Bruce Moreland
Encyclopedia
Bruce "Ravens" Moreland (D.O.B. January 22nd) is an American rock musician. This singer, songwriter, and guitarist has worked with such bands as Wall of Voodoo
(with his brother Marc Moreland
), The Weirdos
, Nervous Gender
, and Concrete Blonde
among others. As of 2011, his current project is known as Ravens Moreland.
EARLY LIFE AND MUSICAL BEGINNINGS
Bruce and brother Marc Moreland, grew up in the 60's in West Covina, a suburb in the San Gabriel Valley region of Southern California. Influenced in their early teens, the brothers copied Alice Cooper and Iggy Pop and wore spiked hair and clothes that looked like dresses (To quote Bruce: "We did anything that would shock people...") and started playing music. While attending West Covina High School, they started the "space glitter" rock band Sky People when Bruce was 13 years old. Sky People also featured Randy Jones (singer) of Stormer and London, and Audie Desbrow
, future drummer of Great White
.
Marc and Bruce left the San Gabriel Valley in the late 70's and slept in a broken down van on Gower and Selma Street in Hollywood jamming with bands like The Dogs and Arthur "Killer" Kane, until Bruce settled in at upstart LA underground punk club The Masque
with Brendan Mullen
. Bruce became known as "Bruce Barf" and would MC the club's punk nights introducing the first shows of The Germs
, The Go-Go's
, The Dickies
, The Skulls (American band), The Weirdos (who Bruce joined on bass in '77) and many other influential Los Angeles punk bands. During Bruce's one year tenure with The Weirdos they recorded such songs as I’m Not Like You and Teenage. Bruce also did shows with his Brother Marc with The Skulls (American band) as well as The Controllers (band)
.
MORE MUSIC, SUBSTANCE ABUSE, RECOVERY AND LOSS
In late 1977, Bruce joined his brother Marc and Stan Ridgway
along with drummer Joe Nanini
of Black Randy and the Metrosquad
and The Plugz
to start the iconic post punk group Wall of Voodoo, who did their first show in '78 opening for The Cramps
at the Save The Masque benefit show in Los Angeles. Shortly thereafter, Wall of Voodoo obtained worldwide success. Bruce would later venture in and out of Wall of Voodoo recording on four of their albums; he sights chemical dependencies, emotional instability and hospital stays for the periods he missed during that time. In May of 1995, some of Bruce's experiences with heroin and methadone were chronicled in an article published in Hustler Magazine entitled Turning Junkies Into Junkies: America's Methadone Treatment Program by Scott Schalin.
In 1986 Bruce started several other music projects, including the rock band Black Cherry with Paul Black
of L.A. Guns
. Bruce also merged fellow Wall of Voodoo Members Marc Moreland, Chas Grey and Ned Leukhardt into the avant-garde noise group Nervous Gender, and performed with them for several years. Bruce would also team up with longtime friend Johnette Napolitano
to write the song Sky is a Poisonous Garden for Bloodletting (Concrete Blonde album). Bruce spent several years after this period getting help for substance abuse and helping others to do the same. He also spent time with his sick Brother Marc in Paris until his death in 2002 following a failed liver transplant.
NEW BAND
Following his Brother's death, Bruce focused on songwriting and producing the recordings of his own band Ravens Moreland; “Ravens” was to be his new nickname. After primarily playing bass and keyboards throughout his musical career, he switched to lead vocals and guitar in live performance while still playing bass and keyboards on many of the recordings. David Bianco, former producer of albums by Danzig (band)
, Ozzy Osbourne
and The Damned (band), shares production credits on the first two Ravens Moreland albums Lock up Your Mothers and Sin Has A Soundtrack. Bruce would later self produce the third album Candy Bad And Pretty Things. A new album released in the summer of 2011 The Dirt on You is available only on 12” Vinyl. Ravens Moreland has featured drummers Brian Head, Jared Shavelson, and most recently Jarrod Alexander
of My Chemical Romance
and Death by Stereo
. The band has also featured Chas Stopnik and mainstay Tara Belle on Bass.
DISCOGRAPHY
FULL STUDIO ALBUMS
Ravens Moreland -
Lock Up Your Mothers (Raven Records) 2007
Sin Has A Soundtrack (Raven Records) 2008
Candy Bad And Pretty Things (Raven Records) 2009
The Dirt On You (Raven Records) 2011
INSTRUMENTS AND PERFORMANCE
Wall of Voodoo -
(Self Titled) (Index Records LTD.) 1980
Dark Continent (album)
(I.R.S. Records) 1981
Big City(I.R.S. Records) 1984
Granma's House (album) (I.R.S. Records) 1984
Seven Days In Sammystown (album) (I.R.S. Records) 1985
The Index Masters (Restless Records) 1991
Dark Continent / Call Of The West (Raven Records) 2009
Addie Brik - Wattsland Itza Records 1984
Weirdos - Weird World - Volume One 1977-1981 Frontier Records 1991
WRITING AND ARRANGEMENT
Wall Of Voodoo - Deep In The Jungle (as B. Moreland) Weird Science - Music From The Motion Picture Soundtrack (MCA Soundtracks) 1985
Wall Of Voodoo - Mexican Radio (as Moreland) Frenzy (3) - Clockwork Toy (I.D. Records) 1986
Wall Of Voodoo - Happy Planet (I.R.S. Records) 1987
The Sky Is A Poisonous Garden (as B. Moreland) Concrete Blonde - Bloodletting (I.R.S. Records) 1990
The Skulls - No Pity (as B. Moreland) Live From The Masque 1978, Volume One (Flipside Records) 1994
Wall Of Voodoo - Mexican Radio: Sound Of New Wave(BMG Australia) 1999
PRODUCTION
Addie Brik - Wattsland (Itza Records) 1984
References
1. http://www.tangento.net/marcmorelandtribute.html
2. http://www.wallofvoodoo.com/marctribute/marcobit.htm
3. http://www.laweekly.com/related/to/Bruce+Barf/
4. http://gogonotes.blogspot.com/2008/03/feb-1978-save-masque-benefit.html
5. http://www.scottschalin.com/?p=163
6. http://www.discogs.com/artist/Bruce+Moreland
External links
http://www.ravensmoreland.com/
Wall of Voodoo
Wall of Voodoo was an American New Wave group from Los Angeles best known for the 1983 hit "Mexican Radio". The band had a sound that was a fusion of synthesizer-based New Wave music with the spaghetti western soundtrack style of Ennio Morricone.-Formation:...
(with his brother Marc Moreland
Marc Moreland
Marc Moreland was an American rock musician. He was the former guitarist for new wave band Wall of Voodoo, punk band The Skulls, and rock bands Pretty and Twisted and Department of Crooks...
), The Weirdos
The Weirdos
The Weirdos were an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California. They formed in 1976 and broke up in 1981, were occasionally active in the 1980s, and recorded new material in the 1990s...
, Nervous Gender
Nervous Gender
Nervous Gender is a punk band founded in Los Angeles, California in 1978 by Gerardo Velazquez, Edward Stapleton, Phranc and Michael Ochoa.Their use of heavily distorted keyboards and synthesizers made them, along with The Screamers, one of the original innovators of what is today called...
, and Concrete Blonde
Concrete Blonde
Concrete Blonde is an alternative rock band based in the United States. They were initially active from 1982 to 1995, and again from 2001 to 2004, and once again in 2010.-Biography:...
among others. As of 2011, his current project is known as Ravens Moreland.
EARLY LIFE AND MUSICAL BEGINNINGS
Bruce and brother Marc Moreland, grew up in the 60's in West Covina, a suburb in the San Gabriel Valley region of Southern California. Influenced in their early teens, the brothers copied Alice Cooper and Iggy Pop and wore spiked hair and clothes that looked like dresses (To quote Bruce: "We did anything that would shock people...") and started playing music. While attending West Covina High School, they started the "space glitter" rock band Sky People when Bruce was 13 years old. Sky People also featured Randy Jones (singer) of Stormer and London, and Audie Desbrow
Audie Desbrow
Audie Desbrow is an American musician and drummer, known for his long tenure with the American blues-based hard rock band Great White.-Biography:...
, future drummer of Great White
Great White
Great White is an American hard rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1978. The band gained popularity during the 1980s and early 1990s. The band released several albums in the late 1980s and gained airplay on MTV with music videos for songs like "Once Bitten, Twice Shy"...
.
Marc and Bruce left the San Gabriel Valley in the late 70's and slept in a broken down van on Gower and Selma Street in Hollywood jamming with bands like The Dogs and Arthur "Killer" Kane, until Bruce settled in at upstart LA underground punk club The Masque
The Masque
The Masque was a small punk rock club in central Hollywood, California which existed intermittently from 1977 to 1979. It is remembered as a key part of the early L.A. punk scene.-History:...
with Brendan Mullen
Brendan Mullen
Brendan Mullen was born in Paisley, Scotland and moved to Manchester, England when he was 8. He spent his early teen years writing for various British music magazines. In 1973, Mullen moved to the United States where he remained for the remainder of his life. Mullen had just started working toward...
. Bruce became known as "Bruce Barf" and would MC the club's punk nights introducing the first shows of The Germs
The Germs
The Germs are an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California, originally active from 1977 to 1980. The band's early lineup consisted of singer Darby Crash, guitarist Pat Smear, bassist Lorna Doom, and their most consistent drummer Don Bolles. Germs have since reformed in 2005 with Shane...
, The Go-Go's
The Go-Go's
The Go-Go’s are an all-female American rock band formed in 1978. They made history as the first all-female band that both wrote their own songs and played their own instruments to top the Billboard album charts....
, The Dickies
The Dickies
The Dickies are an American punk rock group formed in San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, California, U.S. in 1977.-History:The Dickies were among the first punk rock bands to emerge from Los Angeles...
, The Skulls (American band), The Weirdos (who Bruce joined on bass in '77) and many other influential Los Angeles punk bands. During Bruce's one year tenure with The Weirdos they recorded such songs as I’m Not Like You and Teenage. Bruce also did shows with his Brother Marc with The Skulls (American band) as well as The Controllers (band)
The Controllers (band)
The Controllers were formed in July 1977 by Kidd Spike, Johnny Stingray, and Gaye Austin. The band continues with Kidd Spike and Johnny Stingray as principal members and songwriters. They were joined later that summer by D.O.A...
.
MORE MUSIC, SUBSTANCE ABUSE, RECOVERY AND LOSS
In late 1977, Bruce joined his brother Marc and Stan Ridgway
Stan Ridgway
Stanard 'Stan' Ridgway is an American multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter known for his distinctive voice, dramatic lyrical narratives, and eclectic solo albums and was the original lead singer of the band Wall of Voodoo...
along with drummer Joe Nanini
Joe Nanini
Oliver Joseph Nanini was a drummer, most famous for being part of the New Wave group Wall of Voodoo during their heyday in the 1980s. He was known for using pots, pans and other objects as drums. He, along with Stan Ridgway and Bill Noland, left the band after their performance at the US Festival...
of Black Randy and the Metrosquad
Black Randy and the Metrosquad
Black Randy and the Metrosquad was a punk rock act from the late 1970s and early 1980s in the Los Angeles punk scene. They gained notoriety not only for their surreal and smutty sense of humour, but also for their amalgamation of proto-punk, 1970s soul, pop, and avant-garde music.-History:The band...
and The Plugz
The Plugz
The Plugz were a Mexican-American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California that formed in 1977. They and The Zeros were among the first Chicano punk bands, although several Latino garage rock bands, such as Thee Midniters and Question Mark & the Mysterians, predated them...
to start the iconic post punk group Wall of Voodoo, who did their first show in '78 opening for The Cramps
The Cramps
The Cramps were an American rock band, formed in 1976 and active until 2009. The band split after the death of lead singer Lux Interior. Their line-up rotated much over their existence, with the husband and wife duo of Interior and lead guitarist Poison Ivy the only permanent members...
at the Save The Masque benefit show in Los Angeles. Shortly thereafter, Wall of Voodoo obtained worldwide success. Bruce would later venture in and out of Wall of Voodoo recording on four of their albums; he sights chemical dependencies, emotional instability and hospital stays for the periods he missed during that time. In May of 1995, some of Bruce's experiences with heroin and methadone were chronicled in an article published in Hustler Magazine entitled Turning Junkies Into Junkies: America's Methadone Treatment Program by Scott Schalin.
In 1986 Bruce started several other music projects, including the rock band Black Cherry with Paul Black
Paul Black
Paul Michael Eaton Black was originally a singer and drummer. Most notable for his time as lead vocalist in L.A. Guns, with whom he wrote most of their self-titled debut album.-Biography:...
of L.A. Guns
L.A. Guns
L.A. Guns is the name of a hard rock group formed in Los Angeles, California, of which two rival incarnations currently exist due to numerous line-up changes. The first incarnation of the group was formed, by Tracii Guns, in 1983 but disbanded in 1985 following its merger with fellow Los Angeles...
. Bruce also merged fellow Wall of Voodoo Members Marc Moreland, Chas Grey and Ned Leukhardt into the avant-garde noise group Nervous Gender, and performed with them for several years. Bruce would also team up with longtime friend Johnette Napolitano
Johnette Napolitano
Johnette Napolitano is an American singer, songwriter and bassist best known as the lead vocalist/songwriter and bassist for the alternative rock group Concrete Blonde.- Solo career :...
to write the song Sky is a Poisonous Garden for Bloodletting (Concrete Blonde album). Bruce spent several years after this period getting help for substance abuse and helping others to do the same. He also spent time with his sick Brother Marc in Paris until his death in 2002 following a failed liver transplant.
NEW BAND
Following his Brother's death, Bruce focused on songwriting and producing the recordings of his own band Ravens Moreland; “Ravens” was to be his new nickname. After primarily playing bass and keyboards throughout his musical career, he switched to lead vocals and guitar in live performance while still playing bass and keyboards on many of the recordings. David Bianco, former producer of albums by Danzig (band)
Danzig (band)
Danzig is an American heavy metal band, formed in 1987 in Lodi, New Jersey. The band serves as a musical outlet for the singer/songwriter Glenn Danzig. Danzig can be seen as the third stage in Glenn Danzig's musical career, preceded by the horror punk bands The Misfits and Samhain...
, Ozzy Osbourne
Ozzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English vocalist, whose musical career has spanned over 40 years. Osbourne rose to prominence as lead singer of the pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, whose radically different, intentionally dark, harder sound helped spawn the heavy metal...
and The Damned (band), shares production credits on the first two Ravens Moreland albums Lock up Your Mothers and Sin Has A Soundtrack. Bruce would later self produce the third album Candy Bad And Pretty Things. A new album released in the summer of 2011 The Dirt on You is available only on 12” Vinyl. Ravens Moreland has featured drummers Brian Head, Jared Shavelson, and most recently Jarrod Alexander
Jarrod Alexander
Jarrod Alexander is an American drummer, who has played with many hardcore bands. Alexander currently drums for the band My Chemical Romance. He also drummed for The Suicide File, A Static Lullaby and most recently Dead Country.-Bands:...
of My Chemical Romance
My Chemical Romance
My Chemical Romance is an American alternative rock band from New Jersey, formed in 2001. The band consists of lead vocalist Gerard Way, guitarists Ray Toro and Frank Iero, and bassist Mikey Way and have a diverse sound incorporating elements of punk, emo, glam metal, and progressive rock...
and Death by Stereo
Death by Stereo
Death by Stereo is a hardcore punk band formed in Orange County, California circa 1996 by frontman Efrem Schulz. They are well known for their energetic performances and intricate guitar work...
. The band has also featured Chas Stopnik and mainstay Tara Belle on Bass.
DISCOGRAPHY
FULL STUDIO ALBUMS
Ravens Moreland -
Lock Up Your Mothers (Raven Records) 2007
Sin Has A Soundtrack (Raven Records) 2008
Candy Bad And Pretty Things (Raven Records) 2009
The Dirt On You (Raven Records) 2011
INSTRUMENTS AND PERFORMANCE
Wall of Voodoo -
(Self Titled) (Index Records LTD.) 1980
Dark Continent (album)
Dark Continent (album)
In a retrospective review, Allmusic declared Dark Continent to be Wall of Voodoo's greatest album, claiming the absence of any weak songs and the album's intensely original voice and style as justification.-Track listing:All tracks written by Wall of Voodoo...
(I.R.S. Records) 1981
Big City(I.R.S. Records) 1984
Granma's House (album) (I.R.S. Records) 1984
Seven Days In Sammystown (album) (I.R.S. Records) 1985
The Index Masters (Restless Records) 1991
Dark Continent / Call Of The West (Raven Records) 2009
Addie Brik - Wattsland Itza Records 1984
Weirdos - Weird World - Volume One 1977-1981 Frontier Records 1991
WRITING AND ARRANGEMENT
Wall Of Voodoo - Deep In The Jungle (as B. Moreland) Weird Science - Music From The Motion Picture Soundtrack (MCA Soundtracks) 1985
Wall Of Voodoo - Mexican Radio (as Moreland) Frenzy (3) - Clockwork Toy (I.D. Records) 1986
Wall Of Voodoo - Happy Planet (I.R.S. Records) 1987
The Sky Is A Poisonous Garden (as B. Moreland) Concrete Blonde - Bloodletting (I.R.S. Records) 1990
The Skulls - No Pity (as B. Moreland) Live From The Masque 1978, Volume One (Flipside Records) 1994
Wall Of Voodoo - Mexican Radio: Sound Of New Wave(BMG Australia) 1999
PRODUCTION
Addie Brik - Wattsland (Itza Records) 1984
References
1. http://www.tangento.net/marcmorelandtribute.html
2. http://www.wallofvoodoo.com/marctribute/marcobit.htm
3. http://www.laweekly.com/related/to/Bruce+Barf/
4. http://gogonotes.blogspot.com/2008/03/feb-1978-save-masque-benefit.html
5. http://www.scottschalin.com/?p=163
6. http://www.discogs.com/artist/Bruce+Moreland
External links
http://www.ravensmoreland.com/