| Album :Descending Shadows Biography by Mark Deming The Pierced Arrows mark a new chapter in the careers of two of the most indefatigable figures in garage punk, Fred Cole and Toody Cole. Born in Nevada in 1948, Fred Cole started playing music when he was 13, and recorded his first single in 1964 with the Las Vegas-based combo the Lords. In 1966, after moving to Los Angeles, he formed the Weeds, who cut the garage rock classic "You Must Be a Witch" (appearing on a number of compilations including the Nuggets box set) after the band signed to Uni Records and had its name changed to the Lollipop Shoppe in 1968. By that time, Fred had married Toody Connor, who he met while the Weeds were playing an extended engagement at a club in Portland, OR, where she worked. After the breakup of the Lollipop Shoppe, Fred and Toody settled in the Portland area and opened a music store while Fred worked with a variety of bands and Toody learned to play music. In the late '70s, Fred heard the Ramones and was excited by the energy and immediacy of punk rock; after a stint with a punk-influenced group called the Rats, Fred formed Dead Moon in the mid-'80s, which featured him on guitar and vocals, Toody on bass and vocals, and Andrew Loomis on drums. Dead Moon were a fiercely independent outfit who wrote, produced, and recorded their own material; released most of their albums on their own Tombstone Records label; and even cut their own master lacquers for vinyl releases, with Fred doing the ... |
