Phoenix Magazine, August 1997

By S.C.

Seeing red

So you’re grilling brats and quaffing a brew with the Red Elvises’s Surfing in Siberia shaking the patio speakers, when in walks your tubing buddy, the dude with the spooky ability to show up five minutes before dinner’s ready.

"Red Elvises! Hold on there a minute!" he hoots. "Are you tellin’ me that some Russkis have named themselves after the King of Rock’n’Roll? They’ve only been here five years and think they can pull into Graceland without a ticket? That Burns my butt. Gimme that CD, I’m gonna use it for skeet.

Four guys on a surf board? Hmm, nice clothes. Looks like they’re gonna play in the room. What’s with that big triangle guitar? A balalaika? Is that the CD playing? Sounds like surf music and rockabilly.

"Hey, are they singing about drinking beer? Man, Elvis himself never did that. Do they do Back in the U.S.S.R.?

"Like, how do you pronounce these names?" (Igor Yuzov, vocals and guitar; Zhenya Kolykhanov, lead balalaika and vocals; Oleg Bernov, bass guitar and vocals; and Avi Sills, a Texan, drums and vocals.) "Say, could I borrow this CD…just for weekend? Those brats done yet?"

The Red Elvises bring their wacky combination of rockabilly, surf rock and Russian ethnic music to the Rhythm Room on August 10 and 28. Their CDs - Surfing in Siberia and last years’ Grooving to the Moscow Beat - are available from Folk’n’Roll Records at P.O. Box 5155, Santa Monica, California 90409-5155, or check out their web site at www.redelvises.com.