The Rock-afire Explosion (Here We Go Again!)

The Rock-afire Explosion is an animatronic character band that appeared in ShowBiz restaurants from 1980 to 1988, and at Rock-afire restaurants since 1986. The band's characters are various anthropomorphized animals, including a brown bear, a grey wolf and a silverback gorilla. They perform medleys of classic rock, pop, and country music, as well as original compositions and comedic skits.
CEI was founded by inventor Aaron Fechter, who oversees production of the animatronics and provides several of the characters' voices. When Rock-afire was launched and ShowBiz Pizza rebranded in the mid 1980s, the band was replaced by Leo Lyons and the Rockin' Farm at all ShowBiz locations.
The show was pioneering, in many respects, to other animatronics shows of the early 1980s. The life-sized characters were capable of facial expression, and some could even play simple melodies on musical instruments. At the end of the show's tenure at ShowBiz, marketing director Jul Kamen credited Rock-afire with being largely responsible for ShowBiz's success. The Rock-afire Explosion received an animated series, The Rock-afire Explosion Show (1995-1998), and three films released in 2005, 2008, and 2023.
==Technical specifications==
The Rock-afire Explosion uses four recorded tracks, two for audio and two for data. The data tracks are encoded using Biphase mark code produced during the programming process by two computers. Originally, the circuitry of the RAE was purchased by Creative Engineering from Superscope, the makers of Pianocorder. As technology evolved and ShowBiz became more involved in programming, they switched to a new programming system, APS (Animation Programming System), designed by Dave Philipsen, that replaced the aging Songcode inherited from CEC, though the original programming system continued to be used for Rock-afire.
Since 2002, Rock-afire Explosion shows are programmed with the CLAPS (CEI Lifelike Animation Programming System) software and controlled by the CLAPbox, both created by CEI and seeing regular updates over the years. Both are also available for programming other animatronic shows.
== Production ==
Production of the show's programming and audio is done in-house by Creative Engineering, Inc. in Orlando, Florida. Almost all Rock-afire shows are produced completely in-house, with Creative employees not only manufacturing the characters, but also writing and performing their songs and skits.
Unlike other animatronic shows of the early 1980s, the Rock-afire Explosion is life-sized, with most of the performers about the size of an average adult human. Creative also implemented latex masks for the characters' faces, as opposed to the rubber and Styrofoam masks common in other animatronics. The latex masks fit over movable parts on the characters' faces, permitting a range of facial expressions, including smiling and the raising of eyebrows. Creative also implemented computer programming that permitted some of the characters to move in rhythm with music.
=== Band members ===
* Billy Bob Brockali – Bass / Vocals. A brown bear from Tennessee who wears yellow and red overalls and plays a wooden bass. He was the mascot for ShowBiz Pizza Place throughout the 1980s and is currently Rock-afire's mascot, and his image is on most of both chains' merchandise. Preceded by Billy Wilbur from the Hard Luck Bears and Bear Country Jubilee. Sweet and naive, Billy Bob is usually a mediator to the band's minor on-stage squabbles. Voiced by Aaron Fechter (1980-present), an unidentified voice actor (1986-1988), and Bob West (1987 demo).
* Looney Bird – Vocals. Looney Bird shares Billy Bob's stage, as they are close friends. His head is the only thing ever seen, the rest of him hiding in an oil drum. Some shows feature a segment where Looney Bird would answer fan mail. For this, the robot is retrofitted to include a pair of hands that hold a piece of paper for him to read. Looney Bird was originally portrayed as having the personality of an alcoholic and frequently huffed gas to calm himself down. In the mid-1980s his personality underwent a drastic change and he would be portrayed as an inventor and scientific genius. Preceded by Gooney Bird from the Hard Luck Bears and Bear Country Jubilee. Voiced by Aaron Fechter (1980-present) and Frank Gaughan (1986-1988)
* Dook LaRue – Drums / Vocals. A mongrel who aspires space travel and wears a space themed suit. Slightly dimwitted, Dook would often lose focus during shows and miss his cues. Preceded by Dingo Starr from the Wolf Pack Five. Voiced by Duke Chauppetta (1980-present) and an unidentified voice actor (1986-1988)
* Fatz Geronimo – Keyboards / Vocals. A silverback gorilla. He is a parody of real-life entertainers Fats Domino and Ray Charles. Unofficial band front man, Fatz had a tendency to ramble. He has introduced the most shows and orders other band members around, leading him and Rolfe DeWolfe into many arguments. Preceded by Fats Gorilla from the Wolf Pack Five. Voiced by Burt Wilson (1980-2023), Mark Brink (1986-1988), and Shooter Jennings (2024-present)
* Beach Bear – Guitar / Vocals. A polar bear with a laid-back attitude and a smooth singing voice. He is wise and somewhat sarcastic. Beach Bear was carried over from the Wolf Pack Five. Voiced by Aaron Fechter (1978-1982), Rick Bailey (1982-present), and an unidentified voice actor (1986-1988)
* Mitzi Mozzarella – Vocals. Mitzi is a mouse and a former cheerleader. Mitzi is considered "loose" by the rest of the Rock-afire Explosion, and as a teenager was obsessed with gossip, boyfriends, pop music, and (appropriate for the time) Michael Jackson. She is the only character in the group to age, turning 17 at midnight in the New Years '88 showtape. In 1989, her outfit and hairstyle were changed to reflect the character aging, and her pom-poms were removed; Mitzi's cheerleading uniform and pom-poms were repurposed as framed decor in Rock-afire locations. Preceded by Queenie Fox and Mini Mozzarella from the Wolf Pack Five. Voiced by Aaron Fechter (1980-1982), Monique Danielle (1982), Shalisa Sloan James (1982-present), Lorraine Denham (1986-1988), and Karlisa McKinney (1987 demo).
* Rolfe DeWolfe and Earl Schmerle – A ventriloquist/comedy act. Nominally a stand-up comedy act performed in between musical sets; Rolfe is a wolf, and Earl is his sentient ventriloquist puppet. Rolfe is portrayed as sarcastic and abrasive, with a tendency to be incredibly rude to both the band and the employees that work at ShowBiz and Rock-afire. He has a fondness for disco music, Kmart, and the works of Frank Sinatra. Earl is there to "set him straight" by calling his behaviors out, and by turning Rolfe into a joke. Rolfe was preceded by the Wolfman from the Wolf Pack Five, while Earl is an original character. Voiced by Aaron Fechter (Rolfe and Earl, 1980-present), Joe Conti (Rolfe, 1986-1988), and an unidentified voice actor (Earl, 1986-1988)
The show also has several smaller prop characters, many of which do not have speaking roles. These include an animated Sun and Moon (who provide background vocals from time to time), Antioch the birthday spider (who speaks in garbles), Choo-Choo the baby bear, who hides in a small tree stump in front of Dook's drums, and Birthday Bird, who sits on Billy Bob's guitar. On Dook's original stage, there was an owl that was just a prop, and did not move or speak. In 1983 and 1985, another character, Uncle Klunk, temporarily inhabited Rolfe and Earl's stage; the character was revived for Rock-afire in a separate room similar to Pizza Time Theatre's Cabaret. He was voiced by Jeff Howell (1983, 1986-present), an unidentified voice actor (1983), and Shawn Fernandez (1985). Santa Claus also inhabited the stage in late 1984, voiced by Burt Wilson.
== Later years at ShowBiz ==
ShowBiz Pizza Place was similar to (and competed with) Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre, another animatronic restaurant chain that was popular in the United States. In the mid-1980s, both venues began to suffer financial difficulties, partially due to the video game crash of 1983 and also due to both companies having opened more restaurants than they could afford to maintain. When Pizza Time Theatre filed for bankruptcy in 1984, ShowBiz bought the company, hoping that new talent and merchandising opportunities could save both companies.
By 1985, Richard M. Frank had joined the company as CEO and chairman. However, in the latter part of the decade, relations between Creative Engineering and ShowBiz began to sour. Aaron Fechter, the founder of Creative Engineering and creator of the Rock-afire Explosion, claimed that the fallout between his company and ShowBiz arose when ShowBiz asked him to sign away the licensing and copyrights to the Rock-afire Explosion, which would have allowed ShowBiz to cut production costs on the show, such as manufacture of future shows and royalty payments to Creative Engineering. Fechter refused, on the grounds that ShowBiz offered no monetary compensation for the rights.
ShowBiz retrofitted its Rock-afire Explosion shows into a new band, Leo Lyons and the Rockin' Farm, with Creative Presentations Inc., a now-defunct animatronic company based in Schaumburg, IL which already provided ShowBiz with new showtapes and replacement cosmetics for Rock-afire shows, designing the characters. The Pizza Time Players animatronics were later similarly changed.
== Rock-afire ==
In 1986, Fechter, after being given ownership of the remaining Rock-afire Explosion shows by ShowBiz, co-founded Rock-afire, which used the Rock-afire Explosion as its animatronic entertainment. The following year, CEI cut ties with ShowBiz and gave Rock-afire exclusive rights to The Rock-afire Explosion. In a twist of irony, Rock-afire would purchase the ShowBiz assets after parent company ShowBiz Entertainment declared bankruptcy in 1998; many Rockin' Farm stage shows at former ShowBiz locations that utilized CEI animatronics were converted back into Rock-afire Explosion shows and upgraded.
== Media ==
=== Television series ===
Main article: The Rock-afire Explosion Show
The Rock-afire Explosion Show is an animated series produced by Creative Studios and Nelvana Limited that aired on Fox Kids from September 9, 1995 to November 21, 1998. The band's voice actors reprised their respective roles, and Creative Engineering provided the music.
=== Films ===
To date, three films starring The Rock-afire Explosion have been released. The first, The Rock-afire Explosion Movie, was released in theaters on February 18, 2005. A sequel, The Rock-afire Explosion: Dawn of The Bears, released on June 20, 2008. The third film, The Rock-afire Explosion: World Tour, premiered on Netflix on June 16, 2023.
=== Video games ===
Category:Here We Go Again!