Parachute pants are no longer in vogue.
TaB soda is history, Debbie Harry of Blondie is 76, and “The Love Boat,” “Knight Rider” and “The Dukes of Hazzard” have been banished from prime-time network television.
We may be more than 30 years removed from the 1980s, but a slice of that time period that included Reaganomics, space shuttles and the emergence of microwave ovens is finding new life.
And a heavy metal guitarist who has been collecting and restoring video game consoles for more than 20 years is the latest to add to the Madison-area mix.
Brad Van Kauwenbergh, co-owner of Aftershock Classic Arcade on East Washington Avenue, plays a vintage Space Invaders game. Van Kauwenbergh, the frontman of the heavy metal band Droids Attack, has been buying, selling and restoring video games for over 20 years. The arcade opened on New Year’s Eve and is another large addition to the area’s growing video arcade presence.
Brad Van Kauwenbergh, the frontman for the aptly named metal band Droids Attack, has partnered with Chris Welch of Trixie’s Liquor to open Aftershock Classic Arcade at 1442 E. Washington Ave.
The business, which opened on New Year’s Eve in the former home of Maria’s bar, features more than 120 classic games like Space Invaders, Joust and 1943, along with newer games like Guitar Hero. There are colorful pinball machines with “Twilight Zone,” “Addams Family” and “Tales from the Crypt” themes and an air hockey table.
The bar resembles an Atari 2600 console, and the ceiling includes illuminated panels of blue lights to mimic the maze of a Pac-Man game. And since it’s a bar, most games, which only take tokens, are equipped with a cup holder.