“We make good time.”

These four words from Red Elvises bassist Oleg Bernov sum up what a live show from the L.A. surfabilly outfit is all about. The feisty, three-fourths Russian act delivers high-octane rock ’n’ roll spiced with klezmer and country & western, all the while making full use of the stage with clowning and choreography. Oh, and audience participation is mandatory.

Rounding out the band’s retro-fitters are flashy platform shoe-wearing lead guitarist/vocalist Zhenya Kolykhanov; guitarist/vocalist Igor Yuzov, master of Elvis stylings; and the only American, drummer Avi Sills from Texas. Most recognizable and noticeable: Bernov’s shocking-red hair and giant triangular bass guitar. Modeled after a Russian contrabass balalaika, the guitar looks like Uri Zhivago’s beloved instrument zapped by a Martian particle enlarger. It has a long neck like an upright with the frets of an electric.

Formed in 1996 by Northeast Russians Bernov and Kolykhanov, who moved to the States in 1990, The Red Elvises started out as outdoor performers busking for tips on the Santa Monica Pier. Bernov and Kolykhanov had just left the Russian folk group Limpopo, who had won on “International Star Search” and later got a role singing, “Gimme a break,” in a Kit-Kat commercial. The guys were tired of the “boring” college audiences and limited accessibility of ethnic music and decided to perform music that would appeal to a wider audience. They enlisted the help of Yuzov, Bernov and Kolykhanov met after arriving from Russia, and Sills, a friend of a studio musician who guested on a Limpopo recording. The new group began a popular, semiregular gig at Rusty’s Surf Ranch in Santa Monica, where they still perform every week.

Word spread about Red Elvises’ wacky antics and surf-rock sound, landing the group appearances on TV’s “Melrose Place,” VH-1, a PBS concert documentary and E! Television’s “Talk Soup.” They also appeared, and have music featured in, the indie film Six String Samurai.

The band’s success could be attributed to two things: hard work and a shrewd marketing campaign. They’ve put out four albums in the past three-and-a-half years, Grooving to the Moscow Beat, Surfing in Siberia, I Want to See You Belly Dance and Better Than Sex. Their motto, “Kick-ass Rock ’n’ Roll from Siberia,” is a tongue-in-cheek fabrication – no one in the band is from Siberia – and their merchandise comprises flashy red items emblazoned with photos of sexy girls. The inclusion of porn star Mimi Miyagi in the band’s Web site, with a link to photos of the super-breasted celebrity, shows that the Red Elvises know sex sells too.

The Russian members did not have to be in America for long to learn how the almighty dollar drives everything. “We are big-time capitalists,” says Bernov, recuperating from a cold and travel fatigue after a trip to Europe. He elaborates on this belief when he talks about the band’s namesake. “Elvis embodies American Dream – he is the American dream. He made it all the way from being a truck driver in Tennessee to Hollywood star.”

Bernov says they didn’t hear much of Elvis Presley growing up in Russia, that he didn’t see Elvis till his “old years, when he was fat and ugly. I was thinking, ‘This is the king of rock ’n’ roll? We have a lot of crap like that on Russian TV!’”

About the first half of the Red Elvises’ name, Bernov says it has less to do with Soviet imagery than what the color evokes. “Red is a happy color! Red! Hot! Love!”

Bernov dyes his hair cherry red every few weeks, but he did have a lapse during his European Vacation.

“I arrived on the island of Mykonos with pink hair because it was already all washed out, and they said (he affects an effeminate voice), ‘that’s a nice statement!’”

This lack of self-seriousness could be considered the true, key ingredient to the Red Elvises’ success. Bernov was a little slow on the uptake because of his cold, but catch him live and he’s one sassy spazmo. He gesticulates wildly, summoning sing-alongs and pretty girls. He joins the others in martial arts moves and traditional Russian toe-to-heel tap, playing songs about drinking beer, a sexy stewardess or belly dancer.

The in-your-face-flash of Oleg and the Red Elvises recalls yet another connection to the King.

Elvis, Bernov says, makes people think of a period of rock ’n’ roll when stars like Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis were great performers. Bernov, who was trained in theater, and the rest of Red Elvises want to invoke the era when rock stars had stage presence.

“We’re bringing the fun back into rock ’n’ roll,” he says with a coy chuckle.

Red Elvises perform with opening act The Thrusters 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 23, in a WMNF-88.5 FM-sponsored show at Skipper’s Smokehouse. Tickets cost $10 in advance, $15 at the door, and are available at Skipper’s or WMNF ticket outlets. Call 813-971-0666. For more info on the band, check out the Red Elvises Web site at www.redelvises.com.