A new documentary is the talk of the Internet, and anyone who was either a child of the 1980s or the parent of a youngster of those times might want to check it out for a hefty dose of nostalgia.

Besides that, there’s a local connection. Damon Breland, now an information technology support supervisor at Rayburn Correctional Center, is in the movie. It speaks to one of his deep-set passions – the Rock-afire Explosion, an animatronic band of animals that sang, played and provided comic entertainment at Showbiz Pizza Place restaurants from 1980 through 1991.

There was Billy Bob Brockali, the bass-playing bear and mascot for ShowBiz Pizza, Fatz Geronimo, the giant gorilla front man who played keyboard in a gold tuxedo and Dook LaRue, the dimwit dog drummer in a space suit. There was Looney Bird, Beach Bear, Mitzi Mozzarella, Rolfe deWolfe and even Earl Schmerle, Rolfe’s hand puppet.

Damon Breland not only has an animatronic Billy Bob, he’s got a costume he can wear himself. The Rock-afire Explosion super fan will wear the bear suit for promotional appearances next week in Austin, Texas, where the documentary will be screened. COURTESY PHOTOS/ Shonna Breland Advertisement

The robotic animals were big and loud, and they looked like they were really performing. Rock-afire played on a full-sized stage, and in an adjacent room, there were games and rides in a big play area.

Like the similar Chuck E. Cheese’s, which it ultimately bought out, Showbiz was the place to celebrate a child’s birthday. Times were simpler, and kids loved the magic of the animal band and its surroundings. Breland was among the most intrigued.

“It all started back around 1984, I would have been around 6,” he said. “As a kid growing up, when I got honor or banner roll on my report card I got to go to Showbiz Pizza or Chuck E Cheese.  They ran a promotion back then where you could take a report card to get free tokens for each A or B.  It was a driving factor to get good grades!

“At that time the arcade games were huge, so it was always fun to go play some PacMan, Dig Dug, Qbert, Popeye or any of the classic ‘80s arcade games. Then add in skee ball and all the little kiddie rides like a musical Ferris wheel, merry-go-round, space ship…. Going there was a mini vacation in a way.” 

And the sound track of all those happy childhood memories was provided by the big, furry, somehow life-like animals.

When the more than 200 Showbiz restaurants across the South closed, the band moved on to just a few different locations throughout the country and its glory days were done. But by then, Rock-afire had developed something of a cult following,, and now its story has been recorded on film. The tattoo of Billy Bob that Breland has on his back earned him a part in the show.

Aaron Fetcher is the creator of the Rock-afire Explosion and the recorded voice for many of the band’s characters.

“Aaron Fechter himself mentioned me to the director of the film, Brett Whitcomb,” said Breland, a resident of Little Improve, Miss. “You see Aaron knew about the tattoo, and that kind of set me apart in the fan community. So their interest in me grew from that.”

The documentary is described as “the story of a small-town car salesman, a struggling inventor, and an animatronic rock band, that quickly becomes an eccentric portrait of childhood memories, broken dreams, and the resilience of the human spirit.”

Filming began in November 2007 in the small town of Phenix City, Ala. where Chris Thrash, the car salesman, is leading a resurgence of Rock-afire popularity, partly via performance pieces of songs on YouTube.

After a couple more stops, in July of 2008, the shooting was nearly done. But producers decided to visit one more “super fan” in Little Improve, Miss., just a few miles from the Washington Parish line.

The promotional material puts it this way, “With his own ‘Smitty’s Super Service Station’ (just like the one behind Billy Bob on The Rock-afire Explosion stage), which houses his own Rock-afire Explosion band, Damon Breland would provide just the right energy to round off our collection of obsessed fans.”

Breland not only has the body art, he has his own show.

“I had the great fortune of winning a used set of the animatronic characters off of Ebay in February of 2003,” he said. “I flew down to Orlando, Florida, met Aaron Fechter, the creator whom I had won it from, rented a Ryder, loaded them up and drove home. They sat at my father’s house for two years as I painstakingly refurbished them. In 2005 they moved into their new home at Smitty’s where it took another two years to finish the process and get them installed and fully functional.”

Now he can sit with his son, Desmond, who has been exposed to the show “since before he was born almost two years ago,” and revisit his own childhood anytime he likes. The documentary is like a cherry on top of that cake.

Next week Breland will pack up his wife, Shonna, and his Billy Bob costume, for promotional purposes, and head to a screening in Austin, Texas. He’s already seen it once.

“I saw the first cut September 27, 2008, the day before my 30th birthday,” said Breland.  “What a present to myself! It was screened in Birmingham, Ala., at the Sidewalk Film Festival. Subsequently there was one more filming session with myself and Chris Thrash during our stay at the festival, which has apparently been edited into the new version of the film that is screening in Austin.

“I thought (the documentary) was amazing. I had no idea what to expect because none of us had been given the opportunity to see an advance copy. I really didn’t even know if I would be part of it, in all honesty. I was shocked to see how much time I was in it though!”

He said he believes the documentary does its subject justice.  

“The movie has no possible way of giving the whole story,” said Breland. “But it does an awesome job of bringing everyone up to speed on a subject that has been going on for nearly 30 years. It has a very good overview of the rise and fall of Showbiz Pizza Place. Then we also get to catch up with what’s going on now with the resurgence and see how the fans (myself included) have preserved (the band) for future generations.”

“The Rock-afire Explosion” is expected to continue making the film festival rounds, and may one day end up more widely available. In the meantime, anybody who’s curious can check out the trailers at www.smittyssuperservice.com/home.html and www.rockafire-movie.com. The first features Breland whose enthusiasm has not waned.

“I have gone and gotten another Character, Mitzi, tattooed on my arm,” he said. “She will make her appearance in Austin at the screening!”