Spurred on by the memory of the dearly-departed from the Showco ranks, Chari Short, Robin Magruder, Gary Carnes and others in Dallas determined to arrange a gathering of Showco alumni. There was a place in the 70s and 80s close to their hearts lovingly referred to as the GACC (Greenville Avenue Country Club) where many a night you could find the boys “winding down” after coming off a grueling tour or just a long day at the shop. And it wasn’t just boys; Showco did have several loyal women in its group who would also join in the festivities. There was a swimming pool in its courtyard, which at one point was filled in, but it is once again open and the restaurant is now J Pepe’s.

When Chari and Robin first started talking about a gathering, other places were thrown in the hat to consider, but when Robin did a site visit to J Pepe’s in April and met with Jimmy the owner, it just seemed appropriate that the gathering should take place there. So they had a place; now they just needed a date. The communications started in March, and by checking calendars, the date of May 7 was determined as the best day to get a good turnout. Then the email list started growing until it numbered around 200.

The bonds that were formed within the Showco “family” were very strong, as was witnessed by attendees from as far away as Port au Prince, Haiti (Morris Lyda who was working on a job there). Many came from around the country, like Bill Thompson from Nashville, Kevin “Carl” Gilpatric from Sacramento, Debra Holland from L.A., Keny & Camilla Whitright from Colorado Springs, Bruce Schertz from Indianapolis, as well as Rich Mayne stopping by in the middle of a 2500-mile drive from Arizona to Illinois.

Still others came from various places in Texas. All in all, there were about 90 people including spouses and some young people and children. Tuaca shots were enjoyed in memory of those crazy nights long ago. There were old Showco T-shirts adorning the pool area, lots of photos were shared, and they even had Donnie Kretzschmar’s bent-up briefcase from the Lynyrd Skynyrd plane crash filled with lots of old passes and articles. Road stories were told, and there was lots of fun and laughter. Jimmy had the pool area sparkling; however, no one actually went in the pool. Does that mean everyone’s grown past that?!

It’s amazing the cornucopia of artists and tours all those people were associated with, starting in the early days with Jesus Christ Superstar; Led Zeppelin; Three Dog Night; Mountain; Blood, Sweat & Tears; Lee Michaels, Grand Funk Railroad; the Osmonds; Rare Earth; Cat Stevens; David Cassidy; Little Feat; The Band; Wishbone Ash; Genesis; Eric Clapton; Leon Russell; James Taylor; Linda Ronstadt; Carole King; Jackson Browne; the Kinks; the Commodores; Guess Who; Nazareth; Average White Band; Black Oak Arkansas; Thin Lizzy; Golden Earring; Robert Palmer; Moody Blues; Yoko Ono; REO Speedwagon; Ted Nugent; Uriah Heep; Willie Nelson; the Beach Boys; Lynyrd Skynyrd; Bad Company; Freddie King; Alice Cooper; Peter Gabriel; ZZ Top; the Bee Gees; Wings; all the way through more current tours like Paul McCartney solo; the Rolling Stones; David Bowie; the Who; Prince; Julian Lennon; Bob Seger; Diana Ross; Janet Jackson; Reba McEntire; Vince Gill; Alan Jackson; Clint Black; George Michael; INXS; Phil Collins; Mick Jagger solo; Boston; Santana; Bon Jovi; Guns ‘n Roses; Britney Spears; N Sync; Ozzy Osborne & Ozzfest; korn; Limp Bizkit and on and on. You get the picture…an impressive resume spanning three decades of musical history through the birth and pioneering of the touring industry.

Many of those in this multi-talented group were also involved in the birth of the technological marvel, automated lighting, along with many other countless innovations in all aspects of concert sound equipment and touring/road/production planning and organizational procedures. In the end, the real theme of this amazing group of people was their shared passion, giving their blood, sweat and tears as well as lots of laughter that made it all possible, forging the bonds that held them all together through these decades.

They hope to make this an annual event, and they’d like to spread the word to those who couldn’t be contacted in time for this one. Chari, Robin and Gary Carnes have requested that anyone who might not have been included but who worked at Showco at any time to send in your email address to: showco@bsranch.com. If you don’t have an email address, please drop a line to Chari at: 19828 County Road 324, Terrell, TX 75160. There will be lots of pictures and video posted to the website later on, so use that email address to stay in touch with the group.