Toody Cole

Toody Cole, real name Kathleen Alice Conner, was born in 1948 in Portland, Oregon. She was the singer and bass guitar player of Oregon punk rock band Dead Moon from 1986-2006. Dead moon was founded by Toody and her late husband, musician Fred Lee Cole.
Toody Cole (1948-present), originally named Kathleen Conner, is an American bassist, vocalist, and business owner from Portland, Oregon. She is a pioneer woman in American lo-fi rock, as she sang and played the bass in a popular band, Dead Moon, from 1987 to 2006. Not only that, but Cole’s free spirit lives in her throughout her life. 
Inspired by The Beatles, Joan Baez, and Bob Dylan, Cole volunteered at a local club called the Folk Singer in Portland. This is where she met her husband, Fred Cole.
Toody and Fred married on June 14, 1967 and had a child only a year later in 1968. The couple and a drummer, Andrew Loomis, formed a band, Dead Moon, that would become a defining influence of the low-fi movement. 
Low-fi music is defined by highlighting the imperfections in a recording as a part of the music itself. The low-fi movement was popularized during Cole’s lifetime during the 1970s-90s. (2)
All the while, the Coles rehearsed and lived an eclectic life in a suburb outside of Portland called Clackamas as they raised their three children. As a woman raising children in the eighties, Toody combined family lifestyle with her free spirit of rock ‘n roll. All through the rampant substance use during the 70s, Toody remained grounded in her family, as she claimed, (1) Dead Moon focused on love and their sultry Northwestern country mixed style influenced the low-fi movement of the 90s. 
Not only was Toody an influential musician, but she and Fred co-owned a music business called Captain Whizeagle’s. She knew what it felt like to want to be in a rock band, but be limited by expenses, so Captain Whizeagle’s sold eclectic musical instruments at reduced prices. Toody’s often hidden legacy as a rock ‘n roll legend pairs with her love for family and following her dreams, however unconventional they may be. To this day, Toody wears a similar variation of the same outfit everyday, black jeans, black cowboy boots, and a black shirt typically adorned with a Jack Daniel’s logo. (pictured below)
Toody in her usual outfit circa 21st century
Fred and Toody would remain married until Fred died of cancer in 2017. Toody Cole lives in Portland where she owns and operates a thrift store in the basement of Mississippi Records. (3)
==Bibliography==
# Bart Blasengame, "The Ballad of Fred and Toody," Monthly Portland, last modified July 21, 2009, accessed March 23, 2023, https://www.pdxmonthly.com/arts-and-culture/2009/07/music-fred-toody-0809.
# Supper, Alexandra. "Listening for the Hiss: Lo-Fi Liner Notes as Curatorial Practices." Popular Music, Cambridge University Press, 2018. EBSCOhost, web-p-ebscohost-com.westminster.idm.oclc.org/ehost/detail/detail?vid=5&sid=b6771a8f-c044-4aa1-baf9-1b223b6a547c%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#AN=129087721&db=a9h. Accessed 5 Apr. 2023. Excerpt originally published in Popular Music.
# Nate Rogers, "The Fire, Fury and Second Life of Punk Survivor Toody Cole of Dead Moon," Billboard, last modified October 10, 2019, accessed March 23, 2023, https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/toody-cole-dead-moon-interview-8532587/.
Category:1948 births
Category:People from Portland, Oregon
Category:Singers
Category:Bass guitarists