Creative Thinking
Impressed by the depth of EAW’s engineering capabilities and technology, Broderick signed on in 2006. At the time, there were several ideas in consideration as the company was setting its future technology direction, and it would coalesce a short time later at a remote conference involving key team members.
“We sat around a table and drafted up what we referred to then as ‘Brundle-Fly’,” he explains. “It was a crazy concept whereby we’d have a loudspeaker system that was self-powered, flown in straight vertical columns, and the directivity would be adjusted via DSP, something that EAW had already made ground on years earlier with the KF900 Series. Brundle-Fly was the original concept name because a fly’s eye is a large number of small segments that to a fly’s brain, forms a complete visual image.”
It ultimately led to what became Adaptive technology, with Broderick adding that the company intentionally took its time on the development to ensure the result “blew people out of their socks” when it was released in the Anya system, which turned out to be 2013. “That’s how many years of development this had underneath it’s belt, and no one breathed a word of it during development, so nobody saw it coming.”
Along the way, T.J. Smith eventually moved into the role of president/general manager of EAW. He and Broderick clicked immediately, and a short time later, Smith asked him to head up the tour sound effort, a role he’s approached with his traditional zeal.
His primary goal in business is to establish “organic human contact,” he says. “In our industry, people bust their asses to make shows happen, so whether or not they’re EAW customers, I respect them. I don’t choose friends based on whether they’re buying our gear. It’s about relationships and the transfer of information. I love the industry, the technology and audio.
“What scares me to death,” he continues, “is turning my back on somebody I assured I’d be there for – our base of touring people, who’ve chosen to invest in their future with EAW – and I’m not going to let them down.”
One of the biggest advantages to Adaptive technology, which is also now utilized in the smaller scale Anna system as well as Otto subwoofers, is its evolutionary nature. Incremental upgrades are a constant, but they come in the form of new versions of software and firmware rather than the need to replace or modify the existing loudspeakers.
As an example, Broderick cites recent advancements in Adaptive’s spatial EQ: “What’s been achieved is the ability to pinpoint physical locations in an audience area and EQ only that area – a certain section of an arena that’s in the path of one of the columns or has a weird anomaly. Using the software, we can pinpoint the start and end zone, and then apply EQ only in that area. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Constant Activity
Broderick cites his personal passions as a touchstone in developing business connections, and he has a wide variety of other interests as well. “I’m always working on audio when I’m home, messing around with speakers to come up with different concepts,” he says, but another interest is in rebuilding car parts and yet another is in modifying the 40-foot diesel RV he purchased for peanuts because it needed “a little work.”
He’s also still an avid motorcyclist, and one of his sons, Javelin, began dirt biking at age 8, but after wiping out on the wrong side of a 40-foot jump, he moved to track racing. It prompted Broderick to found ZAG Racing LLC, through which he represents Javelin as a professional racer.
“On the dirt track I could only watch him,” he adds. “But on the paved track, because I’m an experienced track rider, I followed him and he followed me, and soon he was riding circles around me on a bike one-fifth as big as mine. He’s a natural.”
Not all of his interests outside of audio are high octane; a more recent hobby is the restoration of antique watches. “My brain is on fire 24/7. I’m one of those people who can’t relax, who’s constantly curious about how things work, and I look at humans the same way – I want to know what makes people tick.”
That passion for figuring things out, and explaining them to others, resonates with both EAW’s clients and management alike.
“What many companies usually want you to do is to get in, make the sale, and get out. That’s the job,” he concludes. “However, we look at it as being more like the person who makes bread, but who spends most of his time explaining how to put peanut butter and jelly on the bread. That’s what we’re doing. Are you going to remember the person who sold you the loaf of bread and the jars of peanut butter and jelly, or the person who told you how to put them together, especially if it’s in a way you’d never thought of before?”