Teach Yourself Stevie Riks: Q & A

By Hanna

Wikipedia calls Stevie Riks a “British comedian and musical impressionist,” but that hardly does him justice. Since he seems to believe that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, I’ve put together a short guide to Stevie Riks fandom.

First, impersonate an apparently random collection of musicians on camera, using enough loving mockery. Then, splice them together in your videos so that you can be several at once and have them interact with each other. Finally, build an extensive online fanbase that stretches beyond fans of those musicians only. Stevie Riks’ videos are memes among music fans, linked around and ensuring daily laughs and trips into the bizarre and wonderful. I love the way he gets at just the right things that are hilarious about my favorite musicians, so let’s take a trip into the world of Stevie Riks and see how he does it.

Popshifter: In your videos, is Marc Bolan actually shouting, “GAY!” in between songs and if so, why? (Note: If so, we approve.) Is Freddie Mercury also shouting “GAY”?

Stevie Riks: LOL! No, he shouts, “Day Ohhh.” It’s Bolan that shouts, “Gay!” (Actually, Bolan shouts, “Yey!” but someone pointed out it sounded like “Gay.”)

Popshifter: Your impressions are so good and they seem like only a real fan could pull them off. Is that true? Do you only pick musicians you really like or is it more based on what the audience would like?

Stevie Riks: They’re mostly my heroes, people I’ve been brought up on. So there’s a lot of love and respect attached to each impression.

Popshifter: Have you ever been sent angry emails from fans because you’re mocking their idols?

Stevie Riks: Now and then, I’ll receive angry emails. Everyone’s entitled to their opinion, I suppose, but I don’t let it bother me. The majority love ’em.

Popshifter: How long does it take you to get an impression right and how do you analyze and choose what you’ll put in them? Does it take a lot of video viewing to do this?

Stevie Riks: Impressions get better the longer you keep doing them. They develop all the time. If you look at some of my earlier stuff, you can see how they’ve progressed.

Popshifter: Could you have done this project without YouTube? What do you think of YouTube’s copyright stance and if it ever closes down, would this have a negative impact on you? (The videos are on your site, but it seems like YouTube makes it easier for people to find you.)

Stevie Riks: YouTube is a Godsend. It’s awesome and I’d be lost without it. It’s let people all over the world see my stuff. As for the copyright stance, well it has to be. It’s part of the package.

“Peace and Love!”

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