Dead Moon’s Andrew Loomis Has Died

Photo by Anthony Pidgeon/Redferns

Andrew Loomis, a member of Dead Moon for 28 years (pictured left), has died, the Portland Mercury reports. Last year, he stopped touring after being diagnosed with lymphoma in his neck. A GoFundMe page was set up to help cover the cost of treatment. Pierced Arrows, the group led by Dead Moon’s Fred and Toody Cole, confirmed the news on Twitter.

Fred, a garage rock stalwart, formed Dead Moon with bassist Toody and drummer Loomis in 1987. In 1988, they released debut single “Parchment Farm,” the first of a string of home recordings on their Tombstone Records imprint. In 1990, Hans Kestaloo signed them to German label Music Maniac after being introduced by the Wipers’ Greg Sage. He also flew them over to tour Europe, where they found a significant fan base.

Throughout the ’90s, Dead Moon were beloved staples of the Pacific Northwest music scene, releasing a flood of music on labels including Sub Pop, Tombstone, and eMpTy, as well as Music Maniac and Sympathy for the Record Industry. In 2006, the year they split, a documentary was released on the trio, Unknown Passage: The Dead Moon Story.

The group reunited in 2014 and 2015 following Fred Cole’s open heart surgery. During Dead Moon’s down periods, Loomis also drummed in the Shiny Things. Writing on Dead Moon’s fan page on Facebook, Loomis’s companion Neva Knott wrote that he “passed peacefully with his brothers, sister, Ruby Ann Swaner Whitfield, and me with him.”

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