Igor Yuzov was all set to visit Moscow again this year.

After a two-year hiatus because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic shutdown, Yuzov was looking forward to perform in Russia for fans of his group, Igor & Red Elvises.

The annual tour of Igor & Red Elvises, which plays rock ‘n’ roll with a lyrical eye toward humor (“I Wanna See You Belly Dance,” “Closet Disco Dancer”), has included concerts in St. Petersburg, Siberia and Kyiv, Ukraine.

“I was supposed to have a concert in Moscow just before the war. And I canceled it,” Yuzov says. The War in Ukraine began Feb. 24.

“I didn’t feel safe. I felt there might be some problems crossing the border. I could have been stuck there,” says Yuzov.

Yuzov was interviewed April 1 by phone from St. Petersburg -- not Russia, but Florida, where the Red Elvises’ tour included Bradenton, Tampa and the Naples Blues Festival.

The tour brings Igor & Red Elvises, a perennial favorite for some 25 years at Musikfest, Bethlehem, back to Pennsylvania, for the group’s first concert at the Mauch Chunk Opera House, Jim Thorpe, 8 p.m. April 9. Doors open at 7 p.m.

Yuzov, who has friends and relatives in Ukraine and Russia, is reluctant to go into detail about his opinions about the War in Ukraine.

Yuzov, born in Germany in 1964, moved at age three with his family to Odessa, Ukraine, then in the Soviet Union.

“It’s very weird what’s going on. Most people know that I am from the Ukraine. I have friends in both countries. I’m really praying that it’s going to be over soon.

“Most immigrants don’t support the war. And most people in Russia don’t support the war.

“They are all afraid that the times of the Soviet Union are coming back. I lived through that. I don’t want to go back to that.”

The Red Elvises’ songs are not political, despite the group’s name. The concerts are intended for maximum fun.

“They come and have a great time. And we try to make them forget about the problems. We’re celebrating life,” says Yuzov.

Red Elvises’ concerts have drawn raves for years:

“The best party band in Los Angeles.” - LA Weekly

“More irresistible than matryoshka dolls [Russian nesting dolls] and more potent than a Molotov cocktail.” - Minneapolis Star Tribune

“One of the hottest, wackiest bands around.” - Pasadena Weekly

The Red Elvises were previously named Limpopo, for a Ukrainian folk tale about Africa.

Yuzov and members of Limpopo, which played Ukrainian-Russian folk music, emigrated in 1991 to the United States, settling in Santa Monica, Calif.

Limpopo, busking (playing for tips) on the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, was scouted for “Star Search,” hosted by Ed McMahon, 1983-’95. Limpopo placed first on “Star Search” in 1993.

“We won some money and we bought a van and started touring the U.S. and Canada,” Yuzov recalls.

“I got tired of playing traditional music. I like writing my own songs. I learned English by that time more or less and I started writing songs in English,” says Yuzov.

Limpopo became Red Elvises in 1995.

“I had a dream,” Yuzov says. “Elvis showed up in my dream and he said, ‘Call them the Red Elvises.’”

Elvis Presley (1935 - 1977), dubbed “The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll,” went from a svelte, swivel-hipped 1950s’ teen idol and movie star to a jump-suit wearing Las Vegas showroom entertainer.

Did early Elvis or Vegas Elvis appear in Yuzov’s dream?

“It was the Las Vegas Elvis. I prefer the early Elvis. But for some reason in my dream, it was the Las Vegas Elvis. But who am I to pick? I was happy he showed up,” Yuzov says.

“Red” is derived from “the Reds,” a pejorative for citizens of the Soviet Union, which dissolved in 1991. The term refers to the color of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.) flag, which included the image of a gold hammer and sickle on red. In the 1918 Russian civil war, the Bolshevik Army, called the Workers-Peasants Red Army, defeated the White Army, which were loyal to the czar.

Yuzov recounted his Elvis dream to his band-mates, and the recommendation to change the name of their group, Limpopo, to Red Elvises.

“Surprisingly, they liked the idea and said, ‘OK. Let’s do that,’” says Yuzov.

Yuzov became the designated Elvis, even to having jumpsuits fashioned in the style of those worn by Presley.

“I used to go to Thailand a lot,” says Yuzov. “You point your finger and say, ‘I want pants like that and a coat like that,’ and they make it.

“My costumes look a little worn out. I need to make a trip to Thailand. Now they are opening the borders. I look like a homeless bum.”

Red Elvises’ fans can attest to the wear and tear on Yuzov’s costumes. Under the Volksplatz tent at Musikfest, Yuzov was typically drenched in sweat during a concert.

Igor & Red Elvises are expected to return for Musikfest 2022, possibly for three concerts, Aug. 7, 8 and 9.

Yuzov began playing bass at age six. His older brother had a cover band, doing Beatles, Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin songs. The band played at wedding receptions in Ukraine.

“Whenever his bass player didn’t show up, I was very happy,” says Yuzov.

“I learned lots of traditional Ukrainian Russian tunes, Klezmer music, Moldavian music.

“I played with much better musicians than me. So I was always learning. I saved on classes.”

Yuzov was 18 when he joined the Soviet Union Army. After serving two years, 1982-’84, he moved to Moscow, enrolling in Teachers Training University.

“We started a band, so I didn’t have time to study,” Yuzov says of Limpopo.

The Red Elvises has a devoted following not only at Musikfest, but around the U.S., touring eight months of the year.

“Covid changed it a lot. But we’re getting back to our schedule,” Yuzov says.

With album titles such as “She Works for KGB” (2017) and “Surfing In Siberia” (1997), Yuzov’s songwriting is decidedly tongue-in-cheek.

The songs, he says, are “kind of making fun of things. Making irony.

“People can conga-line to ‘Sad Cowboy Song.’ That’s a traditional thing,” says Yuzov of a Red Elvises’ concert.

Whether you call it HOD (Humor Oriented Dance) or DOH (Dance Oriented Humor), which are terms I made up to describe pop songs such as Frank Zappa’s “Dancin’ Fool” (1979), Yuzov was onto something with the Red Elvises.

It shouldn’t be surprising that Yuzov developed “joke rock” with the Red Elvises.

“I grew up in Odessa in the Ukraine. That city’s very famous for humor, and that southern culture. Lots of comedians and actors came form Odessa. Odessa is famous for its musicians and comedians,” says Yuzov.

Yuzov, who turned 58 on March 27, says he enjoys the warmth of the sun in St. Petersburg -- Florida, that is -- just as he does in Santa Monica.

“That’s probably the reason I still didn’t move out because there are so many musicians there,” Yuzov says of the California beach town.

Santa Monica has provided musicians for several lineup changes in the Red Elvises’ 26-year history.

The lineup is now: Yuzov, guitar, lead vocals; Alex Kozlov, guitar; “Crazy” Tomes, guitar; Riley O’Halloran, bass, and Tata Batera, drums. The group features a big, red triangle-shaped contrabass-style balalaika.

“My drummer in the band is Brazilian,” Yuzov says.

“It’s always fun. The band has a good energy,” says Batera, who has been playing drums in the Red Elvises for approximately one year.

“And the audiences like to dance and participate in the songs,” Batera says in a separate phone interview.

“I started playing drums by ear at church when I was 13. My family played music at church. My father plays bass and my mother sings,” says Batera, a native of Brasilia, Brazil.

“My mom said when I was 3, I was already interested in drums.”

Batera came to the U.S, to study drums at the California College of Music, Pasadena.

Her drum teacher, Craig Palo, who had played drums in the Red Elvises, got a phone call from Yuzov, who was looking for a drummer. Batera auditioned and got the gig.

She was on the Red Elvises’ 25th anniversary tour in 2021, which included three concerts at Musikfest. Batera is endorsed by TRX Cymbals.

“We’ve been singing Brazilian songs,” Batera says of her contributions to the Red Elvises. “We have all kinds of different flavors in the songs.

“One of them, I sing in Portugese and Tomes sings the other half in Hebrew,” says Batera.

Igor & Red Elvises’ Jim Thorpe concert is expected to include new songs and fan favorites.

“When I write a song, I play a song live and put it on the album if they like it and if they don’t, I don’t put it on the album,” Yuzov says.

The Red Elvises live at Musikfest, Volksplatz, 2019:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7hxCZP4clk

Igor & Red Elvises, 8 p.m. April 9, Mauch Chunk Opera House, 14 W. Broadway, Jim Thorpe. Tickets: box office; https://mcohjt.com/ ; 570-325-0249