The Formative Years – Dead Moon
After having been in bands like the Weeds and Lollipop Shoppe, Fred Cole founded the punk-influenced Rats in the late 1970s before focussing his efforts on country music and Americana.
It was not until 1987 that he founded Dead Moon with a line-up that would remain consistent in trio form until the band disbanded in 2006, i.e. with singer/bassist Toody Cole and Fred's wife and drummer Andrew Loomis
Dead Moon dominated Portland’s independent scene and exerted an immense influence on the wider underground scene with their idiosyncratic melange of country, garage and punk music influences. Infused with Cole’s omnipresent 1960s roots, their trademark stripped down sound and rounded out with a gloomy lyrics centred around unrequited love they carve out a lane for themselves.
Given the fact that Dead Moon refused to play outside their neck of the woods in the US until the mid-1990s, they were better known in Europe and countries like Australia, where they developed a fanatic cult following from the get go.
While I have to admit that I did not click instantaneously with Cole’s high, quavering vocals when I first encountered them as a teenager, they eventually grew on me once I realized how unique their own enthusiastically expressive brand of vintage punk rock was, which was further amplified by the fact that most of their recordings have been mastered on a mono recording lathe and released on their own label Tombstone Records.
Once one delves into the back catalogue of Dead Moon, it should not prove wondrous to realize how much of an impact that had on what was to emerge as grunge in Seattle, with especially bands like Pearl Jam making no secret of the fact that they adored them.
Check out one of their late reunion shows:
