The Rock-afire Explosion "Live"

If you have ever wondered what the people who did the voices for The Rock-afire Explosion looked like, here's your chance. A very cool clip showing just how talented the people behind the show were. Taken from the "1983 Colander Head Telethon" that was made for ShowBiz Pizza Place employees. Transferred to DVD from a Sony Betamax SLP-305 in 2002.

[@ninjanoh7014]

R.I.P. Burt “Sal” Wilson (the man behind the voice for Fatz)

[@Rock-a-fire-122]

RIP😭😭😭😭

[@ThomasAndTheTankRailway.I.N.C]

Yeah, I was actually looking at this video earlier in the day, the same day he passed. R.I.P.

[@sonicdrew]

@@ThomasAndTheTankRailway.I.N.C help You're everywhere

[@ThomasAndTheTankRailway.I.N.C]

@@sonicdrew Yes, yes I am.

[@MeatEatingVegan777]

Ohhh.....my goodness, beach bear's voice actor was HOT....and that voice.....*shivers*

[@Moxy_1984]

OKAY! Don't get creepy lol. I'm kidding XD

[@phlarbus7821]

ikr isnt Rick Bailey (voice actor of beachbear) awesome?! pus he is a hottie

[@RAVIOLl]

ERROR: #290384AC yass omg

[@princesspeachfan100]

I'm going more for Dook's voice actor, Dooke Chaupetta here!

[@princesspeachfan100]

@Showbiz Pizza Channel Beach Bear's voice actor? :) His name is Rick Bailey. XD

[@ScootsNBhistorybehindthegaming]

Dang, Shalisa had a crap ton of talent for her age. All of the members of the rock afire did. I hope they get a 'reboot' someday with the original cast. Pretty sure everyone is still alive.

[@ShowbizPizzaAndCec]

+SPP LP she did firework

[@heeyyyricky]

+SPP LP He isn't involved because Aaron promised him a lot of money to leave the band he was currently in (which was rising in popularity) but Burt only got half of that.

[@slon9120]

ScootsNB Sadly, Dave Thomas recently died. RIP Legend

[@borganon3022]

ScootsNB and voiced mitzi when she was only 11.

[@borganon3022]

Master Ludo now that you mention it. Burt has been the voice of fatz for about 15 years I think.

[@ShockMe1994]

I just can't get over how talented these people are. I mean they honestly looked like they treated each other like family & that they all loved what they did.

[@WasabiKitCat]

Ahhh little Aaron. He was so young but he completely rocked those voices... still can too!

[@willynillyyy]

I LOVE THE WAY RICK IS JUMPING AROUND AND GRROVIN DURING THE LAST SONG ,,,

[@user-DreamJordan]

IKR

[@YourFriendlyOnlineStranger]

Aaron adjusting his colander every time Shalisa's started falling off and had to adjust hers.

[@peanutgolds4058]

That’s really cute!

[@theguytheone]

beach bears voice actor doh dayum..............

[@meharley1970]

duke has an INSANE colander on

[@salamangoes]

Aaron is so cute he's so happy

[@raleighfunk7969]

had a huge smile on my face the entire time watched this.Rock Afire Forever!!!!!!

[@spookyrosev6467]

Crazy to believe they had a young girl as Mitzi. It’s like their own version of Noodle

[@stoodwood00]

Ha, so true, i've never think that

[@60025falcon]

if you see shalisa James nowadays it makes 80s kids feel OLD

[@tekkensentai]

Initially, it was Aaron voicing Mitzi but allowing a younger singer-who matched Mitzi’s teenager persona, they were able to give her lead in a few songs and had her in more of the skits than before.

[@tonykunz3290]

You gotta hand it to Shalisa. At that time she was just 12-13 years old and that had to be a daunting task being that young, performing with all those older men and no other females in the group to mentor her. That would be an intimidating environment for most other young ladies. But she pulled it off successfully! She was a pretty girl at that age and had a beautiful voice. Showbiz made a great choice for her to be the voice of Mitzi!

[@bobbellendovich6825]

Maybe shocking to hear, but not all females are intimidated by men, nor do they need female guidance to function.

[@phlarbus7821]

its so cute when Aaron is dancing with Shalisa James

[@Uncle_rad]

I know 🥹🫶

[@presleygriffiths9037]

I love how Mitzi was Sarcasticly clapping behind Aron

[@diegodavila2062]

Are we seriously not even going to mention the sick high note Aaron hits in Earls voice at 3:26 ???

[@funtimepuppetyt5625]

Y u p

[@omg123yah5]

Aaron did a great job

[@discontinuedchannel312]

Ikr he must've hurt his voice

[@FreeSpiritPaulette]

Just so you guys know that was the animal muppet not Earl (you guys probably know this but just to make sure)

[@ahmarav1019]

​@@FreeSpiritPaulettethey were talking about his voice-

[@lizdepictor90]

Not only they would dub the characters but also play the music for their shows. Simply awesome!

[@ConnorTerrell]

Honestly, this is what a Rockafire tour should look like. The animatronics are fun, but I feel people would pay actual money to see the musicians behind the characters performing live.

[@therockafire]

We were strongly considering doing that. But the two problems came together. One was that I couldn't keep the bands egos under control. They all thought they were Brice Springsteen (except Shalisa whose feet were always on the ground). But Sal, Rick, Claude and even Duke had egos to the moon, lost sight of how great it was that we had this gig, and, at the same time, the gig came to an end due to Showbiz Pizza's mismanagement. Blame Aaron.

[@Jodus_MacGotuss]

@@therockafire you folks still occasionally collaborate right? With sittin' too long and ask adam?

[@tophatcat9996]

@@therockafire why do you say blame aaron when you are aaron? Do you just speak in the third person or something?

[@Idontwantayoutubehandle.]

@@therockafire god dammit

[@user-DreamJordan]

Same

[@squaretronic]

Aaron voicing Earl Schmerle sounds amazing! (2:47) So glad I could see the faces of _The Rock-afire Explosion_ voice actors.

[@DavidPeartFan2003]

R.I.P. Burt Wilson

[@TheKissysuzuki]

I think it's funny when Aaron is voice acting Earl and he's holding an Animal puppet.

[@unluckysaurus2446]

They all look like they're having so much fun. Good music too :D

[@theophilus1146]

This is cool. Glad it wasn't lost forever. They were so talented.

[@SPCAnimatronics]

This is amazing. The good old days

[@acidmickey8092]

Hope those guys are still alive because man they are legends

[@plant5875]

@House Owner Oh what they're doing now?

[@RadicalSharkRS]

@@plant5875 burt i dunno but he was in a video recently in 2019 with Aaron fechter and then, shalisa sloan James I forgot but she is doing well I wanna say, I don't know about the rest of the band tho

[@pacmanmaster4785]

I can safely say that all cast members are still alive and well. Shalisa and Rick still come in to record audio for showtapes. Burt has recently returned as Fatz's voice actor. Duke has been posting cover songs on his youtube channel. All cast members had returned for a recent showtape on Aaron's channel.

[@charlesmejia4065]

3:35

[@imp8453]

Rip burt Wilson 2023

[@boubow]

Love how Duke’s colander is a reference to the history of the colander cards (the joke that the earth is two colanders glued together) and also ties in with Dook’s (the character) love of space :D Also don’t know how he wore it for the whole telethon, thing must of been heavy XD

[@bigboomer1013]

man arron sure can rock out as earl. i love earls voice

[@calsrecords4985]

He sounds a lot like Alice cooper

[@magicmike265]

Working at CEI must have been amazing.

[@brylelegaspi]

Showbiz Nevada yeah just imagine

[@PeakPage22]

With Aaron Fechter in charge, it wasnt, believe me.

[@dannyboystartronicalpizzaw9692]

@@PeakPage22did you work for Aaron in the 80’s at CEI??

[@PeakPage22]

@@dannyboystartronicalpizzaw9692 no but seeing the questionable things he has done makes you wonder

[@RealCyraxx]

@@PeakPage22maybe not as an “employee” but a band mate? All the musicians he’s worked with say that he was a blast in the studio.

[@bnuuy]

i keep coming back to watch this video over and over 🥺 they all look like they're having so much fun, its so cute !!

[@illioptopede]

They're all so cute and happy just hangin' out together havin' a great time!

[@jazzychow]

This is very cool. My very first job was at Showbiz Pizza Place.

[@stoodwood00]

Woow that's so cool

[@steelstreet3765]

Do you ever think back to those days? Especially as the year past?

[@ashleycamposrares]

that’s actually really cool

[@princessmarlena1359]

My older brother worked at a different pizza place. He said that the guy on the phone warned him that “…the animatronics do get a bit quirky here at night”. 😉

[@thatbackgroundfishfromspon8814]

It's funny watching the animatronics and then seeing there actual voices preforming

[@aidenp265]

Is anyone going to realize the amazing piano rift Burt Wilson does at 5:34?

[@TheLarryBrown]

Good enough, but that Yamaha electric grand sounds so clear and amazing. That is the greatest instrument ever built in the history of the piano. I'm surprised people didn't continue to tour with it. Professional shows like McCartney and Springsteen and whoever can afford to move it. Those classic instruments were retired for purely practical purposes, not artistic. No modern electronic keyboard sounds nearly as good as this Yamaha, nor the Minimoog. Ok the DX-7 can do a good Rhodes sound, that one is OK. Back then when this Yamaha Electric grand would play, people's faces would light up and everyone would say "Gosh, that piano is just as clear as a bell." No one has ever said that since this piano was retired. When have you ever heard any band since then and admired the clear piano sound like you just did in this video? A real shame actually.

[@TheLarryBrown]

Piano "riff," not "rift."

[@anthonypompa4641]

@@TheLarryBrown I mean, we have very detailed samples of the Yamaha CP70b and other classic instruments now. I'm glad we have the means for that now.

[@leonadarby2996]

he was ripping!!!

[@Jodus_MacGotuss]

mitzi was just adorable trying to keep the hat on.

[@reneecarter6702]

Man this is freaking good. I've always loved the Rockafire Explosion but this is on a whole other level!

[@itsmub]

I love how at 1:33 you can hear the laugh and genuine joy in Aaron his voice after that small bit with Shalisa(Mitzi), really makes me love him more

[@rougegirlishere945]

I kinda feel sad because they seemed like they loved doing this and they don’t do it anymore, really. I bet they miss it a lot.

[@TherealRNOwwfpooh]

Well, Aaron (Billy Bob Brockali, Looney Bird, Rolfe De Wolfe, Earl Schmerle & now Fatz Geronimo since Burt - aka Sal aka Bubba - Wilson, Fatz's long-standing performer, left the group) and Shalisa (who voices Mitzi Mozzarella), still on good terms with each other, would do it for fans who request songs for their characters to sing once Aaron & Shalisa could schedule a time to meet to record song vocals and have the fan requesting the song pay the hefty price tag it costs to have their chosen song played by the band. Likely the same is true for both Duke (who voices Dook LaRue, of course) & Rick Bailey (who voices Beach Bear). However, Bubba Wilson wants nothing to do with the RAE anymore due to being stiffed on payments after being told he'd be compensated for leaving the band he was already part of to perform Fatz as part of RAE, just for Aaron to only give him half of what was promised.

[@TheLarryBrown]

@@TherealRNOwwfpooh If you say so, but didn't he voice Fatz for several years, like over seven years?

[@RealRoseus]

my 3 fave rock afire characters are mitzy, rolfe, and duke.

[@ultragor]

I knew Shalisa via the Caroling Company, a group of Christmas Dickensian singers in central Florida. Then she hit it BIG by forming the group "Toxic Audio" and made it all the way to Broadway!

[@djray369]

It would have been awesome to have recorded them singing and creating the audio portion of the show tapes. Kind of a behind the scenes type thing.

[@therockafire]

I did, and I am bringing out those videos in my "Behind The Scenes" videos on my Premium Channel.

[@TheLarryBrown]

@@therockafire Did it happen? I'll subscribe.

[@RealCyraxx]

@@therockafireIM SUBSCRIBING IMMEDIATELY!!!! Have you considered having a documentary similar to get back made with that footage?

[@AtticPartiers]

I miss rock afire

[@BradenTheBeaverHTF]

Rip the voice actor of Fatz, Yes he actually passed away today

[@andreasginge]

Aaron fechtter is a joke

[@andreasginge]

(Is this a joke)

[@DYLANWONG.D]

@@andreasgingeis not a joke

[@itsmub]

​@andreasginge it's awful to joke about someone's death. He was good pals with him, so I'm pretty sure it's not a joke otherwise he would've said so

[@virtualvivi]

RICKKKKKK UGH I LOVE HIMMMM

[@Valay.]

RIP Sal

[@itsomqbluethepotatoomq298]

:( I would love to be there with Sal and Aaron! I LOVE YALL

[@sunkenchannel]

Rip Sal he will be missed

[@leewatson140]

Went on a tour to Aarons shop in Florida saw the melted moose head and all kinds of stuff i grew up loving in the 80s he has all kinds of cool stuff in there

[@teddybowie9520]

Aaron probably had so much fun with this

[@RadicalSharkRS]

Aaron is watching behind the screen 0)0 but he probably wanted everyone to refer to him as billy bob lol

[@freezingclockhands]

Awee Aaron! Such a talented guy!

[@emilypilukas336]

Fatz Germino: Did I just say "Shut up?" 0:02

[@jamesb8305]

Sal Burton's (Fatz) appearance does not match his voice.

[@freezingclockhands]

Might be confusing Because Fatz is black and you would expect someone being of afro american heritage

[@seymourkrelborn4780]

@@freezingclockhands Actually, Fatz is a gorilla

[@plant5875]

@@seymourkrelborn4780 We know, he just has that afro american vibe, y'know

[@teddybowie9520]

That’s racist

[@Jodus_MacGotuss]

*Burt Sal Wilson not Sal Burton

[@423nitzamouse7]

fuck man rick bailey looks fineeeee

[@thepuppetworld3955]

That shirt on animal’s just too relatable

[@Andrea-li7vz]

This is amazing I love it

[@jarama64]

Shalisa Sloan is a vocalist who plays Mitzi Mozzarella.

[@loisguardado1848]

That was really cool and that's incredible 😎👌👍🥰💖✨.

[@maddispear4421]

Aaron is so young

[@jwilliams7554]

Now you can tell that Aaron must have based Earl off Animal from the muppets

[@generalmills1485]

burt " bubba" wilson on drums and jeff howe on guitar still play shows all over orlando

[@1978garfield]

We need a Behind the Music about these guys.

[@kate1417]

Duke Chauppetta tho 😍🤤

[@jeremypilot1015]

SO strange I grew up in the 80s and everything near Syracuse NY was Chuck E Cheese, we never had a ShowBiz Pizza at least not that I remember.

[@ShowbizPizzaAndCec]

Loving that puppets go to hell shirt.

[@AnimatronicsProductions1.9.9.3]

Did anybody notice besides me that the voice actor for Earl had a animal the drummer puppet from The Muppets?

[@The-Loon-belt-Extravaganza]

Yeah, I think Aaron based Earl off of Animal (obviously)

[@TheLarryBrown]

Yeah, like, everybody.

[@SK-ib5hi]

They're perfect.

[@cyberamics]

1:02 mean ol' Aaron

[@therockafire]

I hope you're joking.

[@freezingclockhands]

@@therockafire i Think he is saying he can't believe this enthusiastic, young man with a bright eyes and hopes turned into the the mean ol' Aaron we know today. I can't either.

[@Benzeel]

the dude ain't mean

[@Benzeel]

I've seen him get mad at people for making stuff up, related to him or what he does, but that's all I've seen, and I'd probably be pissed too

[@freezingclockhands]

@SublimeHawk6 join dewmonic abyss discord and you will get into the depths of this

[@ZakkHolmquist]

Yes he also created the wolf pack 5 in the 1970's

[@northtexasdude]

the guy that is Fatz's voice is RED HOT.

[@becca1cloudd]

Burt Wilson ❤

[@cattvsp]

*amazing* -omg-

[@Alex-hn9qj]

1:34 Aaron made Rolfes voice accidentally

[@EthanPridgen]

Hahaha

[@davidinellicott]

Awesome!!! thanks for sharing!

[@THATRACCOONDUDE]

earl has changed over the years

[@oxuvuii3740]

3:28 love those white teeth Aaron

[@devanshouse5027]

Crazy to think that the technician that created the RAE animatronics also provided the voice of Billy Bob and Rolfe and Earl...

[@tailsknuxfan101]

I just know Duke Chaupetta's neck hurt from wearing that thing lol

[@jwilliams7554]

I saw a video where Aaron teared up about Burt. What exactly happened with Sal and Aaron? Did they have some kind of falling out ?

[@generalmills1485]

burt wilson tells the whole story on the tom and dan podcast

[@theflurker2435]

general mills link?

[@theatrenerd6890]

I’m curious myself so I’m commenting to see if a link gets posted.

[@generalmills1485]

u can hear it on the Mediocre time with tom and dan podcast app but u have to pay for a bdm subscription but burt has lots of videos on here he goes by bubba woopass wilson he still plays shows around orlando and tampa he was also on the radio show Monsters in the morning for years in orlando

[@therockafire]

@@generalmills1485 I just went to find his story, and I have to tell you...it's total fabrication. He said I overpriced the show and MJ didn't want it. Really made me sound like I was some creep. This all came as a big surprise to me because I never knew Sal felt that way. The truth is MJ never had an interest in buying the show, and never showed an interest. A friend of mine was handling the video on his tour and brought him over for a visit without MJ knowing a thing about what he was going to see. MJ was not interested and never showed an interest in buying a show. Sal and I fantasized he might before he came, but he never even asked, "What do these things cost". He was quiet and polite and left without inquiring and I didn't suggest he consider buying a show. He was clearly not interested. And, he was very nice and WAS NOT ON DRUGS! That was another harmful fabrication I want to set straight. God help me if I listened to the other 1,000,000 hours of radio Sal did. I might spend the rest of my life straightenig out his lies.

[@DarkCyanStars]

It would be cool if Howell had made a bit of Uncle Klunk's voice too.

[@NOTADFIVE]

HELP I CANT STOP LISTENINH

[@TheLarryBrown]

No one can help you. The desire to change must come from within you.

[@steelstreet3765]

Where are all these people now? Wish they can talk about the the past these days ;)

[@ninjanoh7014]

Aaron has a KZbin channel called the rockafire.

[@springbreezegaming4017]

OMG This is amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@EF.BE.I]

5:37 THATS where SYBO got the coin sound from

[@jamesshride3158]

My God, the 70s hair.... its so.... Aqua Net!

[@heyitsaddieeeee]

Thanks beachbear luver1

[@TSMASB]

Tbh this is the first time I'm looking at the actors

[@TheLarryBrown]

Nothing to be ashamed of.

[@lasheddrop2514]

0:10 Mitzy started and he ended at 1:02

[@DudleyDoRightsRipsawFallsFan]

3:26 YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH

[@gec9960]

why would you dislike this,,,,,,

[@lobot4780]

Stupid CEC fans

[@user-sd3oh3tz9g]

Tornadoboy rockafire is so much better tho like fr

[@suecurtis8313]

love it sue

[@ChillGuy_0777]

Man Beach Bear’s voice actor could have been in an actual band or something damn.

[@Balootoyoutoo]

Aaron is a true showman

[@BobbiRakus]

I didn't know they had a real person Rock afire explosion band

[@TheLarryBrown]

What, you though it was the robots doing the singing?

[@BobbiRakus]

@@TheLarryBrown No, I knew it was actors and singers, but I didn’t realize they were an actual band, I figured they were just people paid to do the voices and to sing.

[@NoodleNuggz]

⁠@@BobbiRakusthey are this was a 1 time thing

[@RealRoseus]

i am hoping to be a engeneer one day :3

[@lobot4780]

Electrical tech is the way of the future my guy

[@dereksotoquintero8451]

Quisiera que fuera a todos los países show biz pizza place

[@lisaknox4113]

Wow, these are the ones I heard at Chucky cheese? They're great!

[@channelthatcantpublishvide643]

Mitzi actor looks young

[@princessfelicity4719]

Channel that can’t publish videos Oof she was 12 at the time of this recording

[@babysinclairfan]

Kind of sad that Aaron Fechter went a little crazy. He seemed like a nice guy back then.

[@chuckecheeseandshowbiz560]

How did he go crazy?

[@babysinclairfan]

He had a breakdown. He's better now, but it was a really trough time for the man.

[@WasabiKitCat]

babysinclairfan When did he have a breakdown? He seems a lot better now...

[@slon9120]

babysinclairfan huh? When did this happen?

[@hey_buddy_waz_up]

He kind of had all his eggs in one basket on the RAF. When his company lost the business from the Chuck e Cheese buyout, I imagine he went broke, and his heart broke. The RAF is like his child.

[@mr.victorfigueroa7313]

Dook looks like he doesn't want to be there

[@tophatcat9996]

He's just chill

[@wildfire5838]

Probably trying to keep that hat balanced☠️

[@TheLarryBrown]

Because they hired a scab drummer and stick Dook on guitar but he needed his money so he couldn't take himself for a walk right outta there.

[@essamlk]

3:33 was the best ngl

[@user-DreamJordan]

Agreed

[@TheLarryBrown]

The whole thing was great.

[@matthewbevins7643]

I like see them peform live

[@user-DreamJordan]

Same

[@TheLarryBrown]

This *was* live.