The Rats

Formed in 1979 by Fred Cole from the 1960's 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 occasional country touches. Their self-titled debut album appeared on Cole's Whizeagle label in 1980. Soon after, Rod Rat left the band, though he guested on the 1981 follow-up Intermittent Signals before his tragic suicide. Sam Henry, formerly of The Wipers, played drums on this LP but left to join another Portland band, Napalm Beach. Louis Samora was on the drum throne for the 1983 album In a Desperate Red, still on Whizeagle. Samora left in 1984 to concentrate on his rockabilly band, The Jackals. Tired of losing drummers, and bored with the punk scene's decline into macho posturing, the Rats broke up. Soon after, Fred and Toody enlisted an old Roland drum machine and formed the country band The Range Rats. Adding Andrew Loomis on drums and returning to a more rock / punk style they became the 20 year veterans Dead Moon. Despite great songwriting, The Rats' records did not sell well, and are hard to find today. Music and live perfomances by The Rats are in the Dead Moon documentary "Unknown Passage".



See the Film Unknown Passage: The Dead Moon Story.