Crazy Colander Head Night (Event)
Crazy Colander Head Night (AKA Colander Night and Colander-Head Nite) was a massive event held at participating ShowBiz Pizza Place locations throughout March of 1983.[1]
The event had many things to do throughout March, but the main events were each Wednesday night spanning over five nights: March 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd, and 30th.
Event
The event started with Colander Night packages being sent to participating restaurants in late February.
- Customized Colanders for Billy Bob, Mitzi Mozzarella, Fatz Geronimo, Earl Schmerle, Dook Larue, and Beach Bear.
- The Crazy Colander Head Night showtape.
- The 3 Birthday Shows - Colander History - Indoctrination Skit showtape.
- The Save The Colander Telethon video tape.
- Unknown amount of The Colander Gazette - Vol 1. No. 1.
- Unknown amount of Colander Head Club Membership Cards
- Unknown amount of Rock-afire Explosion Record 7's.
- Unknown amount of Signed Billy Bob, Mitzi Mozzarella , Fatz, Beach Bear, and Dook Larue Colander Photographs.
Employees would watch the Save The Colander Telethon, which was designed to hype up stores for the promotion by pretending to be a live telethon that stores could call in to confirm their approval of the event. A section during the telethon also trained employees on how to properly perform during the Colander History segment of the event. The end of the tape would include a 10 minute instruction video on installing the character's colanders.
Showtapes
Employees would then replace the standard tape with the Crazy Colander Head Night tape, and the Birthday reel with the new 3 Birthday Shows - Colander History - Indoctrination Skit reel. This birthday reel would function like the standard 3-Birthday Reel, but had two additional shows, "History of the Colander" and "Indoctrination Skit" on it that could be requested by any customer to be played at any time.[2] Customers could find out about these shows through the standard tape, or by reading the freely offered Colander Gazette, which was also referenced by the show.
"History of the Colander" would need to be additionally performed with an employee, whom would come out as "Johnny DeJockimo" (official spelling unknown) to hold up cue cards and interact with Fatz. "Indoctrination Skit" would need to have at least one patron wearing a colander who was not part of the Colander Head club yet, and likely one employee watching to confirm the patron would take on the oath to receive their prizes. During Wednesday nights where many patrons would be showing up in colanders, it is inferred that the store would schedule indoctrinations for each group as needed.
Colanders
Prizes
Once a patron has gone through the Indoctrination Skit at any time throughout March, they receive a Colander Head Club Membership Card. On Wednesday nights, if they wear their colander and bring their membership card, they receive 6 free tokens, 1 free Coke, and a signed photo of one of the Rock-afire cast. Stores would give out the same character to everyone on a given night, but there was no exact order told to stores.[1] This means going to different stores on the same night could allow patrons to collect all the photos early, or receive duplicates.
Photos
During the Indoctrination Skit, it is mentioned for patrons to bring in photos of them wearing their colanders outside of ShowBiz Pizza Places, which would be taken and posted on a bulletin board in the restaurant, or featured in later issues of the Colander Gazette. These later issues would never materialize.
History
The idea for the event came during a brain storming session between Aaron Fechter and Burt Wilson some time before January of 1982. In the session Burt was fiddling with a colander and decided to put it on his head. After both of them passed it back and forth trying it on, they realized they had started a club. An unknown amount of Creative Engineering employees would become part of this club during this time. Aaron recounts him and a few club members wearing their colanders to a seafood restaurant, and a Florida linebacker becoming indoctrinated by their fun idea.[3]
1982 Event
The colander club would eventually make its way to Creative Engineering's work by January of 1982, now being planned to debut in ShowBiz stores. This would officially now be called the Colander Head club. The event would initially be decided to be run by Beach Bear, who would claim to have been the one to have started it. This event would be scheduled for April of 1982, but would never materialize outside of the initial plans.[3][4]
The song "Satisfaction Medley", which debuted on the Showbiz Pizza '82 Tape sometime around these initial plans, contains an odd phrase spoken at the beginning. This hidden joke would not be followed up on until the song "Strain Your Brain" on the Crazy Colander Head Night showtape featured a musical rendition of the phrase at the end of the segment. Considering Colander Head night was originally meant to be directly after the '82 tape, this inside joke may have meant to be paid off sooner.