Showco Archives

06/05/2026

THEY'RE HOME. 🔊

Yesterday's "maybe" turned into a successful Showco rescue mission.

Showco alum Mike "Funk" Ponczek and I met up with Carol Luker to pick up two original Showco Pyramid 900 speakers and a Showco S-2500 mixer/preamp that had been sitting untouched since the passing of her brother, Philip Luker, in February 2025.

Philip Luker was the longtime DJ at Fort Worth's legendary I Gotcha nightclub, a well-known Texas music venue during the 1970s and 1980s. The Pyramid 900 speakers and Showco S-2500 mixer came directly from the club and remained with Philip for decades. Rather than ending up in storage or being discarded, they stayed exactly where they belonged—still hooked up in his home. More than a year later, the speakers, mixer, manuals, and schematics were still together, preserved by his sister Carol.

The original plan was simple: go look at them.

The reality? Two Pyramid 900s, a mixer, a dolly, and a lot of creative loading. Thankfully Showco alum Tommye Lutz, who happened to live nearby, came over to lend a hand with the loading because there is absolutely no way Funk and I were getting these beasts into his Honda CR-V by ourselves. Somehow, against all odds, both speakers fit, while the monitor and dolly had to ride separately.

After the successful loading operation, we headed over to Tommye's and got a glimpse into her own Showco history—platinum records, autographs, stories, and memories from the road that reminded me yet again why preserving this history matters. Many of you also know Tommye from her volunteer work helping me with the Showco swag shop and archive projects behind the scenes.

One thing that means a great deal to me is that Carol could have sold these pieces to any number of collectors. Instead, she wanted them to stay within the Showco family. For that, I'm incredibly grateful.

And for the gear nerds, you'll appreciate this: one of the Pyramid 900 cabinets carries serial number 0010, while the accompanying Showco S-2500 mixer appears to be serial number 0087.

Now comes the big question...

🔹 Restore and preserve them for the archives?
🔹 Save them for a future museum or Rock Hall display?
🔹 Include them in a future Collector Vault auction?
🔹 Convert them into furniture? (Don't panic, just asking! 😆)
🔹 Put them back to work in a club?

For now, I'm simply grateful these pieces found their way home.

And if Carol is right, they may still work. I guess there's only one way to find out. 🔊😄

Stay tuned. I still have manuals, schematics, serial numbers, and more documentation to upload to the archive.

Special thanks to Carol Luker for preserving these pieces, Mike "Funk" Ponczek for helping transport them, and Tommye Lutz for jumping in when extra muscle was needed.

06/04/2026

Another archive adventure is underway.

More than a year ago, someone reached out asking if I — or anyone in the Showco family — might be interested in some vintage Showco equipment that had spent decades in a Fort Worth-area dance club. We never managed to connect, and I assumed the opportunity had passed.

Then another email arrived.

The equipment was still there.

Today, Showco alumni Mike "Funk" Ponczek, Tommye, and I are heading out to see it in person. What began as a lead on a pair of Showco speaker cabinets has grown into something even more interesting: a Showco S-2500 Disco Mixer, what appears to be a vintage lighting controller, and two original Showco Manufacturing manuals.

The equipment belonged to the owner's brother, who worked as a DJ at a Fort Worth-area dance club. At this point, we're not entirely sure how he acquired it. He may have purchased it directly when Showco Manufacturing was marketing sound systems to clubs and discotheques, or he may have acquired it through one of the famous Showco garage sales where surplus equipment occasionally found a second life.

Either way, these pieces appear to have survived together for decades — a rare glimpse into a lesser-known chapter of Showco history beyond the touring world.

The speaker cabinets appear to match period Showco Manufacturing advertisements from the disco era, when Showco took the expertise that powered some of the biggest concert tours in the world and adapted it for clubs, discotheques, and permanent installations.

Will it still power up?

What exactly is the lighting board?

How much of this system has survived?

And what stories are attached to it?

We're about to find out.

Stay tuned.

06/04/2026

A Showco In The Wild moment.

Watching the latest "Inside the Videos" episode from the Clark family, I spotted a Showco shirt in the video. It was gifted by Showco alum Johnny "JW" Roberts. Thanks JW!

It's always fun to see the Showco logo pop up in unexpected places. The Clark family does a great job celebrating music history, so be sure to check them out.

Seen a Showco shirt out in the wild? Send me a photo—you might make the Showco Wall of Fame.

06/04/2026

Every once in awhile, something arrives that stops me in my tracks.

Recently, I was sent a collection of Led Zeppelin photographs — including several images showing my father, Donnie “DK” Kretzschmar, at work during the touring years. While the images themselves may not be unseen, they were completely new to me and my family.

My father was a longtime Showco engineer who worked monitor sound for Led Zeppelin, so seeing moments like these surface decades later carries an emotional weight that’s difficult to describe.

What makes contributions like this so meaningful is that they continue to surface from personal collections, forgotten slides, and boxes tucked away for years. Every image helps preserve not just the artists and productions, but the crew members and backstage families who helped build live concert history.

These photographs capture a side of touring rarely documented publicly: the people behind the scenes doing the work night after night.

Special thanks to John Huntington for sharing these incredible images and allowing them to be preserved as part of the Showco Archives.

Additional Zeppelin history and archival material can be viewed at: https://www.showcoarchives.com/led-zeppelin-1975-1979?rq=Led%20Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin News Led Zeppelin

06/03/2026

Some days at the archives feel more like detective work than preservation work.

Yesterday, Showco alum Doc Gans stopped by to help search for a “missing” Jackson Browne itinerary that a fellow follower/page had been asking about. Turns out… we HAD it all along — it just wasn’t filed under *Running on Empty*, which is why it escaped me.

And while digging, we uncovered something even more unexpected:
a rare proposed James Taylor tour itinerary for a tour that apparently never happened.

That’s the strange magic of archival work. Sometimes you go looking for one piece of history and uncover another entirely.

We also spent the day sorting through more backstage ephemera, itineraries, paperwork, and forgotten fragments of touring history that will eventually be added to the archive and Collector Vault.

Oh… and somewhere between my morning walk and archive work, I crossed paths with a snake. Because apparently the universe felt the day needed one more plot twist.

Just another day preserving “The Family Behind the Music.”

Jackson Browne James Taylor Leland Sklar Leland Sklar - Bassist Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

06/03/2026

06/03/2026

SHOWCO IN THE WILD

Follower JoeBaby Michaels recently shared this great photo with Denny Laine at Tipitina’s in New Orleans around 10 years ago — sporting a vintage "Wings Over America" Showco shirt.

Joe mentioned that while he never officially worked for Showco, legendary Showco alum Buford Jones was always one of his heroes. He had known Denny dating back to the Moody Blues days, and his wife captured this moment backstage.

These kinds of connections and stories are exactly what the Showco Archives are about — preserving not just the technology and tours, but the people and friendships behind them.

Especially meaningful to share while the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is currently honoring Wings and Denny Laine's legacy in its latest exhibit.

To see more "Showco in the Wild" moments, visit:
https://www.showcoarchives.com/showco-in-the-wild

Have your own Showco shirt photo or memory? Send it in. We'd love to add it to the Showco Archives "Wall of Fame."

Special thanks to Joe for sharing this piece of music history.


Paul McCartney Denny Laine JoeBaby Michaels Paul Mccartney and the wings

06/02/2026

Sometimes the best archival finds begin with a simple question:
“What exactly are these?”

Recently, I revisited an older correspondence thread regarding a group of surviving 2K axial lekos housed in original Showco road cases still bearing faded Dallas markings and stenciling.

According to recollections from several longtime touring veterans, the fixtures are believed to have been used during Genesis’ ambitious 1977/78 “Mirror Tour” — an experimental lighting concept utilizing motorized mirrors suspended above the stage to reflect beams back down onto the performers.

The fixtures reportedly proved not quite powerful enough for the effect and were later replaced with carbon arc Super Troupers, but the story behind them represents an incredible period of experimentation in live production history — one that would eventually help pave the way toward later innovations like Vari-Lite.

The surviving road cases and fixtures have now been added to the Showco Archives as part of preserving the overlooked engineering and backstage history behind live music production.

Special thanks to Jim Laws for sharing the photographs and email thread and helping preserve this history.

See additional images, artifacts & Genesis history:
https://www.showcoarchives.com/genesis-1975-1979


Genesis Genesis Fans Museum Genesis News Com Genesis FAN Group Vari-Lite Jim Laws

06/02/2026

Important to remember that behind every groundbreaking piece of technology were actual people — many of whom rarely received the public recognition they deserved.

Great to see more conversation surrounding the intertwined history of Showco and Vari-Lite, though it’s equally important to remember the innovators and alumni who helped make it all possible in the first place — including Showco/Vari-Lite pioneer Jim Bornhorst, whose contributions were instrumental in helping shape the revolutionary VL systems that changed live entertainment lighting forever.

Also meaningful to spot a couple familiar faces from the Showco family within the historical imagery shared here — the late ML Procise and alumnus Thom Hansen.

The technology was revolutionary. The people behind it were too.

That history — and the families behind the music — continue to be preserved through Showco Archives.

06/02/2026