Buzz Magazine October

BLACK SUN CIRCUS
By Constance Hilton
I was excited to interview “Black Sun Circus”, since they
performed at our fundraiser: “Independence for JJ” in
August. This band is full of talent by Rusty Ellison (bass and
vocals), Scotty Moore (drums), Steve Olinger (lead guitar,
vocals and flute) and Hippie Olinger (harmonica).
Two members of this Port Richey band met me for a social
barbeque at a friend’s house. If you have experienced a
Black Sun Circus show, you know that it is filled with theatrics,
gimmicks and members painted up in makeup to
show their circus side. So as I waited for them to arrive, I
was curious if they would show up in the full stage get-up.
Rusty Ellison and Scotty Moore walked in make-up free,
full of laughs and ready to eat. While we waited for lunch,
the three of us sat down along with their band manager,
Joanne Doane, and began our interview.
Black Sun Circus has been described as “the show you
won’t forget” and a “Rock & Roll Circus Side Show”. But
how did it start? How did it grow? Who is the magic behind
the make-up?
BB: So Rusty, how did this begin?
Rusty: It actually begins with another band, “Southern
Silk”. Steve and I and another guy were in this band and
to make a long story short, we we’re all fired! So the
three of us knew we needed a lead singer and a name.
We auditioned singers, but none of them really cut it.
But we knew we could learn all these songs ourselves,
and started working as a trio under the name of “Black
Sun”.
But then we found out we had a social media problem –
that being a lot of bands are called Black Sun. So we
knew we needed to add to the name to stand out. So we
added, “Circus”.
BB: When you added “Circus”, is that when you began
with the make-up?
Rusty: No, the make-up actually started with the band
“Southern Silk”. The make-up has always been part of
the shows! It takes about 30 minutes to put it on, but by
the end of the night, it’s sweated off and a lot of our fans
are wearing it on them.
BB: Do you ever perform without the make-up?
Rusty: NO!
BB: Where is everyone in the band originally from?
Rusty: I was born in Kentucky, but grew up in Ft. Lauderdale.
Scotty: I am from Clearwater and Steve is from Virginia.
Hippie is Virginia too and he sits in with once in a while
and jams, but he’s not actually “in” the band. He’s more
our sound-guy. Plus he plays harmonica and drums.
BB: How do you choose the songs?
Rusty: A lot of the times it’s “Hey, I know this song!”
Scotty: We try to stay away from a lot of the mainstream,
songs that everyone is playing.
Rusty: Yeah, we try to go by a guideline as to the direction
of the music. We’re never going to do southern
rock. We all know it, but…. And you’ll never hear us play
“Mustang Sally”. I don’t care how many women yell at
us!
Scotty: We go from Fulsome Blues, songs like that, to
Green Day. We get a lot of request too from the fans.
BB: Do you write your own music?
Rusty: We do. We’d like to start working on a CD full of
our original music soon.
BB: Scotty, how did you learn to play drums?
Scotty: My
mother was a
musician. She
was a professional
singer. I
learned a lot
from her. And
she still plays! I
also was in the
marching band
back in the high
school days. But
as a kid I used to
drum on everything, even pots and pans. I got my first
drum set when I was ten years old. One day my mom
tricked me - I was in the middle of something and she
interrupts me and tells me I need to help her bring in the
groceries. When I got out to the truck, there’s a drum set
sitting in there. “You can’t play them when your father is
home,” she told me. (Laughs heartily). That was the only
rule. I took off from there.
I also got to meet Buddy Rich, one of the drummers I
idolize, in a small music store. The place was packed!
22 / BAYBUZZ.ORG / OCTOBER 2016