Pop Musing: Red Elvises play riotous rock with a Russian accent

Published Tuesday, June 22, 1999

Jon Bream/Pop musing: Red Elvises play riotous rock with a Russian accent

Jon Bream / Star Tribune

When Oleg Bernov was going to school in the Russian town of Vologda, his teacher didn't understand why students wanted to go off to a university in Moscow or Leningrad instead of attending the local college. The curious and restless Bernov said he preferred the advice of rock singer Jim Morrison: "The West is the best."

"We decided to go that way," Bernov said. "You can't go farther west than Los Angeles."

On L.A.'s Venice Beach, Bernov and some buddies from Russia formed one of the wildest and wackiest rock bands in the West or the East. The RedElvises have concocted a sound more irresistible than matryoshka dolls and more potent than a Molotov cocktail -- an intoxicating blend of rockabilly, surf, Tex-Mex, klezmer, swing, Slavic melodies, film scores, TV theme songs, Middle Eastern licks and gypsy scales. Throw in the lame jackets, Bernov's oversized triangular bass and bright red hair, and more energy than a troupe of Cossack dancers, and the RedElvises add up to a silly, good time.

"We are four very screwed-up individuals," said Bernov, 34, whose RedElvises made their Twin Cities debut Monday with a cameo at Borders in Richfield and who perform tonight at the 400 Bar in Minneapolis. "With three Russians in the band, it's already a screwed-up sense of humor. And then the American [drummer] -- a little Jewish guy who grew up with eight sisters."

Back in Russia, after studying electrical engineering at a college in his hometown, Bernov headed to Moscow and ended up working in an avant-garde theater group for seven years. His theater experience is obvious onstage.

"I consider myself a clown," Bernov said last week after a sweaty set in Pittsburgh. "I like to look like a fool; everybody is scared of looking stupid but everyone else likes to see somebody else acting like a fool. Before, [when] we play Russian folk music, there was humor there but people couldn't really sing along with the songs."

No such problem with the RedElvises. The humor in such tunes as the island-meets-bluegrass "Sad Cowboy Song" and Middle East-meets-swing "I Wanna See You Bellydance" is as obvious as Bernov's red hair, which he dyes every three weeks.

As for Bernov's cartoonish three-string triangular bass -- each side is nearly 4 feet long -- it was inspired by a bass balalaika that a friend brought to Bernov from Russia. It's red, of course.

With that aforementioned folk band, Limpopo, Bernov learned about the United States, where he settled in 1991. The band appeared on TV's "Star Search" (the $5,000 prize money was used to buy a van, which enabled them to tour the States and Canada) and recorded a Kit Kat candy bar jingle (for which the musicians had to join a union, which meant health insurance, which meant Bernov could later get an operation on his vocal cords).

In 1996, Bernov and the rest of the group -- guitarist Igor Yuzov, guitarist Zhenya Kokykhanov and drummer Avi Sills -- played their first gig on Santa Monica's Third Street Promenade. They have since put out four CDs on their own label (they've turned down major-label offers), appeared on TV's "Melrose Place" and received much video exposure on MTV in Moscow (although the band has yet to perform in Russia).

Because of their moniker, the four bachelors were invited to audition for "The Dating Game" when a woman who was an Elvis Presley fan was on. Sills ended up being Bachelor No. 1, but he didn't get the date.

Back in Russia, Bernov didn't know much about Elvis Presley. other than his being the king of rock. He was more likely to listen to the Beatles or Deep Purple.

"The first time I saw Elvis on TV was when he was old and fat; he did not impress me much at all. We've got tons of that in Russia," Bernov said. "But when I saw young Elvis on video after living in the States, I realized that guy had great charisma and energy about him."

Last month, the band visited the King's Graceland mansion in Memphis. "It was not as big as we anticipated," Bernov said. Still, he called it a religious experience. "Elvis is kind of embodiment of the American dream -- this truck driver from Tennessee who ultimately made it."

The band took its moniker not because the musicians are Presley fans but because "Elvis" is a recognizable name associated with rock, and they are Reds from Russia. Moreover, Bernov figures that making it in America is all about coming up with clever slogans for marketing. The band advertises itself as "the only rock 'n' roll from Siberia" -- even though they're not from Siberia. And the crafty quartet named its latest CD "Better Than Sex."

"It's a catchy phrase like Vogue magazine [covers] -- 'the secret of orgasm,' " Bernov said. "It's shameless. It's capitalism."

Elvis used Hollywood to further his career. The RedElvises hope to use all that's available in the entertainment capital to boost their career. They're doing the music for a TV cartoon series for the fall, and Bernov would love to write movie soundtracks.

"In nine years in the States, I've never had a straight job," he said. "The RedElvises, we're the makers of a good time. Ultimately, when we have a good time, it's contagious. I'm happy that it is my job."

Quick spins

Live-wire Terri Clark, one of country's most spontaneous barroom performers, will appear Thursday and Friday at Treasure Island Casino in Red Wing. . . . Robert Goulet, the old pro, is at Mystic Lake Casino tonight. . . . Jewel, who is recording a Christmas CD due this fall, is coming Aug. 15 to Roy Wilkins Auditorium; expect a ticket announcement next week. . . . Look for Phish at Target Center in early October. . . . Orgy is booked at the Quest on July 28. . . . Bruce Springsteen's representatives are looking at a November concert at Target Center.

Prince is nominated for two awards in the second annual Yahoo Internet Life Magazine Online Music Awards. He's up for best Internet-only single ("The War") and best artist Web site. Also nominated for two awards are Public Enemy and Dave Stewart. The awards will be presented July 19 at Studio 54 in New York.

"Backstreet Boys in Concert" will be broadcast July 10 on the Disney Channel. . . . Chris Rock's second CD, "Bigger & Blacker," will feature guest appearances by rappers and singers, including Ice Cube, Ol' Dirty Bastard , Biz Markie and Gerald Levert. The CD is due July 13. . . . Steve Earle and John Hiatt have been added to the lineup of the annual Winnipeg Folk Festival July 8-11.

U2 is finishing a new album with producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanoisf; it is not expected to be released this year. . . . Tori Amos is set to release a two-CD set in September; one disc is live, the other new studio songs. . . . Smashing Pumpkins, with drummer Jimmy Chamberlin back on board, are in the studio with producer Flood, who worked on their blockbuster "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness." The album is expected this year.

Voice mail: 612-673-1719. E-mail: popmusic@startribun

Opening: Helva, Atomic Flea.

When: 9 p.m. today.

Where: 400 Bar, 400 Cedar Av. S., Mpls.

Tickets: $5; 612-332-2903.

Soundbite: Call 612-673-9050 and press 5450 to hear RedElvises' "I Wanna See You Bellydance," 5451 for "Sad Cowboy Song" and 5452 for "Hanky Panky Kind of Love."