Email Author Chris Gray

Awards

• 2012 - Best of the West/First Amendment Funding, Inc., published February 10, 2011

  "Getting Past the Bouncer"

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2009 Stories by Chris Gray

• Noel Contendre: 11 Musical Christmas Crimes and Misdemeanors

  published Dec 02, 2009

  It's beginning to sound a lot like Christmas - everywhere we go - and most people probably assume it's all glad tidings of peace on Earth and goodwill towards men. Not Rocks Off. We did a little digg... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Attention Houston-Area High School Musicians: Want to Win $500r

  published Dec 01, 2009

  Hey, kids! Put down those damn Rock Band controllers for a second and listen up. Then go pick up some real instruments. Rocks Off is proud to announce that, alongside Fuse and Sonic Bids, we are co-sp... More >>

• Aftermath: Metric's New Wave Coming-Out Party at Warehouse Live

  published Dec 01, 2009

  [Ed note: Yes, we stayed for the entire show this time, but then... oh, never mind.] r When Aftermath first walked into Warehouse Live Monday night, we figured there must be some sort of secret... More >>

• In the Pit

  published December 3, 2009

  One of the hoariest clichés in a profession with all too many — namely, this one — is that "any press is good press." That... More >>

• Slackfest '09

  published December 3, 2009

  Like metal, ska is a genre that just refuses to die. The Jamaican-born music began cross-pollinating island rhythms with the sounds of American... More >>

• Lost in Space Fest

  published December 3, 2009

  Houston has been known as a prime breeding ground for psychedelically inclined musicians ever since the late-'60s heyday of the 13th Floor... More >>

• For World AIDS Day: U2's "One" and Some Pretty Sobering Statistics

  published Dec 01, 2009

  Rocks Off knows it's all about the H1N1 these days, but according to the World Health Organization, only 42 percent of the estimated 9.5 million people worldwide who need antiretroviral therapy are c... More >>

• Flashback: Taking Back Sunday at House of Blues

  published Dec 01, 2009

  Long Island emo veterans Taking Back Sunday brought the reborn sounds of their latest album New Again to House of Blues Monday night with uplifting Floridians Anberlin in tow. Stay tuned for a review... More >>

• Aftermath: Puscifer at Jones Hall, the First Show We've Walked Out On In Years

  published Nov 30, 2009

  rAftermath considers himself a reasonably tolerant sort of fellow - you pretty much have to be to do this job. And we know for a fact we have a sense of humor, and a pretty off-color sense of humor a... More >>

• Lightnin' Hopkins Historical Marker One Step Closer To Reality

  published Nov 30, 2009

  Over the weekend, our sister blog Rocks Off received some very encouraging news from Eric Davis, whose efforts to secure local blues legend Lightnin' Hopkins a long-overdue historical marker we wrote ... More >>

• Art Rock: Mr. Gnome, Fired For Walking and Bright Men of Learning at Rudyard's

  published Nov 30, 2009

  ... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Harris County Historical Commission Approves Lightnin' Hopkins Marker

  published Nov 30, 2009

  Over the weekend, Rocks Off received some very encouraging news from Eric Davis, whose efforts to secure local blues legend Lightnin' Hopkins a long-overdue historical marker we wrote about a couple o... More >>

• Art Rock: The "Turkey Hangover Bash" at AvantGarden

  published Nov 27, 2009

  ... More >>

• Wondering What Tonight's Puscifer Show Might Be Liker Check This Out...

  published Nov 27, 2009

  Well, well, well. This promises to be most interesting indeed. My my, Maynard, my my. 8 p.m. at Jones Hall, 615 Louisiana, 713-227-3974 or www.livenation.com.... More >>

• Art Rock: Black Friday With Basses Loaded, Springfield Riots and Nosaprise at Mango's

  published Nov 26, 2009

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• Rocks Off Is Not Going Dark Over Thanksgiving, Turkeys

  published Nov 25, 2009

  Once you shake yourself out of that Tryptophan coma tomorrow, Rocks Off would like to invite all of you over to our own Thanksgiving buffet. Craig Hlavaty and Brittanie Shey go toe to toe over the son... More >>

• Hiding on the Backstreets, Part 2: Bruce Springsteen Brings The River, Born In the U.S.A., Tunnel of Love and Tom Joad to Town

  published Nov 25, 2009

  As Bruce Springsteen fans come to grips with the unfortunate reality that this past weekend's show in Buffalo, N.Y., may well have been the final offical tour date - although surely not the final sho... More >>

• Before It Was the Tower Theater, It Was Clubland, and Our Friend Worked There

  published Nov 24, 2009

  Monday's news that the Hollywood Video located in the old Tower Theater will soon shut down has put our sister blog Rocks Off on one of our periodic nostalgia kicks, and this one actually comes with a... More >>

• Before It Was the Tower Theater, It Was Clubland, and Rocks Off's Friend Worked There

  published Nov 24, 2009

  Monday's news that the Hollywood Video located in the old Tower Theater will soon shut down has put Rocks Off on one of our periodic nostalgia kicks, and this one actually comes with a personal connec... More >>

• No Turkeys Allowed

  published November 26, 2009

  Of the several periodic roundups of local releases we've done, our Fall '09 crop is the best thus far. We've been impressed by what we've heard... More >>

• Let Sig's Lagoon Help You With Your Holiday Shopping Needs - Even Music

  published Nov 24, 2009

  Nothing says "holiday spirit" more than "...alleged child predator who was shot dead." Rocks Off has a special place in our heart for Sig's Lagoon - we do live upstairs from "Midtown's Only Record St... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Dwight Yoakam at the Arena Theatre, Take 2: It Only Hurts When I Cry

  published Nov 23, 2009

  [Ed. note: That's right, this show was so nice we're reviewing it twice.] r Dwight Yoakam may not have sung that particular Ray Price song Saturday night at the Arena Theatre - maybe he forgot; we've ... More >>

• Slide Show: Zappa Plays Zappa at House of Blues

  published Nov 23, 2009

  Looking more and more like his late father Frank every year, Dweezil Zappa continues to keep his dad's legacy of classically complex, absurdist jazz-rock alive through his constantly touring "Zappa P... More >>

• Listology: Nick Gaitan of the Octanes and The Umbrella Man's Favorite Female Vocalists

  published Nov 23, 2009

  This is a big week for all-everything Houston bassist Nick Gaitan. Not only have his Monday-night Continental Club gigs with atomic-powered rockabilly trio the Octanes been steadily been picking up s... More >>

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  Aftermath: Dwight Yoakam at Arena Theatre

  published Nov 23, 2009

  Inside the pocket of the Arena Towers, you'll find several hundred very happy Dwight Yoakam fans. Or you would have Saturday night, when the Hollywood hillbilly and his five-piece band entertained (to... More >>