Illinois Museum Brings Iconic Rock-afire Explosion Band Back to Life

A retro band just showed up at the Volo Museum in Volo, Illinois and all eyes are on the performers who once inhabited Showbiz Pizza. 

Way back when in the 1980s, a band debuted at Showbiz Pizza Place restaurants. Billy Bob Brockali, Looney Bird, Dook LaRue, Fatz Geronimo, Beach Bear, Mitzi Mozzarella, Rolfe DeWolfe and Earl Schmerle, collectively called The Rock-afire Explosion.

The animatronic band was considered a pioneer in animatronics and eventually when Showbiz Pizza rebranded to Chuck E. Cheese, the original Rock-afire Explosion group was disbanded and turned into other mouse-ier characters.

You might think that means the Rock-afire Explosion was gone forever, but you'd be wrong.

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Not only are there a handful of working Rock-afire Explosions all over the country, but one of them is not that far away, at the Volo Musem in Volo, Illinois.

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While the Volo Museum has had these animatronic pieces for a few years, they've never played for the public.

But that will all change on June 1, when the Rock-afire Explosion makes its debut at the Volo Musem.

Good Day Stateline had a chance to go behind the scenes at the Volo Museum with Marketing Director, Jim Wojdyla to learn all about the original Rock-afire Explosion characters and why they're so popular again today.

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