Chuck Conrad | Early Showco Employee | Electronics Engineer | R&D Manager

Chuck Conrad was one of Showco’s earliest employees, joining the company part-time in late 1970 and becoming a full-time employee in 1971. At the time, daily operations were run from Jack Maxson’s home and two-car garage on West Beverly Drive in Dallas, while the company offices were located at 2800 Routh Street in the Quadrangle.

Because Chuck was skilled at repairing electronics, he established a workshop in the unused maid’s quarters of Jack’s home—and there was no shortage of equipment needing his attention.

THE SHOWCO “YELLOW MIXER”

One of Chuck’s first major projects was determining why Showco’s sound systems regularly destroyed expensive JBL high-frequency drivers. He discovered that the gain structure throughout the system was badly out of balance, causing severe clipping at concert volume.

Another problem was the company’s use of Grommes-Precision tube mixers. Although relatively affordable, the mixers overloaded easily, lacked equalization on individual channels and offered no way to create a separate mix for the stage monitors. They were also poorly suited to the demands of live rock and roll—and to being transported daily in a rough-riding truck.

Rusty Brutsche and Jack Maxson asked Chuck to design and build a proprietary replacement that could cost no more than the $169 Grommes mixer.

The result was the Showco “Yellow Mixer,” which became the company standard for several years. Its solid-state, modular design allowed individual components to be replaced quickly in the rare event of a failure. It also featured bass and treble controls on each input, a separate monitor send and the ability to handle the extreme volume levels demanded by Showco’s rock-and-roll clients.

Decades later, one of Chuck’s creations found its way back to him through the Showco Archives. After a follower contacted Indigo and donated a 1977 Showco Yellow Mixer to the Archives, Indigo passed the historic console on to Chuck for preservation and display at the Texas Broadcast Museum. The mixer now helps tell the story of Chuck’s pioneering work and Showco’s early contributions to concert sound.

Life on the Road

Chuck spent considerable time touring and working shows for artists including:

• Rare Earth

• The Doobie Brothers

• Three Dog Night

• Alice Cooper

• James Taylor

• Arlo Guthrie

• Cat Stevens

His time on the road allowed him to learn firsthand what artists and crews needed while identifying new ways to improve Showco’s sound systems.

Research and Development

As Showco’s R&D manager, Chuck began developing a concept for a more efficient mobile concert sound system built around compact, easy-to-deploy, self-powered full-range speakers. This was a significant departure from the large bass bins and separate mid- and high-frequency horns commonly used at the time.

Showco’s owners remained committed to the visual impact and high sound-pressure levels of the company’s existing systems. Believing strongly in the future of compact, arrayable, self-powered loudspeakers, Chuck eventually left Showco and founded Crossroads Audio with his wife, Diane, and Jim Fitzgerald.

In 2000, Crossroads Audio was purchased by former Showco employees Robin Magruder, Ed Spoto and Stewart Bennett.

Radio and the Texas Broadcast Museum

After the sale of Crossroads Audio, Chuck moved to East Texas. Finding retirement a little too quiet—and the local radio offerings less than inspiring—he started his own station. That venture eventually grew into three stations serving the Tyler–Longview market: KZQX, KDOK and KYZS.

Over the years, Chuck also amassed an extensive collection of vintage radio and television broadcast equipment, recording equipment, microphones, early radios and televisions, and sound-reinforcement gear. He later partnered with local friends to establish the Texas Broadcast Museum in Kilgore.

The museum has grown into one of the largest institutions of its kind and a major attraction for the City of Kilgore. Showco is represented by the “Super Board A,” displayed and operated when the museum is open, as well as the 1977 Yellow Mixer donated through the Showco Archives.

The museum also houses the surviving remains of another of Chuck’s creations: the “Jack Maxson Console,” built for Three Dog Night. Restoration remains in progress, with plans to place the completed console on exhibit.