Toody Cole, co-founder and mainstay of iconic Oregon group Dead Moon and the godmother of raw DIY rock 'n' roll, returns to Australia for the first time fronting her own band, following three decades of appearances here with Dead Moon, Pierced Arrows and as a duo with her late great husband Fred Cole. In Toody Cole & Her Band, she is joined by Kelly Haliburton and Christopher March (on drums and guitar respectively) of fellow Oregon outfit Jenny Don't & The Spurs.
Eternal icons of the international DIY and garage scenes, Dead Moon were formed in the late '80s by Fred & Toody after the demise of their previous band The Rats. Fred's days in music went way back to the mid-'60s in original Nuggets/Pebbles garage bands The Weeds and The Lollipop Shoppe (who shared Sunset Strip stages with the likes of Neil Young's Buffalo Springfield and Arthur Lee's Love), and Dead Moon followed that same musical lead, providing a singular unbroken link over the next couple of decades between the original '60s American garage rock bands and subsequent garage/punk/early grunge scenes. They did so while writing heartfelt and at times anthemic songs that reflected their age, struggles and experience, building a timeless repertoire and legacy that grows more significant every year.
Toody is the guts, the heart and the unyielding determination and drive of the bands she's shared. Now 76 years young, Toody is a door-busting, ceiling-cracking riot woman holding more than her own in the endless youth-oriented male rock landscape.
Famously turning down a US tour with Nirvana in '92 having already committed to a 20-date run in New Zealand, Dead Moon were influential on subsequent generations of raw rock 'n'rollers, from Mudhoney through to the White Stripes and beyond. And they were the realest of real deals when it came to DIY; they had their own record label (Tombstone Records), their own musical instrument store, their own studio and even their own vinyl cutting lathe (the same one on which the Kingsmen's garage rock icon "Louie Louie" had been originally cut in 1963).
The passing of drummer Andrew Loomis in 2016 and then of Fred Cole himself in 2017 has done nothing to dim Dead Moon's shining light; indeed, they have more fans now than they had when they were around, a second Dead Moon documentary, 20 Years in the Crypt, was recently released and screened in Australia, and their entire catalog is now available through Mississippi Records.
Post-Dead Moon, Fred & Toody helmed Pierced Arrows, with longtime family friend Kelly Haliburton on drums. In recent times Toody has recruited Kelly to put together a band to keep that Dead Moon songbook alive. Otherworldly reader of the guitar runes, Christopher March, string slinger in Kelly’s cow punk combo Jenny Don’t & the Spurs was the only choice to replicate Fred Cole’s singular guitar style. Toody Cole & Her Band was born.
Toody Cole & Her Band will bring the songbook and the mystic backwoods rock'n'roll soul of Dead Moon to the Antipodes for possibly the last time. These rare live shows from Toody will provide new generations of Dead Moon fans with a chance to glimpse something of the band they missed and old fans a chance to recapture the amazing feeling that was had every time Dead Moon played live.
Don't miss Toody Cole & Her Band taking over Fang It! for a very special Studio 5 Live session on Thursday November 20 from 5pm. Tune in for an exclusive performance and interview with host Ruari Currin.
