Come for the pizza, stay for the fun
By Lindsey Rivait
Arts Editor
November 18, 2009
 When you dream something, you dream if for a reason, and even if that dream includes owning your own animatronic pizza place band, that dream is yours.
Enter Chris Thrash, a 33-year-old disc-jockey from Phenix City, AL, who liked the Rock-afire Explosion at Showbiz Pizza Place so much that he saved up until he could buy one of his very own. Now Thrash is the topic of a new documentary, The Rock-afire Explosion.
In 2008, Thrash began programming his own shows and posting videos to YouTube of the Rock-afire Explosion performing more modern songs. These unique videos caught the attention of over a million viewers, one of them being Brad Thomason, writer and editor of The Rock-afire Explosion.
The performance in question was the Rock-afire’s rendition of Bubba Sparxxx’s “Ms. New Booty.” While Thomason says he hadn’t seen the Rock-afire Explosion since he was a kid and didn’t remember much about it, he phoned Brett Whitcomb, producer, director, and editor for the film, and the pair decided to make a documentary about it.
The documentary epitomizes what it was like for a kid to go to Showbiz—the food, the games, and most intriguingly, the sophisticated animatronics band that put on full shows, moving, singing, and playing their own instruments.
Besides following Thrash, the documentary gives an overview of what happened to Showbiz.
Aaron Fechter, of Creative Engineering Inc., is the man responsible for the Rock-afire Explosion and for animatronics as we know it.
His Rock-afire Explosion played in Showbiz from 1980-1991, performing medleys of rock, pop, and country, in addition to their own original material.
In 1984, Showbiz bought Chuck E. Cheese’s when it declared bankruptcy. Over the following years, the two restaurants operated as separate entities and after many disagreements with Creative Engineering it was decided to begin “Concept Unification,” which meant all Rock-afire items were torn down and replaced with Chuck E. Cheese’s.
The documentary has been screened all over the U.S., which is one of the duo’s favourite elements about promoting the film. Whitcomb enjoyed a recent screening in Los Angeles that had a re-creation of Showbiz, complete with pizza and games.
 “Those are the kinds of screenings that we love to go to, to watch people’s reactions and hear them cheering or clapping because they remembered something or they saw something they hadn’t seen in years. That, for me, is the most rewarding,” Whitcomb explained.
The film has been well-received. Originally, only 3,000 DVDs were printed and they all sold out quickly. Not to worry though—a second printing, and T-shirts, will be available on their website soon.
Special features on the DVD include Fechter speaking about Whack-A-Mole, one of his early inventions he lost the rights to, as well as some of his test videos for products that never quite made it.
The DVD also includes additional footage of Thrash explaining the programming process, old Rock-afire videos, and “all sorts of weird, fun stuff,” promised Thomason.
Earlier this year, Thrash took his dream to the next level and with his wife Sandy, he opened Showbiz Pizza Zone in Phenix City, AL. The restaurant features games, rides, and, of course, the Rock-afire Explosion.
While Thomason and Whitcomb haven’t been able to make the journey to see Thrash’s Showbiz, they are looking forward to seeing it.
“I’ve seen pictures of it and YouTube clips, and it seems really awesome. Fechter has been there, and he says he loved it,” said Whitcomb.
Thomason and Whitcomb have seen Thrash’s live shows several times, though, which Thomason describes as “mind-blowing.”
“I hadn’t seen it since I was a kid, other than on YouTube, and when we walked into the room, it blew us all away. We had to stop a minute to take it all in because it’s so overwhelming. He has a pristine show. We probably didn’t see something with that sort of detail in that good condition even when we were young. It was just amazing,” said Thomason.
Currently, Thomason and Whitcomb are working on another documentary together, this time on female wrestling in the 80s—the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling.
“It had 7 million viewers at one point, but it was kind of campy, cheesy, and silly. It really had a big impact on all the women who participated in the show,” Thomason explained.
The documentary focuses on the women and one of the wrestlers in particular who bought the brand and is attempting to bring it back.
They’re hopeful the film will be released in a little under a year.
“We’d love to make a film a year and move on to some narrative stuff, but we have some really cool documentary ideas,” said Whitcomb.
While both documentaries are rich in nostalgia, the pair explains they don’t want to focus solely on that niche.
“These two films just kind of fell into our laps and we wanted to run with them,” Thomason explained.
The subject matter in each is also presented in different ways. The Rock-afire film is nostalgic and the Wrestling film introspective.
“The Rock-afire was more of a psychological film in that it dealt with people’s individual desires to hold onto childhood. The Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling documentary is more social because it deals more with media culture, and particularly women, and what it takes to make it in Hollywood,” Thomason continued.
The larger message of the Rock-afire documentary, of course, is to reach for those dreams, no matter what they are.
As Thrash says, “If there’s something you dreamed that you wanted to do when you were a kid, then do it. You dreamed it for a reason. I dreamed to have this and I have it. Some people like it, some people don’t. But, I don’t care. It’s mine.”
While it may seem silly to some, Thomason and Whitcomb present us with a touching and heartwarming story.
Only one set of the Rock-afire Explosion remain at Creative Engineering, and for $145,000 USD, your dreams could come true, too.
Check out The Rock-afire Explosion online at www.rockafiremovie.com.
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