In 1986, following the breakup of the Portland, Oregon band Western Front

Western Front band

Western Front was an American band formed in 1985 in Portland, Oregon that consisted of Fred Cole on vocals and guitar, Kevin Conner on bass, and Jeff Evans on drums. Cole had been in the garage rock band The Lollipop Shoppe and the punk rock band The Rats, among others. Western Front still had...

, guitarist/vocalist Fred Cole

Fred Cole

Fred Cole is the singer, guitarist, and songwriter of the band Pierced Arrows and formerly Dead Moon.-The Lords:In 1964, Cole began his recording career in Las Vegas with his band, The Lords, at the Teenbeat Club, releasing a single called "Ain't Got No Self-Respect." His next single, from 1965,...

 and his wife Toody (bass/vocals) formed The Range Rats, which continued Western Front's mix of punk rock

Punk rock

Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

 and country music

Country music

Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

. Drummer Andrew Loomis auditioned for The Range Rats but it didn't work out, so Fred and Toody enlisted a drum machine and began touring Oregon mining towns. They recorded an unreleased album, but on the way back from a Reno vacation in 1987, Cole decided he wanted to return to the rock 'n' roll he had played in bands such as The Lollipop Shoppe

The Lollipop Shoppe

The Lollipop Shoppe were a 1960s psychedelic garage rock band from Portland, Oregon .They were originally known as The Weeds and featured Fred Cole, best known for playing in Dead Moon. He now plays in Pierced Arrows...

 and The Rats

The Rats

The Rats were an American garage punk band from Portland, Oregon, formed by Fred Cole from the garage rock band The Lollipop Shoppe. 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 and garage rock with...

. A second audition with Loomis worked out, and Dead Moon

Dead Moon

Dead Moon was a United States punk rock band from 1987 to 2006, formed in Portland, Oregon. Fronted by singer/guitarist Fred Cole, the band also included bassist Toody Cole, Fred's wife, and drummer Andrew Loomis. Veterans of Portland's independent rock scene, Dead Moon combined dark and lovelorn...

began. Songs by The Range Rats wound up in the Dead Moon documentary Unknown Passage, and the song "Go My Way" was rerecorded for Dead Moon's Dead Ahead album.