Our city’s constant readers were dealt a blow on November 8 with the death, at age 77, of Amber Unicorn Books co-proprietor Lou Donato. Amber Unicorn, which Lou ran with his wife Myrna, reflected his spirit—it’s a warm, friendly and engaging place, an ineffable asset to Vegas’ cultural character. In a November 11 Facebook post, Myrna celebrated Lou’s memory—“Undoubtedly he is already … making plans to build his perfect ‘bookstore in the sky’,” she wrote—while affirming that the bookstore will stay open: “It will be a struggle without Lou, but he was adamant [about] providing a bookstore for all.” –Geoff Carter
Las Vegas music scene booster and local radio personality Joe Sacco died November 11 at age 33. Though he was most recently the digital content manager of Beasley Media Group, Sacco was likely best known for his seven-year stint at 107.9-FM, which included hosting duties on the weekend show Local 107.9. Promoter and Viva Ska Radio DJ Josh Coutts, who worked with Sacco at 107.9, remembers him as “hands down the nicest person ever. He would definitely give his shirt off his back for anybody. ... He was never biased toward any sort of band. He loved music, and he loved people.” Jenine Cali, of local acts The Day After and The Dirty Hooks, says, “He would do his best to give us and other bands opportunities. He was just good people.” Adds KC Wells, also of The Day After, "He believed in us and was there for us at every turn, offering support wherever we needed it. He loved this scene. I, like a lot of people here, lost a great musical ally. And I lost a great friend as well. He will be missed immeasurably.”–Leslie Ventura
Fred Cole, leader of legendary Pacific Northwest garage-punk band Dead Moon, died November 9 at age 69. From 1987 to 2006, Cole’s crude guitar work and piercing wail in the Portland, Oregon power trio timelessly summoned the ghosts of rock ’n’ roll’s darker side. But the cult hero got his start while growing up in sunny 1960s Las Vegas. Cole’s early groups included the R&B-leaning The Lords, his Deep Soul Cole vocal act and garage band The Weeds, later renamed The Lollipop Shoppe. “Everybody liked him. He was very talented,” said former Las Vegas City Councilman Steve Miller, who from 1964 to 1969 co-owned The Teenbeat Club, where Cole was a regular performer. To avoid the draft, The Weeds headed for Canada in 1966, but ran out of gas in Portland, where Cole met and married his wife and Dead Moon bandmate Toody Cole. –Jack Evan Johnson
