The Rock-afire Explosion

The Rock-afire Explosion
Background information
Born	Orlando, Florida
Origin	Orlando, Florida, United States
Genres	Rock and roll pop country
Years active	1980–present
Spinoffs	New Rock-Afire Explosion
Website	engineeringcreative.com

The Rock-afire Explosion (RAE) is an animatronic character band designed and manufactured by Creative Engineering, Inc. (CEI) for use in ShowBiz Pizza Place restaurants in the 1980s and early 1990s. The band's characters were various anthropomorphized animals, including a brown bear, a grey wolf and a silverback gorilla.^[1] They performed medleys of classic rock, pop, and country music, as well as original compositions and comedic skits.^[2]

CEI was founded by inventor Aaron Fechter, who oversaw production of the animatronics and provided several of the characters' voices. Starting in 1989, the band was replaced by Chuck E. Cheese characters and renamed Munch's Make Believe Band following ShowBiz Pizza's decision to rebrand in the early 1990s.^[3] As relations with ShowBiz deteriorated, CEI began selling The Rock-afire Explosion to other restaurants and entertainment centers around the world, including Circus Pizza, Pistol Pete's Pizza, and Billy Bob's Wonderland.

The show was considered pioneering in the animatronic industry, featuring life-sized characters that were capable of advanced movement and facial expression. At the end of the show's tenure, former Chuck E. Cheese marketing director Jul Kamen credited Rock-afire with being largely responsible for ShowBiz’s early financial success.^[4]