Lyndale James, Owner & Managing Director of Oaktreez Inc, is a multifaceted individual. He identifies as a family man—father and husband and all the other aspects mostly come under professional. He came into the spotlight first as a performer, being on stage as an actor and then transferred from theatre into production.
“It gave me a very unique view of things,” Lyndale went on to say as he elaborated on his journey. “I was actually able to tie in my educational experience with it. My first degree is in Business Computer Programming, so I.T and these things became a very strong part of me pushing forward the technical aspects of production. In all fairness a lot of people in the industry you go around with they’ll tell you, “oh we’re into entertainment but we’re not technical” so that aspect made me stand out automatically.”
Lyndale uses milestones to describe the scope of his entrepreneurship. “The element of getting into production from entertainment gives me a unique perspective on what performers need and what they look for and being able to see the voids in production. So, I started in theatre where I did a tour in Ireland, where I was involved in everything from the whole set build, setting lights and sound to actually performing. Then one of the biggest impacts would’ve been my addition to the BET Production team for St Lucia Jazz and that would span from around 1998-2014. I’ve worked with some of the biggest names in the industry. Some of these names can be the equivalent to Beyoncé in the music world, except this was production. And at that time, I didn’t even know that someone in the background – in production – could get a Grammy. One of the persons I work with, Derek Lewis, actually has a Grammy producing a live sound album for Yolanda Williams, a Gospel artist. My relationship with that crew exposed me to many international productions outside St Lucia and to this day we still work together on projects. Lyndale also talks about how much his company has grown. “The other milestone would be my company’s growth and recognition in the region. Now I consult on festivals in different territories and work internationally. At this point I think my company is identified as a festival or event production specialist. There’s also another aspect to it where I actually work on video and photo shoots for catalogs and international magazines. So, for things like Sports Illustrated SwimWear, where we’ve worked on high profile shoots like the one that was done in December 2019 with the US WorldCup Football team, my company handled that production. But it’s a lot, production of an event is where you put structure and order to what you want to do. Everything has to flow. It’s not the easiest thing and comes with stress, and getting to where I am took several years.
For Lyndale, theatre was the first step in his journey to becoming a successful event production manager. “I started off in Theatre, on stage and in the spotlight but my transition to production wasn’t because I had a hidden passion or anything. I’m very good at it. But my passion is just to be good at whatever I do. Giving 100% in everything. Producing was just a natural transition. When I went to events, one of the most interesting things for me was the changeover, from one band to another. That caught my attention so there became a natural attraction to that as that had a requirement for synchronisation and efficiency. You can just say you’re hiring someone for sound, or entertainers, or lights but there’s a necessity for these things to work well together. So, I took it up and I haven’t stopped since then.”
He mentions a few of the places that his work has taken him, namely Ireland, London, Queens, New York, Washington DC for Jazz and Trinidad and Tobago to name a few. “Part of that journey has also been impactful and when I worked with the (Windward & Leeward) Brewery, I handled a lot of their events which changed the landscape in St Lucia. Everything from “Heineken Green Synergy” to “Piton River Lime” and “Guinness Undisputed”—these are big events that actually use a lot of local talent. A lot of people might not recognise it, but it made a big dent in changing the dynamics of entertainment in the country.”And like any industry, there are certain obstacles we have to overcome to succeed. “I think when we work in the region there’s always the financial aspect of events. I think a lot of times entities don’t understand their value so without standards in the industry there’s no benchmark of what things should cost so everything is a negotiation per say. St Lucia has grown very quickly in recent years, but it will take a while to catch up in this industry. Some don’t view the creative industry as a business– and align the fact that people need to be able to make a living and get paid so that’s a huge issue. There is hope; I wouldn’t be in the industry if I didn’t expect it to get better, I know it will grow and get better.” And with his positive attitude about the growing industry, Lyndale says his focus and no-nonsense thinking is what made him stand out in the beginning. “There were things that I wouldn’t compromise on. In the past I would lose my voice at an event and people knew me for that. There’s a line in a post I made to Instagram that says, “not because someone knows what to do means they know what they’re doing”. I hit both those markers, I know what to do and I know what I’m doing. And my attention to detail is a rarity as people may consider it a waste in a society where mediocrity seems to have a firm grip on many”
Lyndale gets his inspiration from people he’s worked with, such as Derek Lewis of DALPro and a production company called Live Events. “I see achievements and I see things that I want to do but it’s not measured by other persons. I know the people who’ve opened gates for me and I’m grateful and humbled by the opportunities”
And while Lyndale is confident enough to admit he thinks he’s the best at what he does, staying inspired can be a challenge. “That is a difficult thing. I think that has changed. I have a natural drive for things that I can’t explain. If you want to be the best at something you have to keep going no matter what. I always believe that I have to set a platform for my children and I always believe in telling them if they’re interested in something immerse themselves in it. Don’t just look at your market as one thing or one place. If you want to do dance, don’t just look at St. Lucian dancers. You have to leave room for growth if you’re ever planning to grow. I must set the example. So that’s my inspiration, being the best and constantly growing”
For someone who’s so driven and compassionate, we wanted to know what was up next for Oaktreez. “I’m working with some international partners to create a training program for production assistants in the Windward Islands (Grenada, St. Vincent, St. Lucia and Dominica). So the next step is to actually develop that program called PAAST – Production Assistant Advanced Skills Training and work towards establishing a new occupational standard in the industry and region for this profession. The mindset behind it is that yes, you can go and be a sound engineer but my philosophy has always been that you have to develop a relationship and a network in the industry before you can grow yourself. So, there will be scholarships initially for interested youth in each of these territories and over the next year and a half I’ll be conducting training exercises there.” Which is his way of giving back. “I will also be taking my first step in producing my first festival with the Wellness Music Festival along with Lateralize (UK), September 2020 in St Lucia. I believe there is a wealth of opportunity as the industry grows. A lot of big entities actually understand the value of the creative industry and we should pay attention to it in its entirety and not just entertainment.”Lyndale James is striving to excel even more in the production industry and we wish him luck with his future endeavours with Oaktreez.
