Dead Moon's Fred Cole To Undergo Emergency Heart Surgery

"Our worst nightmare has come true."

Fred Cole (right) performing with Dead Moon at Crystal Ballroom on Jan. 4, 2014.

Stories worth knowing. Reporting worth supporting. Willamette Week's biggest fundraiser of the year is underway. Help fund independent reporting that is free for everyone.

Give today. Keep the stories coming.

Fred Cole, the Portland punk legend most known as the frontman for Dead Moon, will undergo heart bypass surgery, according to an announcement on the Web site of his current project, Pierced Arrows.

Here is the full message:

In a Willamette Week article from early January previewing a Dead Moon reunion at Crystal Ballroom, Cole, 65, said the previous year had "been a nightmare" for him health-wise. He had a hernia operation and referred to other ailments which he refused to disclose.

Pierced Arrows were scheduled to play Dante's in May. No other Dead Moon gigs had been confirmed following the show at the Crystal, though at the time, the band said offers were pouring in, which they were willing to entertain, "if we can make it through this [show]," said Cole's wife and bandmate, Toody. They did a lot more than merely survive it. 

Here's wishing Fred a speedy recovery.

WWeek 2015

Willamette Week reports the stories worth knowing, from City Hall to the people and places shaping Portland.

Help keep the stories coming by supporting WW on Give!Guide.