Tombstone Records is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 record label

Record label

In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...

 that was founded in 1988

1988 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1988.-January-March:* January 1 – André Rieu's Johann Strauss Orchestra plays its first concert....

 by 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,...

 of 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...

 in Portland

Portland, Oregon

Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

, Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

, with his wife Toody.

The label was named for the musical equipment store they operated at the time. Their first release was Dead Moon's debut single, "Hey Joe" b/w "Parchment Farm." Cole mastered the single himself on a mono lathe that had been used for The Kingsmen

The Kingsmen

The Kingsmen is a 1960s garage rock band from Portland, Oregon, United States. They are best known for their 1963 recording of Richard Berry's "Louie Louie", which held the #2 spot on the Billboard charts for six weeks...

's version of "Louie Louie." Many subsequent Dead Moon releases have appeared on Tombstone. Other bands such as The Flapjacks (led by Louis Samora, former drummer for Fred and Toody's band 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...

), and Inspector Luv and the Ride Me Babies (which later became Green Apple Quick Step

Green Apple Quick Step

Green Apple Quick Step, often abbreviated as GAQS, is an American rock band from Seattle, Washington. Their sound was described as hard-edged, post-grunge rock. The band began as Inspector Luv and the Ride Me Babys in Tacoma, Washington before becoming Green Apple Quick Step, in Seattle, by 1992...

), have released records on the label, which exists to provide mastering and duplication services, rather than scouting and promoting bands.