The Rock-afire Explosion Documentary

or.... "Does Anyone Remember This From Before It Was Chuck E. Cheese?"

While browsing on RetroJunk.com, I read an article that mentioned the great birthday places of our youth. Places like McDonald's, Chuck. E. Cheese and Pizza Hut (Oddly enough, Burger King isn't mentioned). But while reading I started to remember the terrifying animatronic show of Showbiz Pizza that was/is...

I only went there maybe twice a year if I was lucky, and half the time the robots were broken and a disembodied voice would speak to the others. The one thing I primarily remember about this show was that it scared the bejeesus out of me. The creepy anthropomorphic robots on stage that sang daily, and specially for kids on their birthdays, would be the things I avoided to the point that I would leave if they tried to sing Happy Birthday to me.

Because THIS ISN'T NATURAL!

But I digress, majorly. After seeing the Rock-afire Explosion mentioned in the article above, I was curious if anyone else remembered this nightmare classic show from my childhood. A Google search quickly turned up something more than I expected:

It turns out that there is a documentary on this ole' band and it features a man from the city that's (literally) less than 5 miles from me: Chris Thrash from Phenix City. He's been so touched by them that he's bought and refurbished each member. More than likely he obtained the robots that performed in the Showbiz Pizza I went to as a kid here in Columbus. Its a small world after all. To the side of the video on the homepage is a tour date listed, which leads me to believe that he takes this band on the road for others to enjoy, and that is awesome.

Despite being a mental terror to me when I was young, I find it interesting that a documentary has been made about this. This is some hardcore geeky stuff, and I love it. I have yet to see it, but I want to. 

I also intend to make it known to people that this DVD exists, which is the purpose of this blog. And I hope I've done the job.

I'm no movie reviewer, in fact, on my other blog I've stated that I've stopped writing video game reviews due to lack of interest from the audience. But if I can get my hands on this documentary, rest assured I'll let you all know how it is. But don't wait to take my word for it, go buy it yourself and remember a piece of your childhood.