Fred Cole is like some sort of musical version of High Lander or a vampire.  Since 1964, at a mere 16 years of age, Cole has been an enduring force in the music industry.  By organically adjusting, adapting, and adding to his signature sound, he has been able to move inconspicuously amongst mortals throughout the many passing decades.  Few others can lay claim to having performed shows with the likes of the Doors and Janis Joplin in the Sixties, as well as with Punk legends like Ramones in the Seventies, and bands like Black Lips of today.  Fred Cole has been there and transitioned admirably through all of it.

Fred met and married his wife Toody before he was out of his teens and they have been together ever since.  Through the births of their children, playing in various bands together, running a music/general store, and even living in the unforgiving elements of the Yukon, the Coles are like the Zan and Jana of sonic onslaughts.  From the garage rock/psychedelia of The Lollipop Shoppe, to the punk of The Rats, to the country-influenced The Range Rats, and the mashed up rough punk of Dead Moon, Fred has remained a vital voice in the music industry and Toody’s has increasingly grown stronger and stronger.  After almost 20 years and being the subject of a documentary, Dead Moon disbanded in 2006, when the couple parted ways with drummer, Andrew Loomis.  Now, with the addition of drummer, Kelly Halliburton (Severed Head of State, Defiance), the Cole’s are about to head out on tour with their most recent musical project, Pierced Arrows.

I caught Pierced Arrows during their last appearance in Seattle and they were an impressive live act; incorporating new tracks with classics from projects of the past.  Their sophomore album, Descending Shadows will be released by VICE Records on February 2nd.  The following video of the trio performing their new song, “Let It Rain” in the yard of their Oregon home. (more…)

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I used to work the graveyard shift as a night auditor at a pair of shitty hotels, across the street from a crack park in downtown Seattle.  I was eventually, and intentionally, fired but, like most shitty jobs, this one had some Pros mixed in with its Cons. The pros were the comical wingnuts and crackheads, the fact that I met my girlfriend there, my free pizza hook ups every night, and that it was not uncommon for patrons to kick me down free weed.  Among the cons were the not-so comical wingnuts and crackheads, my incompetent and self-important dipshit of a boss (who was over-compensating for his secretive, yet discovered, history for having a taste for man wiener), that I was constantly scheduled as a security guard (not my “job”), and the time that the vato with the dress shirt and neck tattoo tricked me into smoking a sherm blunt with him at 3 in the morning.  The most frustrating situations were the ones where the Cons actually canceled out the Pros all together. One example was when I had learned that the Swedish psych band, DUNGEN, was staying in the hotel and had offered the entire staff free tickets to their local performance.  Sure, it was a “sweet” bonus for having a shitty job, but the problem was that I was actually working at that shitty job during DUNGEN’s performance.  It would take almost 4 more years before I realized to what magnitude I had missed out. (more…)

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This video has only received 12 hits on Youtube so far.  It finally and officially confirms the West Coast dates that everyone has been waiting on for PHISH’s latest reunion tour.  Obviously, this announcement isn’t delivered in a manner that was quite as exciting as the last one which featured sky writing jets or the Hampton painting, but some of the news definitely is news worthy.
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Heath Ledger killed the Joker (ha-ha). Everyone is concerned with originality and ownership. But c’mon folks, “Why so serious?”. If the ending results of an idea are more crisp and refreshed under new and loving inspiration, then I welcome them. Is this the case for The Gene Ween Band?  What?

“The Gene Ween Band is a side project of Aaron Freeman of Ween” says their official MySpace.

Aaron “Gene Ween” Freeman, Dave Dreiwitz, Scott Metzger, and Joe Russo is the official band roster.   A dream team of some of indie/jam rock’s finest are the meat in this gumbo, branded with the Boognish seal of “WEEN”.  Does this overshadow the “Gene” & “Band” aspects?  Many will expect the universe.  Many will naysay. (more…)

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The interview below was conducted by one of our newest writers, Dr. Radical, back in November during Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, TX.  We had hopes of posting it earlier, however, Dr. Radical was struck by a vehicle which held the transcription time back a bit.  He is fully recovered and we are pleased to provide his first work for the site to you now.  We feel that he did a tremendous job.  He didn’t come away with any current photos of the group so I contacted The DM vocalist Rodney Anonymous to see if he had any available.  He didn’t seem to know where they were located and responded by saying the following in an email:

“Can’t you just use a picture of the Jonas Brothers…or porn?“

Hence, the header photo.  All other images featured are courtesy of  photographer Nina Sabatino (aka: Dean Clean’s sister).  More of her work can be viewed through her Flickr account by clicking here.

Thanks for reading, we hope you enjoy it.

-Dead C (more…)

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Ya Ho Wha 13
Dec. 15, 2008
Nectar Lounge
Seattle, Wa

A man somewhat resembling an elf plays his guitar with an eagle feather, singing freestyle verse about the altar of life.  The drummer, named Octavius Aquarian, sucks into the microphone between rapid drum fills. Sunflower, adjusts his bass strap after leading a measly Monday night Nectar crowd through a breathing exercise.  How and why such a flashback inducing session of music went down on an uber-cold Seattle night is the stuff of legend, the moss that grows on myth.  Come with me, back 40 years to “The Source“; to Los Angeles. (more…)

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