The Rats were an American

garage punk A garage is a covered structure built for the purpose of parking, storing, protecting, maintaining, and/or repairing vehicles. Specific applications include: * Garage (residential), a building or part of a building for storing one or more vehic ...

band from

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, formed by Fred Cole previously of the

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 ...

band,

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 ...

. Cole played guitar and sang, his wife, "Toody" played bass and sang, and initially Rod Rat played drums. Their sound was a raw mix of punk rock with occasional

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

touches. Their self-titled debut album appeared on Cole's Whizeagle label in 1980. Soon after, Rod Rat left the band, though he guested on the 1981 follow-up ''Intermittent Signals'' before his death by suicide. (Prior to his suicide Rod Rat (aka Rod Hibbert) also played drums in 1980-81 for Portland power pop band Domino Theory). Sam Henry, formerly of the Wipers, played drums on this LP but left to join another Portland band,

Napalm Beach Napalm Beach is an American rock band formed in Portland, Oregon. They are considered early innovators of the grunge sound. Nicholas Pell, writing for the ''Portland Mercury'' said "a huge influence on the grunge and alternative rock of the 1990s, ...

. Louis Samora was on the drum throne for the 1983 album ''In a Desperate Red'', still on Whizeagle. Samora left in 1984 to concentrate on his

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...

band, The Jackals. The band broke up, but Bill Barker of Profile Studios in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

convinced the band to reunite for a single. It appeared under the band name The Desperate Edge later in 1984. Soon after, Cole assembled a country band, Western Front, and he and Toody later reunited in

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 ...

. The Rats' records have long been out of print and sell for high prices on eBay. In 2008, Portland's

Mississippi Records Mississippi Records is a record store and label. It was founded by Eric Isaacson in 2003 in Portland, Oregon. It also houses a café, equipment repair shop, and the Portland Museum of Modern Art. The Mississippi Records motto is: "Love over gold. ...

reissued the first album on vinyl. The two-part song "The Rat's Revenge" - which appeared on the first volume of

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- was performed (some 15 years prior) by a different band under the same name.

References

Musical groups from Portland, Oregon Punk rock groups from Oregon 1980 establishments in Oregon 1984 disestablishments in Oregon Musical groups established in 1980 Musical groups disestablished in 1984 {{US-punk-band-stub