Our beloved Marc Moreland passed away March 13, 2002 from complications following a liver transplant. His body may be gone, but he will live forever in our hearts, minds and souls.

DEPARTMENT OF CROOKS

This trio came together by chance in Las Vegas, NV in early 1995 when Marc Moreland (Wall of Voodoo founder/guitarist who briefly but more recently, toured with Johnette Napolitano's Pretty & Twisted), met vocalist/guitarist Sheldon Ferguson (fronting his own project, Press, in San Jose,Ca.), and keyboardist Frederika, (a French magician's assistant on a tour stop in Las Vegas).

The three encountered each other at the Golden Gate Downtown Casino. Moreland had been a Vegas resident for the previous three years, Sheldon was braving a lost weekend in Vegas, and Frederika had just walked out on the magic act, bored with the lack of challenge. The three had a few drinks and talked about music, blackjack, and cigarette machines. Sheldon lost all of his money, and Marc had already pawned or sold all his old equipment, and told them he had given up music. Before the night was over Marc hit a Royal Flush and loaned Sheldon the money for a greyhound ticket back home. Within a couple of weeks, Ferguson had sent Marc the money back, convincing him to use it to fetch his equipment and get back into music. A phone call later, the two of them had agreed to put something together, but missing was a band!!

Sheldon returned to Nevada, and they spent the next two weeks tracking down Marc's stuff and getting most of it back. They started writing, in spite of the lack of potential accomplices, when Moreland got a call from Frederika who was back in sin city and didn't know what was to follow. They'd found the missing link...a rude, noisemaking, loudmouthed keyboard player...perfect !!

Soon after, Marc's old friend, Jean-Marc Butty, who had just gotten back from a PJ Harvey tour, was recruited for specific drum & percussion duties. Other miscellaneous problems would be solved with the use of semi-functioning rhythm machines. The result is a sound that could be equated to a soundtrack inspired by an Ed Wood production of a science-fiction induced spaghetti-western set deep in the seedy heart of Las Vegas...serve that up hot and enjoy!

Since, the band has toured Europe twice, building a following in France, Switzerland, Germany & Liechtenstein. A recent return to the U.S., has found D.O.C.in the studio, putting it all on vinyl (oops CD!). Their debut album "Plan 9 from Las Vegas" is out now on Risk Records, and the band will follow up shortly with their first U.S. tour.

Okay, so now you know the band's history. What next? Wondering what kind of music people like this could come up with? Is it fast? Is it slow? Do they sound like refugees from the 60's? Do dogs run yelping for the room when they hear it? Will it damage my central nervous system if I stand too close to the speakers while it plays? Is it habit forming? Will it cause cancer in lab rats? Well, the obvious answer would be to buy the CD and find out for yourself. Eventually we hope to have sound bites here for you to download so you can get a taste of the music, become impossibly hooked and are then forced to make the trek to your local music store to buy it. But for the time being, read on for a list of tracks.


PLAN 9 FROM LAS VEGAS

7 Weeks
What'cha Wanna Do Now?
Plan 9 From Las Vegas
X-Ray Vision
Walking with Darla
Oh-Oui-Ann
One Night in June
Falling On Down
Begger Blue Sky
Whiskey & Cadillacs
Aunt Sandie's House
New York City

Alrighty then. Now know the band's history, you know the name of the CD and you know the titles of the songs. So what now, you ask? Well, you have several choices. You can register with URL-Minder so you can be notified by email when we add new things to the page. You can email us. Or (and this is our favorite option) you can get out from behind this computer screen your staring at and go buy "Plan 9 From Las Vegas"!! Give your ears a treat! They'll thank you from the bottom of their lobes.


ATTENTION!!

Both the Department of Crooks CD and Marc Moreland's solo CD are now available for ordering!

E-mail us if you so desire






© 1997 Department of Crooks & Vieuxdo Enterprises


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