Here We Go Again!

Throughout the 1980s, The Rock-afire Explosion had been used by ShowBiz Pizza Place as its animatronic entertainment. Behind the scenes, however, Rock-afire creator and Creative Engineering Inc. founder Aaron Fechter fought with ShowBiz corporate for control of the characters after said company merged with competitor Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre and rebranded to ShowBiz Pizza Time, Inc.; in 1985, ShowBiz and CEI came to an agreement, removing ShowBiz's exclusive rights to the Rock-afire and giving CEI full rights to all unused shows previously ordered by ShowBiz that were in storage. After contemplating selling the remaining shows to other customers, Fechter saw an opportunity to instead set up a competing FEC chain that would use the Rock-afire Explosion.
In June of that year, he met with Virginia-based ShowBiz franchisee Carmen Quayle (who herself had been dissatisfied with ShowBiz corporate's decisions) and began planning for the new business, which would be aimed at teenagers and young adults rather than children, and marketed as a "hip" alternative to ShowBiz and Chuck E. Cheese's. Like with ShowBiz, Rock-afire Explosion songs were sold via audiocassettes and vinyl records in prize counters under CEI's Creative Records label; decor consisted of memorabilia such as props, musical instruments, photos, vinyl records, and gold records, similarly to Hard Rock Cafe; dance floors and karaoke machines were added, while new birthday shows were recorded (replacing the original 1980 and 1982 shows) and an interactive Billy Bob was introduced similar to the one used by ShowBiz, this time using CEI's own technology. Uncle Klunk (a guest character who occasionally appeared in Rolfe and Earl's place in 1983 and 1985) was brought back as well, this time located in a separate room similar to the Cabaret stage in Pizza Time Theatre, labeled "The Uncle Klunk Abomination" after the character's segments. Fechter himself would own 20% of the new company (giving him voting rights on corporate decisions) and serve as its entertainment director, similarly to his position at ShowBiz before 1985.
The resulting business, Rock-afire, opened its doors on March 1, 1986 and became a major success, leading CEI to focus on creating new showtapes for Rock-afire over ShowBiz (which had started creating its own material without CEI's involvement, though they were not well-received). In September 1987, Fechter cut ties with ShowBiz and gave Rock-afire exclusive rights to The Rock-afire Explosion. ShowBiz rebranded its shows to a new band called Leo Lyons and the Rockin' Farm (which had been introduced in June that year), in which the characters were given new cosmetics and names: Billy Bob became Leo Lyons (voiced by Bob West), Looney Bird became Carrots T. Rabbitt (voiced by Frank Gaughan from 1987 to 1989, Scott Wilson from 1989 to 1993, and Earl Fisher from 1993 to 1998), Fatz became Elmer Beary (voiced by Mark Brink from 1987 to 1993 and Duncan Brannan from 1993 to 1998), Dook became Bobby Kattzon (voiced by Joe Conti from 1987 to 1991, Charles Stewart from 1991 to 1993, and Reggie Smith from 1993 to 1998), Beach Bear became Marty Cluckhorn (voiced by Lonny Wilder from 1987 to 1993 and Robert Gotcher from 1993 to 1998), Mitzi became Janice Vixen (voiced by Karlisa Burleson from 1987 to 1993 and Stephanie Nadolny from 1993 to 1998), Rolfe became Pearl Sheepish (voiced by Carol Farabee from 1987 to 1993 and Annagrey Wiechman from 1993 to 1998), and Earl became Frankie Foxx (voiced by Larry Moran from 1987 to 1993 and Duncan Brannan from 1993 to 1998). Creative Presentations, an animatronic company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, provided the retrofits and showtapes. Quayle's ShowBiz franchises were instead defranchised and converted into Rock-afire locations. Quayle later opened a second FEC chain, Moonrockers Pizza, in 1990, featuring another CEI animatronic band, The Moonrockers. Originally using redressed Rock-afire Explosion animatronics, The Moonrockers later switched to using custom-built animatronics based on the Rock-afire Explosion's technology.
In 1989, ShowBiz began the Concept Unification process, in which all Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza locations became ShowBiz Pizza locations (studies conducted internally had shown that children preferred the Rockin' Farm characters over the Pizza Time Players from Chuck E. Cheese's), with each Cyberamic show being converted into the Rockin' Farm; Pearl and Frankie were retrofitted from The King and moved to the showroom for consistency with the shows that were converted from The Rock-afire Explosion. Each location played a special showtape performed by the Cabaret acts that teased the replacement of the Pizza Time Players with the Rockin' Farm. This process was completed in late 1992 and ShowBiz Pizza Time rebranded to ShowBiz Entertainment in 1996.
Rock-afire gained a foothold in the family entertainment center business throughout the 1990s as ShowBiz declined (due to its contrived attempts at promoting itself as "hip", its material being seen as childish compared to the more cynical and mature Rock-afire Explosion, the continued use of increasingly outdated Cyberamics and first-generation Rock-afire Explosion animatronics, and the brand being dismissed by the public and Rock-afire advertisements as "kiddie" and "cheesy"). The Rockin' Farm characters were redesigned in 1991 by Jul Kamen, Shelly Atkins, and former CEI artist Dave Thomas to compete with Rock-afire, with each character looking younger and friendlier, as well as wearing more modern, sporty clothing (including Leo wearing a coach outfit, Carrots wearing a baseball cap and glove, Elmer wearing a football uniform, Bobby wearing a hockey uniform, Marty wearing a skateboarding outfit and sunglasses, Janice wearing a cheerleader outfit, Pearl wearing a rollerblading uniform and a ponytail, and Frankie wearing a basketball jersey); options for more healthy pizza toppings were also added to encourage healthy eating, followed by a remodeling program and an indoor playground (named SkyTubes) in 1995 to compete with the rising Discovery Zone. Sales never recovered, however, and many stores were unable to remodel due to declining revenue, with some even retaining pre-1986 ShowBiz Pizza Place signage.
ShowBiz Entertainment declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1998 and Rock-afire purchased its assets with Fechter's approval to avoid closing locations, as they were being spread too thin from rapid expansion; many remaining ShowBiz locations were shut down with their assets sold off (including animatronics, games, SkyTubes, equipment, decorations and even buildings), though some became Rock-afire locations (most Rockin' Farm shows in those locations using CEI animatronics were converted back into Rock-afire Explosion shows, while many Cyberamics were sold to other restaurants or theme parks and retrofitted with new cosmetics). Fechter received 20% of all profits from the assets being sold. The last ShowBiz shut down in October 1999 and was converted into a Rock-afire (all Rockin' Farm showtapes throughout 1999 consisted entirely of recycled material, as Quayle had gutted the ShowBiz entertainment department; the last new Rockin' Farm showtape was released in September 1998). Also in 1999, Rock-afire purchased thirteen locations of Discovery Zone, which had also declared bankruptcy. That year, CEI released The Mezmerizer for Rock-afire, while Carmen Quayle purchased the Washington Redskins NFL team, which was rebranded to the Washington Warriors in 2002. By 2000, Rock-afire had come out of its slump.
Rock-afire's success also rejuvenated Creative Engineering, which restarted work on second-generation versions of the Rock-afire Explosion characters in 1987 after development was paused due to ShowBiz's financial issues. These included a Dook animatronic with the ability to play a full set of drums, a Mitzi animatronic with updated hip and arm movements, along with a new outfit and hairstyle and lacking pom-poms (these changes were suggested by Quayle due to the character aging, and were also applied to first-generation animatronics starting in 1989; Mitzi's old cheerleading outfit and pom-poms were framed and repurposed as decor for Rock-afire locations), a Beach Bear animatronic that could stand up off his surfboard via hydraulics, and the other characters' animatronics with improved movements and the ability to tilt their heads. By 1995, all second-generation mechs had been completed.
In 1993, CEI formed an animation division, Creative Studios. Its first project was The Rock-afire Explosion Show, an animated series that was co-produced with Nelvana and aired on Fox Kids from 1995 to 1998, with the regular voice actors reprising their roles along with new characters being added. While it had decent ratings, it became a cult classic for its music, humorous, sometimes fourth-wall breaking and off-color writing, and squash-and-stretch animation inspired by Looney Tunes cartoons. Fox Kids refrained from airing any Rock-afire commercials during commercial breaks to satisfy FCC regulations, though the show still brought more attention to Rock-afire.
Rock-afire saw continued success throughout the 2000s and 2010s, continuing to expand into other countries such as Saudi Arabia. In 2003, third-generation Rock-afire shows began development, with all characters having further animation upgrades, as well as Fatz's animatronic having the ability to actually play the piano; all characters received third-generation upgrades by 2012. 
In February 2005, a feature film titled The Rock-afire Explosion: The Movie was released, produced by Creative Studios and Nelvana and distributed by Lionsgate Films, becoming a modest success. It received a sequel, The Rock-afire Explosion: Dawn of The Bears, released in June 2008, though it didn't do as well in the box office. Later in 2005, Quayle purchased the Washington Wizards (now Washington Justice) NBA team, the Washington Capitals NHL team, and the Washington Mystics WNBA team.
2011 saw the release of Gee, Our 2nd Album!, which featured various Rock-afire Explosion songs from the 2000s. In January 2016, a new arcade game called Bashy Bug was released by CEI, being used prominently at Rock-afire locations. 
In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, a third Rock-afire Explosion film (this time premiering on Netflix) titled The Rock-afire Explosion: World Tour began production, alongside a Rock-afire Explosion video game, The Rock-afire Explosion: Once Upon a Time. Both were released in 2023. Rock-afire itself adapted to the restrictions by temporarily shutting down arcade games and removing dance floors, as well as increasing its online presence. CEI started work on fourth-generation shows in October 2020, with the first animatronic expected to be completed by 2026. 
Carmen Quayle retired as CEO of Quayle Holdings in 2023, though she remains as Executive Chairwoman. Her elder daughter Alyson took her place as CEO of Quayle Holdings and Quayle Restaurants, while younger daughter Maggie was given control of Quayle Sports. After the death of Burt Wilson (Fatz's original voice actor) in December 2023, Fechter announced that musician Shooter Jennings would take over the role of Fatz. Jennings debuted in the role in the July 2024 showtape, after a special tribute showtape consisting entirely of prior Fatz material played from May to June. "Happy Birthday Medley" was rerecorded once again with Jennings voicing the character.
== List of pages ==
An asterisk (*) denotes a fictional element created for this timeline.
=== Companies ===
* Quayle Holdings*
=== Restaurants ===
* Rock-afire*
* ShowBiz
* Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza
=== Characters ===
* The Rock-afire Explosion
=== People ===
* Aaron Fechter
* Carmen Quayle*
* Alyson Quayle*
* Maggie Quayle*
=== Series ===
* The Rock-afire Explosion Show*
=== Other ===
* PQHJ Motorsports
* Washington Wizards
* Washington Mystics
* Washington Warriors
** Northwest Stadium
* Timeline
== Gallery ==
ACEP_Mitzi.png|A first-generation Mitzi animatronic wearing her updated outfit in a 1992 photo
HWGA Aaron and Bashy Bug IAAPA.jpg|Fechter next to a Bashy Bug cabinet at the 2015 IAAPA Expo
Leo and Carrots.jpg|Leo Lyons and Carrots T. Rabbitt
Elmer Beary.jpg|Elmer Beary
Bob Kattz.jpg|Bobby Kattzon
Mikey Roos.jpg|Marty Cluckhorn
Janice Vixen.jpg|Janice Vixen
Pearl and Frankie.jpg|Pearl Sheepish and Frankie Foxx
Quayle Caps logo.png|Washington Capitals logo
Washington Justice.png|Washington Justice logo
Washington Mystics logo modern.svg|Washington Mystics logo
Washington Sports Network.png|Washington Sports Network logo
Category:Here We Go Again!