We knew the day was coming ... but it is finally here: the food and entertainment chain Chuck E. Cheese has officially  gotten rid of the iconic animatronic band at all of their locations.  

 

 

via GIPHY

 

The band originally  called  "The Pizza Players" when they  they debuted in 1977, the band eventually changed their name to "Munch's Make-Believe Band". 

 

The band was given notice of their termination in 2017.  The news struck a cord with one Josh Tillman, aka Father John Misty - who left a lengthy memorial to the band on his social media: 

 

“Having been a professional musician for a few years now, I can appreciate firsthand not only the strain of trying to sustain a flow of creativity for so long but the rigorous, pretty unexotic feat of physical endurance just getting through a few hundred shows a year, plus all the travel.  

 

When I consider that this motherf–ker was playing up to 5 sets a night all over the country simultaneously [I] am reminded that, yes, it can be done, and that just by getting on that stage every night and leaving everything up there, I am part of [a] lineage, of a collective imagination that spans the generations. How he maintained that smile on his face, playing so consistently and with such little flash (even though I’m sure some nights he just wanted to stretch out and make it all about himself) is beyond me. Don’t forget: this man’s middle name was literally ‘Entertainment.' 

 

“He didn’t write much, outside of his seminal ‘Happy Birthday’ but neither did Frank f–king Sinatra. Like Sinatra, Chuck wasn’t ‘the best.’ But he had a style, and style cannot be taught; something we tend to forget in this era of manufactured pop stars. Max Martin would’ve had nothing to do with Cheese. He was a little thick around the waste, and certainly refused to change with protean fads in the culture.”

 

 

 

 

Refurbished Chuck E. Cheese locations will include dance floors - where Chuck  will dance with customers every hour, and plenty of video games :(