The Arizona Republic, August 28, 1997

By Randy Cordova

Borscht rock.
Red Elvises have their quirky way with tunes

It isn’t exactly monkeemobile, but it will do. The Battered red ’87 Ram van with a borderline-obscene painting of pinup queen, Bettie Page is the vehicle that allows the Red Elvises to spred their musical massage from town to town.

And just what is that musical massage? Take these lines from Harriet, a jittery tune from Grooving to the Moscow Beat, the group’s 1996 debut:
She looked Japanese
But she was from France
She took off her shoes
And we started to dance
OK, so Hearbreak Hotel it’s not. But don’t let the wackiness of the Red Elvises obscure the fact that these guys play solid surf-tinged rock and roll with a disarmingly goofy sense of humor. And no, it’s not a collection of covers from the King.

Perhaps it’s the way the guys can pack a club dance floor with the ridiculous Shooba-Doobah (Elvis’ Vacation) or the off-kilter banter that dominates the act - This is a song from Greece where the blues was really born’ - but there is a sense of showmanship that separates them from the pack.

"We’re a novelty act in the sense that’s novelty to be entertaining, to have fun on stage, to play music with a sense of humor," said Oleg Bernov, the chattiest member of the foursome.

Bernov, who has been in the United States seven years, also is the most ambitious of the bunch. He has big plans for himself and his Siberian-born buddies (plus the one Texan in the band):

"I can see us becoming houshold names. We could do movies, a TV show like the Monkees. People are talking about it, because we do live in Los Angeles, after all."

Hey hey, they’re the Red Elvises

The guys are ready to fill the high-heeled shoes of the Monkees, with their manic energy and easily identifiable personalities:
Igor Yuzov
Musical skills: Lead vocals, guitars, songwriting
Birthplace: Siberia
Zodiac sign: Aries
Personality type: The romantic one (the Davy Jones of the group)
Distinguishing Physical traits: An uncanny resemblance to actor Brendan Fraser (George of the Jungle)
Favorite food: Pizza
Words of wisdom: "American audiences are more cheerful, Russian audiences tend to through things at you."

Oleg Bernov
Musical skills: Bass, balalaika, megaphone, vocals
Birthplace: Siberia
Zodiac sign: Leo
Personality type: The funny one (the Micky Dolenz of the group)
Distinguishing Physical traits: A shock of obscenely bright red hair ("I was born near Chernobyl").
Favorite color: "That’s a stupid question. Red!"
Favorite Elvis film: "You can’t go wrong with Siberian Boogie. Elvis made it when he was in the service. It’s one of his illegitimate films."

Zhenya Kolykhanov
Music skills: Lead guitars, balalaika, vocals.
Birthplace: Siberia.
Zodiac sign: Taurus ("The bull, man, the bull!")
Personality type: The artistic one (the Peter Tork of the group); he even designed and painted the band’s bus.
Distinguishing physical traits: The only Red Elvises with tatoos-at least tatoos visible to the public.
Elvis memory: "In Siberia , all we saw was the old, fat cheesy Elvis. Wee didn’t see the young, cool Elvis until we came to America."
His favorite type of fan: "We get a lot of 17-year-old girls in tight red dresses. I like that."

Avi Sills
Avi Sills: Drums, vocals
Birthplace: Austin.
Zodiac sign: Cancer.
Personality type: The thoughtful one (the Michael Nesmith of the group).
Distinguishing physical traits: The only Red Elvises with facial hair (a cool Maynard G. Krebs goatee).
Favorite career memory: "We were playing in California, and this 43-year-old woman pulled her dress up over her head. I thought I will go blind."
On being the only American Red Elvis: "I love it. I wind up explaining a lot of things to them."