The Range Rats

In 1986, following the breakup of the Portland, Oregon band Western Front, guitarist/vocalist Fred Cole and his wife Toody (bass/vocals) formed The Range Rats, which continued Western Front's mix of punk rock and country music. Mark Sten and Louie Samora were occasional members and Andrew Loomis auditioned for the band but it didn't work out. Fred and Toody eventually enlisted "Rollie" the Roland drum machine and took up touring tiny Nevada mining towns."Alot of these miners, they had never seen a live band before! They'd be bringing their whole families, it was a real big deal, a real occasion." -Toody "The whole idea was to make enough money so we could gamble another week!" -Fred

They recorded an unreleased album, but on the way back from Reno in 1987, Cole decided he wanted to return to the rock 'n' roll he had played in bands such as The Lollipop Shoppe and The Rats. A second audition with Loomis worked out, and Dead Moon 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.



See the Film Unknown Passage: The Dead Moon Story.