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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2012 Stories by Chris Gray

• The Joy Formidable

  published June 14, 2012

  A dark modern-rock group with echoes of Editors, Interpol and White Lies, the Joy Formidable adds a gothic touch thanks to singer/bassist Ritzy... More >>

• Hudson Moore

  published June 14, 2012

  Frankly, Hudson Moore's rising stock in the Texas country scene seems like a pure accident. Even apart from his quarterback good looks, the... More >>

• The Dead Rabbits

  published June 14, 2012

  Beloved Montrose sports bar Griff's is known as a relatively low-key place to watch the Astros or Texans and grab a thick 'n' hearty steak on... More >>

• Lady Antebellum

  published June 14, 2012

  Lady Antebellum may not be all that country, but musically and emotionally speaking, who could really argue with Fleetwood Mac in cowboy boots? I... More >>

• Rebelution

  published June 14, 2012

  For a clue on just how much Rebelution must love ganja, beyond even the exquisitely explicit "So High" on its 2012 release Peace of Mind,... More >>

• What Made Milwaukee Famous

  published June 14, 2012

  What Made Milwaukee Famous have been plying their melodic, emotionally fraught brand of indie-rock for a decade now, appearing on Austin City... More >>

• Jeff Mangum

  published June 14, 2012

  For indie-rock fans, particularly aficionados of '90s lo-fi, an in-the-flesh audience with Jeff Mangum is something akin to a chance to pet a... More >>

• Kozmic Pearl

  published June 14, 2012

  Janis Joplin would have been 70 years old this weekend, but instead her October 1970 death at just age 27 left a legacy as one of rock's first... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  20 Essential Texas Albums From 2012

  published Dec 31, 2012

  One of the quiet pleasures of (finally) putting 2012 to bed is mop-up duty. All year, I tried to keep a running list of albums released by Texas-based or Texas-related performers that I enjoyed listen... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Friday Night: Hayes Carll's Burlesque Circus & Sideshow Freakout at House of Blues

  published Dec 31, 2012

  Hayes Carll's Burlesque Circus & Sideshow Freakout Feat. Corb Lund House of Blues December 28, 2012 "For years our shows have been PG... 13," Hayes Carll said early in his long, long, long set Friday... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Those Are People Who Died, Died: Musical Passings of 2012

  published Dec 31, 2012

  Rocks Off put it off as long as we could, because December has been a pretty rough month. It always is for music. (Hollywood, too.) But it's time to call the roll of people who played or sang their la... More >>

• So How Were Those Kendrick Lamar Shows Anywayr

  published Dec 30, 2012

  Marco Torres texted Rocks Off shortly after 5 p.m. Saturday evening to say that a line was already forming around Warehouse Live for Kendrick Lamar, who was scheduled to perform at 10 p.m. The scene a... More >>

• KC, of the Sunshine Band: "We're the Party Band"

  published Dec 28, 2012

  If there were some kind of Ghostbusters-style aura-meter that could measure the feelings certain songs evoke in people, KC & the Sunshine Band's readings would be greener than the fields of Ireland. T... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  ScoreMore Stoked For Saturday's Sold-Out Kendrick Lamar Shows

  published Dec 28, 2012

  It's no great secret that the live-music scene around Houston can be a little, well, dead around the holidays. There are enough "thank God we're off tour" shows by local and regional acts to make it w... More >>

• Robert Earl Keen: "I Do It How I Want to Now"

  published Dec 27, 2012

  If you only know Robert Earl Keen from "Merry Christmas From the Family," funny and true-to-life as it is, that's still a shame. The dark, pointed humor that has made that song (originally released on... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Robert Earl Keen's "Christmas" Present That Keeps Right On Regifting

  published Dec 26, 2012

  For many people, the Christmas spirit fades as soon as the last trash bag bulging with wrapping paper hits the curb. Texas singer-songwriter emeritus Robert Earl Keen is counting on goodwill toward me... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Christmas Past: 10 Christmas Songs That Are Really About Drugs

  published Dec 25, 2012

  While we celebrate the holidays, Rocks Off is resurrecting a few of our best Christmas-themed blogs from the past few years. (Wait... resurrecting is Easter. Never mind.) This blog originally appeared... More >>

• The Mavericks

  published December 27, 2012

  When the Mavericks appeared in the early '90s, they brought an air of sophistication and class rarely seen in Nashville then and now. By mixing... More >>

• Winter Wonder Glam

  published December 27, 2012

  The old, weird Houston scene — somewhere both the music and people who made it could be hazardous to your long-term health and short-term... More >>

• Cowboy Mouth, Dash Rip Rock

  published December 27, 2012

  Two Louisiana lifers, New Orleans brothers in arms Dash Rip Rock and Cowboy Mouth are still preaching the gospel of righteous, swamp-flavored rock... More >>

• Kendrick Lamar

  published December 27, 2012

  Hands down the hottest rapper of 2012, Compton's Kendrick Lamar had to schedule two shows in one night just to meet the demand among his... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  The Top 10 Houston Music Stories of 2012

  published Dec 20, 2012

  Looking back over the major music-related stories around Houston the past 11 and a half months, 2012 was light on the kind of headlines you'll usually see in a year-end "music scene" recap: Obituaries... More >>

• Christmas at Fitzgerald's

  published December 20, 2012

  We hardly ever get snow, so instead Fitzgerald's has instituted its own Yuletide tradition of talking '90s punk heroes 30footFALL into reuniting... More >>

• Los Lonely Boys, Alejandro Escovedo

  published December 20, 2012

  Los Lonely Boys became the latest group to learn it's good to take care of your voice when doctors sidelined bassist/vocalist JoJo Garza this past... More >>

• Dwight Yoakam, Mike Stinson

  published December 20, 2012

  Hard to believe it's been more than a quarter-century since Dwight Yoakam turned Nashville on its ear with the hard-charging Hillbilly... More >>