Kathleen "Toody" Cole is an American bass player and singer, best known as the bass player of Dead Moon she also played in the The Rast and The Range Rats.
Born Kathleen "Toody" Conner in December 30, 1948 in Portland, Oregon she married Fred Cole in 1967. In 1975 Fred and Toody created a record label called Whizeagle. 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, The Rats were disbanded and Fred began an old-time country band called Western Front. 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 Dead Moon was born.
Dead Moon combined dark and lovelorn themes with punk and country music influences into a stripped-down sound. Their early records, such as In the Graveyard, were released on the Tombstone Records label, named for the musical equipment store Fred and Toody operated at the time. Soon they caught the attention of the German label Music Maniac Records, and toured Europe successfully. Not until the mid-nineties did they tour the United States. Much of their following was in Europe. Dead Moon released 10 studio albums, 3 compilations and 5 live albums. In December 2006, near the end of the Echoes of the Past tour, Dead Moon announced that they were breaking up the band. Their last gig was at the Vera club in Groningen on November 26, 2006. Fred and Toody owned and operated their guitar shop, Tombstone Music, for 30 years and also ran the Tombstone General Store in Clackamas, Oregon for about eight years.
Fred and Toody formed a new band called Pierced Arrows with Portland punk musician Kelly Halliburton and played their first show on May 18, 2007 at Portland’s Ash Street Saloon with the reformed Poison Idea.
Andrew Loomis, died on March 8, 2016 at age 54 and Fred Cole died on November 9, 2017 at the age of 69.
Andrew Loomis, died on March 8, 2016 at age 54 and Fred Cole died on November 9, 2017 at the age of 69.
