Bruce "Ravens" Moreland (born January 22, 1959) is an American rock musician and songwriter. He has worked with such bands as

Wall of Voodoo Wall of Voodoo was an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, United States. Though largely an underground act for the majority of its existence, the band came to prominence when its 1982 single "Mexican Radio" became a hit on MTV an ...

(with his brother

Marc Moreland Marc Moreland (January 8, 1958 – March 13, 2002) was an American rock musician. He was the former guitarist for rock band Wall of Voodoo, punk band The Skulls, and rock bands Pretty and Twisted and Department of Crooks. He also released a solo ...

The Weirdos The Weirdos are an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California. They formed in 1975, split-up in 1981, re-grouped in 1986 and have remained semi-active ever since. Critic Mark Deming calls them "quite simply, one of the best and bright ...

Nervous Gender Nervous Gender is an American punk rock electronic band formed in Los Angeles in 1978 by Gerardo Velazquez, Edward Stapleton, Phranc and Michael Ochoa. Their use of heavily distorted keyboards and synthesizers made them, along with The Scr ...

, and

Concrete Blonde Concrete Blonde was an American alternative rock band from Hollywood, California. They were initially active from 1982 to 1995, and reunited twice: first from 2001 to 2004, and again from 2010 to 2012. They were best known for their album ''Bloo ...

among others. As of 2011, his current project is known as Ravens Moreland.

Life and career

Early life

Bruce Moreland and his brother Marc grew up in the 1960s in

West Covina West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some R ...

, a suburb in the

San Gabriel Valley The San Gabriel Valley ( es, Valle de San Gabriel) is one of the principal valleys of Southern California, lying immediately to the east of the eastern city limits of the city of Los Angeles, and occupying the vast majority of the eastern part ...

region of

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

. In their early teens, the brothers copied

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...

and

Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of ...

and wore spiked hair and clothes that looked like dresses and started playing music. While attending

West Covina High School West Covina High School (WCHS) is a four-year comprehensive secondary school located in West Covina, California, USA. History West Covina High School opened in 1956 on the old Covina High School campus on Citrus Ave. and Puente Ave. as the Spar ...

, they started the "space glitter" rock band, Capt. Cosmos de Venus & The Sky People. Sky People also featured Randy Jones (singer) of Stormer and London, and Audie Desbrow, future drummer of Great White. The Moreland brothers left the San Gabriel Valley in the late 1970s and slept in a broken down van on Gower and Selma Street in Hollywood, jamming with bands like The Dogs and

Arthur "Killer" Kane Arthur Harold Kane Jr. (February 3, 1949 – July 13, 2004) was a musician best known as the bass guitarist for the pioneering glam rock band the New York Dolls. Kane was a founding member of the Dolls in 1971 and remained an integral part of the ...

, until Bruce settled in at upstart LA underground punk club

The Masque The Masque was a small punk rock club in central Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood, California which existed from 1977 to 1978. It is remembered as a key part of the early LA punk scene. History The Masque was founded by Scottish-American rock ...

with

Brendan Mullen Brendan Mullen (October 9, 1949 – October 12, 2009) was a Scottish nightclub owner, music promoter and writer, best known for founding the Los Angeles punk rock club The Masque. Through Mullen's support at various nightclubs in Californ ...

. Bruce became known as "Bruce Barf" and would MC the club's punk nights, introducing early shows of the Germs,

The Go-Go's The Go-Go's are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1978. Except for short periods when other musicians joined briefly, the band has had a relatively stable lineup consisting of Charlotte Caffey on lead guitar and keyboards, Belind ...

The Dickies The Dickies are an American punk rock band formed in the San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, in 1977. One of the longest tenured punk rock bands, they have been in continuous existence for over 40 years. They have consistently balanced catchy mel ...

, The Skulls,The Weirdos

(who Bruce joined on bass in 1977), 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, as well as

The Controllers The Controllers are a fictional extraterrestrial race existing in the DC Universe. They first appear in '' Adventure Comics'' #357 (June 1967), and were created by Jim Shooter, Mort Weisinger, and Curt Swan. Fictional character biography Pre-C ...

Wall of Voodoo

In late 1977, Bruce and Marc became founding members of the iconic post punk group

, who played their first show in 1978, opening for

The Cramps The Cramps were an American rock band formed in 1976 and active until 2006. Their lineup rotated frequently during their existence, with the husband-and-wife duo of singer Lux Interior and guitarist Poison Ivy the only ever-present members. T ...

at the Save The Masque benefit show in Los Angeles. Bruce would venture in and out of Wall of Voodoo, recording on four of their six albums; he cites chemical dependencies, emotional instability and hospital stays for the periods he missed during that time. In May 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, Moreland started several other music projects, including the rock band Black Cherry with Paul Black of

L.A. Guns L.A. Guns is an American glam metal band from Los Angeles, formed in 1983. The lineup currently consists of Tracii Guns (lead guitar), Phil Lewis (lead vocals), Ace Von Johnson (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Johnny Martin (bass, backing vo ...

. He 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. He teamed up with longtime friend

Johnette Napolitano Johnette Napolitano (born Jonette L. Napolitano; September 22, 1957) is an American singer, songwriter and bassist best known as the lead vocalist, songwriter, and bassist for the alternative rock group Concrete Blonde. Early life Johnette Nap ...

to write the song "The Sky is a Poisonous Garden" for ''

Bloodletting (Concrete Blonde album) ''Bloodletting'' is the third studio album by American alternative rock band Concrete Blonde. Released on May 15, 1990, the album marks a shift for the band toward gothic rock. It features guest appearances by R.E.M. (band), R.E.M.'s Peter Buck a ...

''. Moreland spent several years after this period getting help for substance abuse, and helping others to do the same.

Ravens Moreland

Following his brother's death, Moreland 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,

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...

and The Damned, shares production credits on the first two Ravens Moreland albums ''Lock up Your Mothers'' and ''Sin Has a Soundtrack''. Moreland self-produced their third album, ''Candy Bad and Pretty Things''. An album released in the summer of 2011, ''The Dirt on You'', was produced only on 12" vinyl. Ravens Moreland produced 3 more albums between 2015 and 2020, "Occupy The Earth" 2015,"Six" 2018 (digital only) and "The Death of the Guardians of the State" 2020. Ravens Moreland has featured drummers Brian Head,

Jared Shavelson Jared Shavelson is an American drummer from Cherry Hill, New Jersey. He attended SUNY where he studied jazz. After two years at Music Conservatory he joined The Hope Conspiracy. In 2006 he joined None More Black and played with Paint It Black. H ...

Jarrod Alexander Jarrod Fletcher Alexander (born August 13, 1981) is an American musician who has played with many hardcore punk bands. Alexander has been the drummer for the bands The Suicide File, A Static Lullaby, Dead Country, and more recently, My Chemical R ...

. and currently Linda LeSabre formerly of Death Ride 69 and

My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult (often shortened to Thrill Kill Kult or TKK) is an American electronic industrial rock band originally based in Chicago and founded by Groovie Mann (born Frankie Nardiello) and Buzz McCoy (born Marston Daley). ...

. The band has also featured Chas Stopnik and mainstay Tara Belle on Bass.

Discography

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 *''Candy Bad and Pretty Things'' (Ravens Records) 2013 *''Occupy The Earth'' (Ravens Records) 2015 *''Six'' (Ravens Records) 2018 *''The Death of the Guardians of the State'' (Ravens Records) 2020

Wall of Voodoo

*''

'' (Index Records LTD.) 1980 *'' Dark Continent'' (I.R.S. Records) 1981 *''Big City'' (I.R.S. Records) 1984 *''Granma's House'' (I.R.S. Records) 1984 *''

Seven Days in Sammystown ''Seven Days in Sammystown'' is the third studio album by American rock band Wall of Voodoo, released in 1985. This was the first Wall of Voodoo album to include Andy Prieboy on vocals and Ned Leukhardt on drums—following the departure of fron ...

'' (I.R.S. Records) 1985 *''

Happy Planet Happy Planet is a private company in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, known for making organic juices and smoothies. The company was started in 1994 by Randal Ius and Gregor Robertson. They originally started out with one farm producing carr ...

'' (I.R.S.) 1987 *''The Index Masters'' (Restless Records) 1991

Others

*Addie Brik – ''Wattsland'' Itza Records 1984 (producer) *''Weird Science – Music From The Motion Picture Soundtrack'' (MCA Soundtracks) 1985 *Concrete Blonde – ''Bloodletting'' (I.R.S. Records) 1990 *Weirdos – Weird World – Volume One 1977–1981 Frontier Records 1991 *The Skulls – ''Live From The Masque 1978, Volume One'' (Flipside Records) 1994

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. https://web.archive.org/web/20110816160156/http://gogonotes.blogspot.com/2008/03/feb-1978-save-masque-benefit.html 5. https://web.archive.org/web/20120425062642/http://www.scottschalin.com/?p=163 6. http://www.discogs.com/artist/Bruce+Moreland

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moreland, Bruce Living people American rock musicians 1959 births Wall of Voodoo members