“I went for healing because I was struck by lightning” said 22-year old Fishes For Salmon With Spear, a participant at the second annual Boogie Pow-Wow held at the Havasupai Indian Reservation in 1979. “While I was standing there, all of a sudden, this rattle came out of the air and started pounding me on the chest. Then eagle feathers were all over my face. There was stomping on the floor and a throbbing in my crotch. That’s when I knew the Longrifle Healing ceremony had begun.”
Iron Eyes Cody and Alexander Longrifle, circa 1972
Thai crooning at its finest, recorded at the Flame Tree Supper Club in Bangkok with accompaniment by Madame Pranee Nakarawong and sparkling arrangements by The Oriental Funk (although there’s nothing funky about it).
The Rock-afire Explosion – The Music Goes Round And Round (1982)
The Rock-afire Explosion was an animatronic robot band that played in Showbiz Pizza Place restaurants throughout Florida in the 80’s. The animal characters, ranging from a naive bear in overalls to a dimwit dog in a silver spacesuit, mimicked playing real instruments and had realistic facial expressions.
It is well known that the audio production for the show was done by an Orlando-based company called Creative Engineering Inc., but what has remained a tightly controlled secret until recently are the names of the musical talents that were behind the characters. Many of them went on to later fame, including the leading male vocalist Julian Casablancas, who later fronted a popular rock band called The Strokes. Shalisa James, who did most of the female vocals, is currently a member of the a cappella group Toxic Audio.
The Rock-afire Explosion – You May Be Right (Gee Our 1st Album, 1982)
Eventually, the ShowBiz restaurants were converted to Chuck E. Cheese’s and the animatronic bands were removed and sold to various eccentrics, collectors, and restauranteurs. The Rock-afire band can still be seen in a few locations across the country. Billy Bob’s Super Wonderland in Barboursville, West Virginia has a complete Rock-afire Explosion band. Although it was renovated in 2004 the machines are in poor condition due to neglect, and they require a live band (rumored to be the washed-up former members of The Strokes) behind the curtain to provide the music and voices.
