go back to being a road manager for Michael Jackson and Madonna, then the wonderful Monica Caston took that over. Herbie did some amazing things while managing Journey. He created several empires including Nocturne and his personal holdings.”
In 1980, Nightlights and Nocturne did their first tour, Lobel says. “We had explosive growth because we did a really good job, and in five or six years, we went from doing one band to doing lots of bands and big tours with Michael Jackson, Peter Gabriel and U2. We had a customized service. It was pretty amazing. All these artists would come see our shows, we’d talk to them and a year later we’d be doing their lights. I have to credit Herbie with the vision, but Pat Morrow was a huge part of that.”
Lobel points out that Herbert, the entrepreneur, “didn’t get credit” for a number of business innovations that changed the industry. For example, one of Herbert’s big ideas was to customize merchandise. “It was either 1980 or 81 when we were opening for The Rolling Stones,” Lobel explains. “The Stones had one or two generic T-shirts for the whole tour. Journey had four or five, including custom artwork for it with the Journey logo and a recognizable landmark from the city with dates of the show and name of the venue. People would buy a generic Stones T-shirt, but would then buy three or four Journey shirts — a generic one and one from that show — and it was innovative. Herbie made the band and himself a load of money.”
Along the way, Herbert’s management arm extended to the Steve Miller band, Mr. Big and Enuff Z’Nuff. He also co-managed the bands Europe and Roxette. After 20 years with Journey, Herbert and the band went separate ways in 1993, and he pursued his own musical career, calling himself the artist/musician Sy Klopps. According to his website, his adopted moniker was borne from a series of his joking phone calls to booking agents about a fictional “reclusive prodigy musician” with this name. He recorded a few albums as the musician Sy Klopps with his bands the Trichromes (which included Schon and The Grateful Dead’s Bill Kreutzmann, among others) and in his own Sy Klopps Band, and his customized in-house recording studio became a magnet for musicians far beyond the Bay Area.
As Sy Klopps, Herbert soon found his way onto the legendary psychedelic posters as an opening act for bands at Bill Graham’s Fillmore in San Francisco. He also opened for Etta James at the House of Blues, as well as for The Allman Brothers, Tower of Power, The Doobie Brothers and others. In 2014, he released a series of live recordings from 2002 on the CD, “Roadhouse.” After that, he retired and was “enjoying his digs in Mendocino County,” he wrote on his website.
On a poignant note, Herbert passed away on the same day as Bill Graham, who was killed in a helicopter crash in 1991. Dell Furano, another innovator in concert merchandising who teamed up with Bill Graham to co-found Winterland Productions, died recently on Sept. 4.
Memorial services have not been announced. Meanwhile, an outpouring of sentiment from the industry pays tribute to the man who was a friend to many.
John Procaccini, a former tour manager and now executive vice president of Base Hologram, told PLSN, “Herbie really gave me support when I started Stage Craft. He literally got us going with Steve Miller, Michael Bolton and MC Hammer. He was a hands-on music exec. He intimately knew his staff, from record company C Suite [top level] execs to tour truck drivers! [He was] A prince of a man!”
Retired lighting designer Jonathan Smeeton posted on Facebook: “Herbie was a big part of my career. He was instrumental in connecting me with the right engineering people for the Peter Gabriel ‘So’ Tour 1986-88. And of course for hiring me for the Journey ‘Raised on Radio Tour’ 1986. Always enjoyed his company. He’ll certainly be missed by me.”
Dale Doucette, a retired lighting designer/production manager, also expressed his thoughts about the industry icon on Facebook: “He had a great eye for surrounding himself with talented people and welcomed all of us into his fold with a handshake and a smile. Some of my best years were spent working for Nocturne Lighting out of San Francisco. He had assembled an amazing cast of human beings to work there and I am thankful for every one of them and every minute of it and I am forever thankful for the opportunities given to me through this man. Rest In Peace, Herbie. Walter ‘Herbie’ Herbert. You changed the industry and my life.”
Todd LePere, sales director of Nighthawk Video LLC (formerly Nocturne) sent in this remembrance of Herbie: “Herbie’s vision for projecting live music at night and his passion for greatness is what made Nocturne such a special home for many. I feel incredibly fortunate to have been able to call Herbie my mentor and friend. He was always available for advice, industry updates, and best of all his old road stories. I feel so honored to be a part of his legacy and continue his vision for the future.”
Bob Brigham, managing partner of Nighthawk and Nocturne founder, sent in his thoughts: “Ron Proesel, Paul Becher, and I were honored to be partners in Nocturne Productions with Herbie and Neal Schon. Herbie was such a huge part of the success and the legacy that created Nocturne. Throughout the years we sought his advice and counsel many, many times. I spoke with him three weeks ago and he was thrilled that all the key people from Nocturne had moved on to start Nighthawk Video. He lit up over the phone as he looked at pictures from The Rolling Stones, Eagles, and KISS tours. To say he’ll be missed is beyond an understatement. A day has not passed we don’t think about him and tell Herbie stories. We were so lucky to have him in our lives along with his wonderful wife Maya and their two girls.”
“Herbie” Herbert is survived by his wife Maya, daughters Seaya and Katherine, brother Robert and sister Katherine.
