The return of the 1980 Rock-afire Explosion Band

You may not be old enough to remember this innovative band that debuted in 1980 and broke-up twelve years later in 1992. It's the Rock-afire Explosion Band that debuted at the 1st Showbiz Pizza in Kansas City and broke-up when Showbiz Pizza was rebranded as Chuck E. Cheese's. Now, 26 years later, the animatronic band and its banjo-playing hillbilly bear, Billy Bob, have come out of retirement at the retro Rockafire Arcade Bar in Kansas City that opened May 24th. The 21-and-over bar features vintage arcade games and pinball machines from the ‘80s and ‘90s and claims to now have the only fully functioning Rock-afire Explosion band in the world. Owner James Bond believes the band will set Rockafire apart from the other four arcade bars that have opened in Kansas City.

Along with Billy Bob, the band includes Fatz Geronimo, the keyboard-playing silverback gorilla, Dook LaRue, a drumming dog in a space suit, Beach Bear, a guitar-playing polar bear; and Mitzi Mozzarella, a singing cheerleader mouse. Along with the band is Rolfe DeWolfe, a wolf comedian with a ventriloquist puppet named Earle Schemerle.

Here's a link to a good video showing the Rock-afire Explosion Band in action at its best - click here.