If you've ever seen the Red Elvises then you probably remember them as the group that had the red triangle thing that one guy plays as an instrument. That, and you've probably made the connection between "Red," in reference to old Russia, and "Elvis," for the rock-n-roll, in their moniker. Hailing from ex-Soviet states, the band began in California in the 1990s and has been together since in various incarnations and never really sagging in popularity. Of course, with a name like “Red Elvises” you expect that the band enjoys a good party.
I had never heard of them but a copy of I Wanna See You Belly Dance was in the main studio and it was revered as a good album by a lot of people on staff. I admit it wasn't my cup of tea, but I was usually not in the majority during my stint as station manager. Some of the station staff had some fun with their name, jokingly calling them Rush n' Radio, Red Can Too, Soviet Rock, Red Con Tiki, Czech it Out, and so on (I never got most of the names, but that’s me...). After a few listens I was able to appreciate it and thought the album wasn't bad. Still, I wasn't prepared for the roar of excitement that was to come when it was announced that the Red Elvises were touring the country and would be on campus during the spring semester. I had to chuckle at the bands that toured this backwater city - Luther Campbell's 2 Live Crew (two or three years prior to my time), Vanilla Ice (one or two years after my time, see This is a hell of a concept: we make it hype and you want to step with this), Garbage, and now the Red Elvises.
Now the Red Elvises were signed to play Spring Fest, some sort of collegiate-sponsored Saturday when all the student organizations met and setup in and around the football field. The radio station was there to cover the event, as well as broadcast from the event to allow others to see us in action. It was a given that I would have to help setup; I hung around after we got settled, even going on air a few times in what, I realize now, were probably some of my last live radio moments.
Paulie Zizzo was on the air for most of this Saturday, as he was every Saturday (see Cause it's home, the only life I've ever known). When his shift was over, though, he arrived on the scene and started interacting with the small crowd hanging around the remote equipment. Quickly I learned Paulie treated everyone as a friend and, for the most part, everyone treated him as one of his or her gang. He'd go and talk to one crowd of people, disappear, and then come back from another direction engrossed in discussion with someone else. Whether or not these people knew him well or just recognized him as the kid with the bizarre appearance is hard to say, but, long story short, Paulie was popular.
Here is where it got weird: toward the end of the event the mediocre music that had been playing for most of the day was replaced the loud, rocking sounds of the Red Elvises. Most of the events had wound down anyway, allowing things to turn into a large, outdoor concert. As we were done with the remote, I hauled things to my car – and stopped short when I saw Paulie dancing on stage with the Red Elvises. Talk about flashbacks to Woodstock: Paulie's interpretive dance consisted of swaying, air guitars, and free love. Well...not the free love – mostly just the swaying and air guitars.
I turned to Lois, the news director and part time DJ, as we packed and asked how Paulie ended up on stage. Unbeknownst to me, the previous night the Red Elvises had shown up at the station wanting to plug their show. Paulie had been hanging around...and one thing to led to another...and he was in. They recognized the Young Dude from the radio station and brought him up to the stage for a few numbers. As I said, he really knew how to fit in with people.
Of course, I then asked why I wasn't told the station had guests the night before – but that's another story.
Oh – the red, big triangle I mentioned earlier was a balalaika, a stringed musical instrument of Russian origin. It looked bigger than the guy playing it, a guy that a number of people dubbed Triangle Man. Triangle Man, Triangle Man, Triangle Man meets Young Dude Man. They have a dance, Triangle wins. Go figure, Young Dude Man.
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Voodoo Doll
(Zhenya Kolykhanov)
The Red Elvises
From the album I Wanna See You Belly Dance
1998
Small voodoo doll, looks like me, that's what she's got in her hand,
Sitting and thinking what went wrong, how did we get to the end?
I say, small voodoo doll, don't touch my soul, let me rock'n'roll.
I'm having a good time, patching holes in my head,
I'm having a good time, can't get better than that,
I say, small voodoo doll, don't touch my soul, let me rock'n'roll.
There she goes, grabs a needle, shoves it through my heart,
I don't understand the way she giggles, I think she went little far,
I say, small voodoo doll, don't touch my soul, let me rock'n'roll.
I'm having a good time, patching holes in my head,
I'm having a good time, can't get better than that,
I say, small voodoo doll, don't touch my soul, let me rock'n'roll.
