The MoonRockers were a retrofitted version of The Rock-afire Explosion that was created by Aaron Fechter in 1985 after the merger of ShowBiz Pizza Place and Pizza Time Theatre took place. The characters were designed by Dave Thomas, and the introduction song, "We're The MoonRockers", as well as "Cyclops Boogie" and the reprise of the MoonRockers Theme were written by Burt Wilson. Burt also named all the characters, and according to him, had to "go through scientific magazines and papers" to come up with the names.
The band members were modified from the Center Stage Rock-afire characters, which were Dook, Fatz, Choo-Choo, Antioch, Beach Bear, and Mitzi. All six of these characters' cosmetics were modified to become aliens, and were made as a change-out package for a center or three stage Rock-Afire, and could be changed from one to the other in 20 minutes. The band was also intended to play on MTV alongside a live singer (the song was designed to sound like lyrics were missing so the accompanying live singer could fill in the lyrics). Shalisa Sloan, the voice of Mitzi, performed with the show at the 1985 IAAPA in Atlanta, wearing a special space-themed outfit. There was also a small skit featuring Mitzi, that would play as the show was being swapped out.
The names of the two remaining mystery characters were recently revealed by Andrea Nieves, a friend of Aaron Fechter’s, which are the alien in a crater that is a modified Choo-Choo animatronic named “Rock Baby”, and the floating eye with wings that is a modified Antioch animatronic named “Moon Bat”. Princess Haley, is also named after Burt Wilson's daughter, Haley. Today, the MoonRockers sit at Creative Engineering's new warehouse in Palatka awaiting a future restoration.
CEI The Moonrockers
The Characters[]
Princess Haley - Uses Mitzi's mechanism and was voiced by BJ Ward.
Quazar - Plays the lazer guitar and uses Beach Bear's mechanism. His speaking voice was Melvin Fechter and his singing voice was Shawn Fernandez.
Admiral Orc - Plays his space organ and uses Fatz's mechanism. He was voiced by Burt Wilson, also known as Sal.
Ozone - Plays the holo-drums and uses Dook's mechanism. He was voiced by Dayna Fitch.
Molgama (Rock Baby) - Pops out of a crater and uses Choo-Choo’s mechanism.
Sismis (Moon Bat) - Drops from above stage and uses Antioch’s mechanism.
Current State[]
As of 2023, The Moonrockers are decaying in storage at the new warehouse, awaiting the construction of the Creative Engineering Museum for a future restoration. Recently, the Moonrockers have been getting brought back into the media with the Official Ultimate Moonrockers Tribute video posted by Aaron Fechter and created by TJ the DJ and Galactistar Studios. TJ is trying to bring the MoonRockers back to the attention of the Rock-Afire Community. This movement is approved by Aaron Fechter as they expand the MoonRockers as whole. The full movement is done by a band of three done by TJ the DJ (Ozone and Ork), Snes!Quick! (Princess Haley), and Trainman Andy (Quazar), The full tape has also been recovered, and was played on the original MoonRockers stage. Only time can tell for the future of the MoonRockers and their upbringing.
Prototype Designs[]
The Promotional Swap-Out Image seen on the right features the characters' prototype designs, including some major and minor differences. These include: Ozone's holo-drums having an extra set of height, different placement of Haley and Quazar (which was changed after the showtape was mixed, leaving the characters' final positions wrong in the stereo mix), Orc originally had black wrist pieces, Haley had pink ears, Quazar had a unibrow and different chains on his chest, Orc's organ originally also had two smoke stacks on the side, made of a translucent plastic.