Red Elvises

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The Red Elvises is a rock band that settled in California in the mid 1990s. The members are: Oleg Bernov is from Russia, Igor Yuzov is a Russian despite being born in East Germany, Oleg "Schramm" Gorbunov is from Kazakhstan, and Adam Gust is from "sunny" Minnesota. Past members Zhenya Kolykhanov and Avi Sills were from Russia and Austin, Texas, respectively. The band specializes in a parody of classic rock'n'roll or surf music, playing on the contradiction of this very American music being played by a Russian band. (Most songs are sung on purpose with a Russian accent, accompanied with a bass-balalaika.) Also, the definite article is sometimes omitted. An example from Closet Disco Dancer (from Better Than Sex) reads "Remember 1985/You gave me records by Police/You didn't know that next day/I traded them for new Bee Gees." And as they state themselves: "Strong musical influences include Elvis Presley and his wife Priscilla, Chuck Berry, Spice Girls and speeches by Comrade Fidel Castro."

The band's previous lineup consisted of Igor Yuzov on vocals and guitar, Oleg Bernov on the bass-balalaika, Zhenya Kolykhanov (who legally changed his last name to "Rock") on lead guitar and balalaika, and Avi Sills on drums. The first drummer was Andrey Baranov, but he left very soon after the band's inception. Since 2003 the touring lineup has been comprised of Bernov and Yuzov with the addition of Oleg "Schramm" Gorbunov (keyboard) and Adam Gust (drums).

The Red Elvises composed the sound track for the 1998 film Six-String Samurai and appeared briefly in the movie. They also appeared on a 1999 episode of Melrose Place. In 2005, while on tour in Russia, the band performed as a part of the Live8 concert in Moscow.

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