Seven Years (and counting!) With Red Elvises!
October 1998 through October 2005
By Kayt
Seven years is a long time. Most relationships and many marriages don’t last that long. If
you’re a Hollywood celebrity, some marriages don’t even last seven days. But we’re not talking
marriage (nooooo! none for me, thanks...) or Tinsel Town glamour here, we’re talking about the
past seven years that I’ve seen, enjoyed the music of, loved, partied with, photographed and
written about Red Elvises. Seven years can be a long time but it’s amazingly true that when
you’re having fun a lot of time can go by in what seems like a flash.
I’ve had a lot of wonderful experiences with the Red Elvises guys since 1998 but my “stats” and
stories aren’t included here as the ultimate “watermarks” of fandom or to imply that I’ve seen
them more than anyone else, nor are they listed as any intention to impress or brag. I’m only
sharing my happiness of my 7th “anniversary” with you all. In fact, I’m completely sure that
there are plenty of people who have seen more shows, dating back to the Limpopo days, than I
have. I never even saw them play on Venice Beach or on Santa Monica’s famous Third Street
Promenade, which I regret. No, the purpose of this article is merely to reflect on how this
band has given me a lot of fun over the past seven years and how phenomenal it is that they can
have the kind of influence or “sticking power” or whatever you want to call it to keep people
coming back again and again for years on end.
I’m not the only one still around after all these years, of course, I’m just possibly one of
the craziest people the guys know. I’m probably the only geek that keeps a running list in Microsoft Word of all
Red Elvises shows I attend, even if I’m selling merchandise and can barely see the
show...hearing it and catching glimpses through various big pieces of stage equipment counts
too! I’ve planned travel to visit family members and friends around Red Elvises tour dates.
I’ve been known to stay up at least half of many nights selecting photos and writing articles
like this one for the Red Pages. But it’s all a labor of love. I’ve seen the band 97 times
since Oct. 29, 1998, in 21 different cities in five states across the U.S.: California (Los
Angeles, Santa Monica, West Hollywood, Pasadena, San Diego, San Francisco, Stockton, Laguna
Beach, Redondo Beach, Huntington Beach, Fountain Valley, Valencia, Long Beach, San Pedro and
Oxnard), Arizona (Tempe), Florida (Tallahassee, St. Petersburg), Washington (Seattle) and
Pennsylvania (Bethlehem and Johnstown). I’d love to see them play in Europe sometime or even
Russia, although given the current state of my finances and passport – I could swear I had a
second one after the one that expired in 1994, only that second one is now also expired,
whether I ever find it or not – traveling outside the U.S. any time soon may well be an
impossible dream. But a girl can dream...
The first time I ever saw Red Elvises play it turned into a three-nights-in-a-row thing!
October 29, 1998 at The Martini Lounge in Hollywood, California was the first night, and after
being introduced to them by a mutual friend it took probably less than five minutes for me to
get completely hooked, along with my friend who was visiting from Chicago. I didn’t dance that
night but wanted to, and it was the first time in years I’d had an urge to dance at a club...I
hadn’t been out much for a long time then. The next night they played at the legendary Rusty’s
Surf Ranch so I saw them there for the first time and it was wild...as I’ve been describing
Rusty’s shows in my reviews ever since.... I haven’t missed too many Red Elvises Rusty’s shows,
even now that I’m living on the other side of the country (well, okay, they've only played
Rusty's one time so far since I moved). Getting back to my story, the third night they played at the
annual West Hollywood Halloween extravaganza, on a big stage outdoors in the median of Santa
Monica Boulevard. My “costume” was pretty much “a Red Elvises fan” – I wore red plaid pants, a
black Red Elvises t-shirt and a red and black feather boa....my nod to West Hollywood. That
night they sealed their place in my heart by agreeing to pose for a picture with my friends and
me after the show...a photo I still love and treasure.
January 1999 rolled around and I went to Arizona to visit some friends, at a time when none
other but Red Elvises just happened to be playing two nights in Tempe, Arizona, very close to
Mesa where my friends lived. Naturally, the friends were dragged along to the Saturday night
show and seemed to have a good time. There was a good, large, crowd there that night. I was on
my own for the Sunday night show; everyone begged off saying they were tired and had to get up
early the next day, but I went anyway. I remember Igor telling me, “I saw you dancing out
there...” which wasn’t hard to believe since for most of that show I was the only one dancing.
That felt a little odd and I kept wishing more of the twelve or so people who were there would
join me on the dance floor, but it felt so good to dance to Red Elvises’ music that I just
couldn’t resist so dancing alone wasn't so bad.
After a few more shows, the next big highlight of my Red mania came about after Oleg announced
during a show in January 1999 that they would be shooting some footage for the “Belly
Dance” video that Sunday and that anyone who wanted to come could be in it. This was happening
at a small studio in Venice and of course I had to go and see what that experience was like. I
ended up spending about nine hours with my new Favorite Band and at first I was nervous and,
yes, shy around them! Believe it or not... I didn’t really know them yet back then but I was
made to feel at ease right away and had a very good time all day. I was in a couple of “scenes”
along with a group of people and we were told to dance without lifting our feet so we wouldn’t
accidentally scratch the blue paint on the floor being used for “blue screen” – the Hollywood
trick that enables filmmakers to insert special effects and backgrounds and so on. I still
remember Oleg telling us “Just dance like you do at Rusty’s!” and thinking “At Rusty’s we move
our feet!” while laughing silently to myself. But really, later on over the years, there were
many times when Rusty’s got so packed with people that there was hardly any room to move our
feet and I remembered that day in the Venice studio, which was good practice! And we got pizza
for lunch so that was fun too. That afternoon was the first time I, and everyone else who was
there, saw Igor in his underwear! Years later there were one or two more times he bared that
much skin, onstage at Rusty's. But watch the Belly Dance video and you'll see what I was
surprised to see that day. More shooting for that video was done a couple of years later
and it eventually included additional footage but much of what I saw that day did make it into
the finished product. I still smile and relive happy memories every time I watch that video.
In March of 1999 I made my first Red Road Trip (the trip to Arizona had been via plane), up to
San Francisco and Stockton, California. My passenger in my car was a girlfriend of one of the
(now long-gone) band members at the time and he was so happy that I brought her up there that
he gave us both wristbands to get in and go backstage. That show was later immortalized
on CD as the “Live” CD, recorded at the Great American Music Hall on March 26, 1999. I had a great
time... whenever I sell a “Live” CD at a show I almost always tell people “some of the screams
on it could be mine.” The next day I looked around San Francisco some and then had a really
nice drive over to Stockton to see them play there on Igor’s birthday. I remember a lot of
happiness on a college campus and a lot of dancing under the trees. I convoyed with their van
on the way home and ended up having my first meal with them, at Pea Soup Andersen’s restaurant
near Gilroy, California. Soup is good!
There followed many more shows, parties (I still remember the first time Igor invited me to an
after show party...very cool...) and travels... In September 2000 I went to Florida and saw
them on the campus of the college I’d attended and graduated from a long time ago, Florida
State University, which was
one of the coolest experiences ever, even with record-high humidity. I think the guys changed
t-shirts at least four times during the course of the show (they didn’t wear the animal print
suits yet at that point). North Florida in September should not be attempted if one isn’t used
to sticky heat and humidity, except for a special occasion like a Red Elvises show at FSU, of course, which is a whole different kind of hot. The next night they played
St. Petersburg, next “door” to Tampa, and it rained hard most of the night after the show
because there was a hurricane out in the Gulf moving slowly closer to land. That was the night
I found out firsthand what a great people person Oleg is; I watched him charm an older lady
(okay, a senior citizen, if you will) who was alone at the coffee bar where we were hanging
out...alone, that is, until Oleg started making conversation with her and including her, and
then she warmed up and started having a good time. It was very cool to see.
One year later, September 1-2, 2001, I was off to Seattle to see the band play the Bumbershoot
Festival, which was really amazing. I didn’t see much of Seattle, just mainly hung out at the
festival and went shopping at a mall, but the city still impressed me and someday I’d like to
visit it again. I think that was the first time some local fans seemed impressed or something
like that to meet me...recognizing my name from this fanzine. That was cool though
somewhat weird, since I never expected any “fame” for myself.
Many years and shows and even one film festival movie premiere (“Mail Order Bride” - sitting in
the theatre watching the film with Igor and Avi) later I’m still going strong, having shared happy times
in bars, clubs and festivals and even one show in a park in Laguna Beach, not to mention
various parties, meals, gratuitous drinking and too many hugs to count. All making for happy
memories and more to come. And somehow, over the years, the number of their shows I’ve seen has
grown to more than I’ve ever seen any other band ever... During this past year when going to
shows at Rusty’s, there was a guy there working the door who would ask me how many of their
shows I’d seen... He would usually just say, “How many?” and for some reason I always thought
he meant beers so I’d say something like “Uh, this is only my second one...” and he’d say
“Shows! How many shows?” with a grin. So I’d have to stop and think and then tell him. The
first time anyone at Rusty’s knew about my habit of keeping track of shows was one night when
Oleg was running around interviewing people with his camcorder and I mentioned, on camera, of
course, that my next show would be my 50th... no one who heard me say that, including Oleg,
would let me forget it for quite a while. It seems like yesterday but incredibly, that night
was in the Spring of 2001.
This year I sadly had to move far away from Southern California, at least temporarily. But in
my new East Coast location I decided I could make the two of my longest road trips to see them,
so I drove up to Pennsylvania twice in less than a month, once for my very first trip to
Musikfest and then over Labor Day weekend to a super-nice little mountain town for Johnstown
FolkFest 2005. Both festivals were great fun as was hanging out with the guys again.
And after all these years, all the great heart-stirring music, all the wonderful people I've met
at many of those incredibly fun ninety-seven shows (as well as all those I've "met" online!)
I’m looking forward to more fun times in the future with this band.... They’re just THAT much
fun, that nice and as we all know they truly appreciate their fans.... not to mention they
always know how to have a good time. They are truly “America’s Singing Sweethearts” as they’ve
self-proclaimed from time to time, well worth any music lover’s efforts and time. My next show,
for which I will gladly fly cross-country, will be at Rusty’s Surf Ranch on the Santa Monica
Pier on New Year’s Eve, December 31, 2005 – if you can, make plans to be there, it’ll be the
best party there can possibly be in all of Southern California...or the world! I can’t think of
a better way to celebrate the beginning of my eighth year with Red Elvises!
October 1998 |
March 2005 |
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