Frederick Lee Cole (August 28, 1948 – November 9, 2017) was an American rock singer and guitarist who played with several bands from the 1960s until his death, most notably

The Lollipop Shoppe The Lollipop Shoppe was an American garage rock band formed in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 1966. In 1964, Fred Cole ( lead vocals) recorded his first single, a R&B original with a group known as the Lords, but the band proved to be short-lived, and ...

Dead Moon Dead Moon was an American punk rock band active from 1987 to 2006, formed in Portland, Oregon. History Fronted by the singer/guitarist Fred Cole, the band also included the bass guitarist Toody Cole and the drummer Andrew Loomis. Veterans ...

, and Pierced Arrows. He was associated mainly with the garage punk genre though he was also influenced by

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

, country, and folk music. The majority of his recorded output was self-financed and independently released on his own record label.

Early career

In 1964, Cole began his recording career in Las Vegas with his band, the Lords,Barr, Brian J. (2006)
Never Say Die
, '' Seattle Weekly'', September 20, 2006, retrieved 2010-01-22 at the Teenbeat Club, releasing a single titled "Ain't Got No Self-Respect." His next single, from 1965, was a promo-only called "Poverty Shack" b/w "Rover," with a band named Deep Soul Cole.

The Weeds

In 1966 Cole's band The Weeds gained notice in

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...

circles, and their only single, a 1960s punk track called ''It's Your Time'' (b/w ''Little Girl'', Teenbeat Club Records), has become a collectors' favorite. The A-side appeared on one of the

Nuggets Nuggets may refer to: Music * ''Nuggets'' (series), a series of compilation albums by Elektra Records, continued by Rhino * '' Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968'' * '' Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts from ...

anthologies. The band was promised an opening slot on a Yardbirds bill at the

Fillmore Fillmore may refer to: Places Canada * Fillmore, Saskatchewan * Rural Municipality of Fillmore No. 96, Saskatchewan United States * Fillmore, California * Fillmore District, San Francisco, California * Fillmore, Louisiana * Fillmore, Illino ...

in San Francisco, but on their arrival found that the venue hadn't heard of them. Angry at management and fearing the military draft, the band decided to head up to Canada, but ran out of gas in Portland, Oregon. There, they started playing at a club called the Folk Singer, where Kathleen "Toody" Conner worked. Cole and Toody soon fell in love and were married in 1967, although The Weeds' manager insisted they keep the marriage secret.

The Lollipop Shoppe

Another manager required The Weeds to change their name to

because he also managed The Seeds and thought the names were too similar, and to fit the current bubblegum trend (although their 1968 LP on UNI Records (a now-defunct subsidiary of MCA), titled ''Just Colour'', is more a mix of garage rock and the psychedelia of bands such as Love). The album and its single "You Must Be a Witch" didn't chart, but remain underground favorites. The band also released another single, "Someone I Knew" b/w "Through My Window," played many shows in San Francisco with performers such as

Janis Joplin Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer and musician. One of the most successful and widely known Rock music, rock stars of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals and "electric" stage ...

and The Doors, and had two tracks on the soundtrack LP to the film ''Angels from Hell''. The Lollipop Shoppe broke up in 1969, but reappeared as The Weeds with another single in 1971.

Whizeagle and Zipper

Frustrated with the music business and still of draft age, Cole headed for Alaska with Toody and their two young children. They got as far as the Yukon, where they homesteaded for a year. Upon their return, Cole tried unsuccessfully to secure another record deal in Los Angeles. He settled in Portland and opened a musical equipment store called Captain Whizeagle's. Taking his musical career into his own hands, he formed the

band Zipper and released an LP in 1975 on his and Toody's label, Whizeagle.Mosurock, Doug (2006)
Dead Moon ''Echoes of the Past''
, Dusted magazine, September 7, 2006, retrieved 2010-01-22

King Bee, The Rats, Western Front

Cole's next band, King Bee, saw him playing guitar for the first time in addition to singing. A last-minute invitation to open for The Ramones introduced them to the punk sounds of the time. They released the "Hot Pistol" single on Whizeagle in 1978, but soon broke up. In an attempt to find a stable lineup, Cole taught Toody to play bass and they formed The Rats. Their self-titled debut was released in 1980 on Whizeagle. ''Intermittent Signals'' followed in 1981, and 1983 saw the release of the third LP, ''In a Desperate Red''. After losing three drummers, and tired of the macho direction the punk scene had taken, Cole disbanded The Rats and began an old-time country band called

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

. They released only two singles, "Orygun" b/w "Clementine" and "Stampede" b/w "Looking Back at Me" in 1985, but they influenced many local punkers to develop an interest in country-rock and rockabilly.

The Range Rats and Dead Moon

Toody, who had occasionally performed with Western Front and recorded a single with them, rejoined Cole for another country-influenced project, The Range Rats, in 1986. Drummer Andrew Loomis auditioned for this band, but it didn't work out, so Cole and Toody carried on with a drum machine. In 1987, while returning from Reno (their favorite vacation spot), Cole and Toody decided they wanted to play rock 'n' roll again. They called Andrew Loomis, who was a better fit for this project, and

was born. Dead Moon's music is a blend of dark '60s garage with punk rock; It was described by

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

as sounding "like the 13th Floor Elevators without the clinical dementia".Christgau, Robert (2006)
Dead Moon ''Echoes of the Past'' Review
, '' Rolling Stone'', November 30, 2006 (reproduced at his website), retrieved 2010-01-22 Their early records, ''In the Graveyard'', ''Unknown Passage'', and ''Defiance'', appeared on the band's own

Tombstone Records File:Alvinoreyguitarboogie.jpg File:AmMusicBunk78.jpg File:Bingola1011b.jpg Lists of record labels cover record labels, brands or trademarks associated with marketing of music recordings and music videos. The lists are organized alphabetically, b ...

, named for the music store Cole and Toody operated in Clackamas, Oregon. Cole mastered these records on a mono lathe from the 1950s that had been used for The Kingsmen's version of "Louie Louie". These releases helped them gain cult followings around the United States and in Europe, especially in Germany, home of their European record label Music Maniac.Zorn, Alex " Dead Moon Biography, '' Allmusic'', retrieved 2010-01-22

Pierced Arrows and documentary

After releasing "Dead Ahead" and touring Europe, Dead Moon broke up in 2006, and, with a new drummer, Kelly Halliburton, Fred and Toody formed the band Pierced Arrows."Pierced Arrows (ex-Dead Moon) Return!"
, ''Blurt'', May 11, 2009, retrieved 2010-01-22 In 2004 U.S. documentary filmmaking couple (Jason Summers and Kate Fix) produced ''Unknown Passage: The Dead Moon Story''.

Death

Fred Cole died in November 2017 at the age of 69, from liver disease.

References

External links

Dead moon

Official Pierced Arrows-site
* (see bottom of page)
Fred Cole (Dead Moon etc.) turns 60!

The Rats
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cole, Fred 1948 births 2017 deaths Musicians from Nevada Musicians from Portland, Oregon American male songwriters Songwriters from Oregon Western High School (Nevada) alumni