Dead Moon

BIOGRAPHY

Dead Moon formed in Portland, Oregon in 1987, built around singer-guitarist Fred Cole, singer-bassist Toody Cole, and drummer Andrew Loomis. The trio fused dark, lovelorn songwriting with punk and country influences into a stripped-down garage sound that critic Robert Christgau likened to 'the 13th Floor Elevators without the clinical dementia.' Fred Cole engineered most of the band's recordings himself, mastering them on a mono lathe once used for The Kingsmen's version of 'Louie Louie,' and released early albums like In the Graveyard on Tombstone Records, named for the Coles' own music equipment store. Signed to the German label Music Maniac Records, Dead Moon built a large following through European touring, becoming, as one Portland observer put it, a bigger fish abroad before returning home. The band released ten studio albums, six live albums and three compilations before disbanding in 2006, reuniting in 2014, and disbanding again in 2017 after Loomis died of cancer in 2016 and Fred Cole died of cancer in 2017.

WHY THEY'RE COOL

Dead Moon's DIY ethos, mono-lathe mastering, and homemade gear made them a linchpin of Portland's punk scene, with Fred and Toody Cole often described as the scene's mom and pop and Andrew Loomis its older brother. Their raw garage-punk sound, likened by Robert Christgau to a subdued 13th Floor Elevators, won a devoted European following through relentless touring, feeding back into Portland's rise as a punk hub through the 1990s.

GEORGE'S PLAYS

First time on the station.

PLAYED ON WOKE1

• Dead Moon Night1 PLAY