Email Author Chris Gray

Awards

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

  "Getting Past the Bouncer"

More

2010 Stories by Chris Gray

• 

  FEATURED STORY

  I Put A Spell On You: The Vixens And Visuals Of Voodoo Fest

  published Nov 03, 2010

  Village Voice Media dispatched Houston photographer Mark C. Austin to New Orleans this past weekend for the Voodoo Music Experience, the Crescent City's annual three-day Halloween engorgement of live ... More >>

• 

  FEATURED STORY

  Day Of The Dead: Music In Memoriam 2009-10

  published Nov 02, 2010

  Rocks Off doesn't mean to be morbid, but today is the Day of the Dead, the Mexican holiday and festival honoring those who have gone before. So instead of waiting until the end of the year, the more t... More >>

• 

  FEATURED STORY

  Willie D Gets A Year And A Day In Federal Pen For Wire Fraud

  published Nov 02, 2010

  Former Geto Boy Willie D, aka William Dennis, has been sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison on wire fraud charges, the U.S. Attorney's office for the Southern District of Texas announced to... More >>

• Haunted

  published November 4, 2010

  GhoulsFest had everything going for it last Saturday except one rather important detail: people. It felt...well, haunted. Normally, that... More >>

• Heart

  published November 4, 2010

  When we went to see Journey at the Woodlands Pavilion a couple of summers ago, we expected an evening of stout classic-rock anthems with a side of... More >>

• Allen Toussaint

  published November 4, 2010

  For all intents and purposes, Allen Toussaint is New Orleans music. The 74-year-old pianist, songwriter, producer and arranger's... More >>

• 

  FEATURED STORY

  iFest President & CEO Jim Austin Stepping Down February 1

  published Nov 01, 2010

  Festival not booking Justin Beiber, interim replacement says Speaking of festivals... The Houston International Festival announced earlier today that Dr. James Austin will retire as president and ch... More >>

• 

  FEATURED STORY

  Friday Night: Interpol At Verizon Wireless Theater

  published Nov 01, 2010

  Interpol Verizon Wireless Theater October 29, 2010 Interpol should not have been at Verizon Friday night. Not by any traditional yardstick. A decade or so after their first release, the Fukd ID #3 E... More >>

• GhoulsFest: Everything You Need To Know

  published Oct 29, 2010

  For the record, Rocks Off is well aware there is more to GhoulsFest than Black Congress not playing the ten-hour festival at Tom Bass Park tomorrow. A lot more. We also wish BC nothing but the best op... More >>

• Ten Country Covers That Top The Pop Originals

  published Oct 27, 2010

  Our copy must still be in the mail, but Rocks Off figures we have heard enough songs from Jamey Johnson's new album The Guitar Song on Sirius/XM's Outlaw Country to know that we like it a whole lot. B... More >>

• Rodeo 2011: Sugarland, Zac Brown Band, Selena Gomez...

  published Oct 27, 2010

  The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo announced the first four entertainers for its 2011 season, scheduled for March 1-20, 2011 in Reliant Stadium: Sugarland (March 3); Selena Gomez (March 6); Zac Brow... More >>

• It's Christmastime Alreadyr Pass The Ammo, Please

  published Oct 26, 2010

  Rocks Off is not trying to interrupt your Halloween plan-making - getting a little late in the game, isn't it thoughr - but you might as well forget about it anyway. We feel it's our civic duty to inf... More >>

• Midnight Movers

  published October 28, 2010

  Girl in a Coma is not afraid to take a stand. The frequent Houston visitors, who have been mix-and-matching their Hispanic roots, namesake Smiths,... More >>

• 

  FEATURED STORY

  The Quotable Keith Richards: "I'm Happy To Be Anywhere"

  published Oct 26, 2010

  As anyone with half a brain and persistent hacking cough knows, today is a very special day. Today Little, Brown and Company publishes Life, Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards' autobiography as t... More >>

• 

  FEATURED STORY

  Five Songs The Texas Legislature Will Never Make Official

  published Oct 25, 2010

  A while back, Rocks Off wrote about how, thanks to a combination of personal taste and certain technological twists of fate, our listening options at the office are somewhat limited. Quite limited, re... More >>

• 

  FEATURED STORY

  How Much Does Houston Like Rushr A Lot.

  published Oct 25, 2010

  Rush's "Time Machine" tour was well-named in more ways than one. Not only did the Canadian trio perform 1981's Moving Pictures in its entirety, but the tour transported the concert industry back to th... More >>

• Local Music Photographer Wins Deer Tick's Tour Bus

  published Oct 22, 2010

  Mark C. Austin just keeps on living the dream. Last month he opened "Three Songs, No Flash," his first-ever exhibition of his bountiful collection of concert photography - many shot for these very "pa... More >>

• 

  FEATURED STORY

  Six Songs That Shoot First, Ask Questions Later

  published Oct 20, 2010

  If there's one musician whose advice is worth heeding, it ought to be Johnny Cash. But when the Man in Black sang "Don't Take Your Guns To Town," a whole lot of musicians must not have been listening.... More >>

• 

  FEATURED STORY

  Last Night: Gorillaz At Toyota Center

  published Oct 20, 2010

  Gorillaz Toyota Center October 19, 2010 For more photos from the show, see our slideshow here. Gorillaz may have overspent on their first-ever extended tour. True, the entire concept is that the g... More >>

• 

  FEATURED STORY

  Is Ex-Velvet Moe Tucker A Tea Partier Or Notr

  published Oct 19, 2010

  The Velvet Underground has certainly had an interesting second act. After Andy Warhol's favorite NYC "party" band soundtracked countless narcotic jags and laid the foundation for everything from punk ... More >>

• Linus Pauling Quartet

  published October 21, 2010

  For a band that flies the "stoner-rock" so proudly (and loudly), the Linus Pauling Quartet sure is industrious. Sort of. Although the long-running... More >>

• Jason Moran, HSPVA Jazz Ensemble

  published October 21, 2010

  Jason Moran is a genius. We suspect that was evident to the Houston native's classmates at HSPVA (he's been playing since age six), but now it's... More >>

• KPFT's Matt Helfrich ID'd As Montrose Stabbing Victim

  published Oct 19, 2010

  Updated at 1:47 Wednesday with Helfrich's funeral information. Matt Helfrich, an imposing-looking but good-natured volunteer and occasional fill-in DJ for 90.1 KPFT FM, has been identified as the man... More >>

• 

  FEATURED STORY

  Last Night: Chris Isaak At House Of Blues

  published Oct 18, 2010

  Chris Isaak & Silvertone House of Blues October 17, 2010 Aftermath would like to get a look at Chris Isaak's business card sometime. We're assuming he has one. Mostly, we're wondering what it would s... More >>

• Old 97's: What's So Good About A Good-Time Bandr

  published Oct 15, 2010

  When Rocks Off was talking to Old 97's front man Rhett Miller last week, we told him it was going to be nice to see them at the Continental Club. He chuckled and said, "Yeah, it kind of feels like we'... More >>