"That first Dead Moon Night was celebrated with performances at City Hall, including appearances by Michael Hurley, Ural Thomas, Marissa Anderson, along with members of Wipers, Poison Idea, and Napalm Death. Artists got up on stage, performed their versions of Dead Moon tracks, and hopped off, making room for the next tribute. Husband-wife duo Fred and Toody Cole, along with Andrew Loomis, are the driving forces behind Portland's greatest rock & roll band."
"They also toured the world many times over, even famously turning down an opening spot on a Nirvana tour. Instead, Dead Moon kept a promise they made to fans in New Zealand by going through with their already booked tour down there-showing, yet again, who they are as people of community."
"Without doubt, opening for Nirvana on tour would have launched the Coles and Loomis-already decades into making music respectively-into a stratosphere of fame not often occupied by Portland artists, and that's the Coles' ethos to a T. DIY on a molecular level, Fred and Toody did it all themselves: Homesteading multiple times, raising a family, starting a record label, creatively leading multiple bands, opening a gear shop in downtown Portland, tour booking, and on and on."
Dead Moon Night became an official Portland holiday on October 5, 2017, declared at 6 PM, 35 days before Fred Cole's death. The inaugural celebration featured performances at City Hall by a range of artists who covered Dead Moon songs in quick, rotating tributes. Dead Moon formed in 1987 around Fred and Toody Cole and Andrew Loomis and released numerous studio and live albums, compilations, singles, at least one book, and inspired a documentary. The band toured extensively, prioritized promises to fans over commercial opportunity, and embodied a lifetime DIY ethic spanning music, family, business, and community.
Read at Portland Mercury
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