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

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  FEATURED STORY

  Houston Blues Legend Big Walter "The Thunderbird" Dies At 97

  published Mar 07, 2012

  Big Walter "The Thunderbird" Price, the elder statesman of Houston blues who continued performing well into his nineties, died overnight, according to a Facebook post by local blues musician Steve Kra... More >>

• Controversial Noise Ordinance Leads To Lively New Facebook Group

  published Mar 07, 2012

  There is no more contentious issue within the local music community right now than the City of Houston's stricter new noise ordinance, which many venue owners, sound engineers and even everyday music ... More >>

• Heartless Bastards

  published March 8, 2012

  The Black Keys and Heartless Bastards share more than Ohio roots. The Keys were based in Akron for ages, and Bastards front woman Erika... More >>

• The Jesus & Mary Chain

  published March 8, 2012

  Few bands wreaked more havoc within alternative rock in the late '80s and the first half of the '90s than the Jesus & Mary Chain. Known for their... More >>

• The Relatives, Kool & Together

  published March 8, 2012

  Heavy Light Records is turning out to be a wonderful divining rod for lost chapters of great black Texas music. First the Austin label unearthed... More >>

• Swamp People

  published March 8, 2012

  Local artists don't release new music every day, or even every week, but enough do to keep the pump primed on a pretty regular basis. We thought... More >>

• Top 9 Comments On Summer Fest 2012: Where's The Womenr

  published Mar 05, 2012

  As most of Houston and the surrounding area knows by now, Free Press Summer Fest announced its 2012 lineup in the wee hours this morning. By now Rocks Off has had a few more hours to reflect on the fe... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Flaming Lips Return To Summer Fest With Avetts, Snoop Dogg, Willie Nelson, Descendents & Many More

  published Mar 05, 2012

  Under cover of darkness, Free Press Summer Fest announced its 2012 lineup around 5 a.m. Monday. We'll get right to it: The Avett Brothers Snoop Dogg Willie Nelson Afrojack Primus The Flaming Lips (Pe... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Last Night: Radiohead At Toyota Center

  published Mar 04, 2012

  Radiohead Toyota Center March 3, 2012 See more photos from Saturday night in our slideshow. Radiohead just doesn't add up. The band has effectively turned its back on the music business, pioneering ... More >>

• 6 Musicians Who Messed With Texas

  published Mar 02, 2012

  Today, March 2, is Texas Independence Day, the day a bunch of old white politicians and landowners declared this part of the Mexican state of Coahuila y Tejas to be its own sovereign republic in a cab... More >>

• Robert Ellis' Whiskey Wednesdays Returning... In Austin

  published Mar 02, 2012

  Rocks Off thought we had written everything about Robert Ellis & the Boys' Whiskey Wednesday shows there was to say. After all, the weekly beer-soaked no-cover night of Texas-heavy vintage honky-tonk ... More >>

• Kevin McStravick Will Listen To Every SXSW Artist This Year... Whyr

  published Mar 02, 2012

  Kevin McStravick has vowed to listen to every act performing at SXSW this year - more than 2,000 artists, by our last count - and review them all for his Web site. Yes, you read that correctly. Each a... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Last Night: Lady Antebellum At Reliant Stadium

  published Mar 02, 2012

  Lady Antebellum RodeoHouston, Reliant Stadium March 1, 2012 Someone should put Lady Antebellum on TV every week. Let 'em guest-coach an episode of The Voice. Better yet would be a series like The Par... More >>

• Last Night: Alabama At Reliant Stadium

  published Feb 29, 2012

  Alabama RodeoHouston, Reliant Stadium February 28, 2012 It must be an accident of fate that Alabama is considered a country band at all, let alone the most successful group in country music history. ... More >>

• Cornbreadd Goes To Washington: Maurice Duhon Talks U.S. House Campaign

  published Feb 29, 2012

  Cornbreadd - make that Maurice Duhon Jr. - is, to use a term of the trade, good copy. He's articulate, opinionated and effervescent, a tireless self-promoter with a genuine concern for and interest i... More >>

• Shearwater

  published March 1, 2012

  Other bands may be content with chasing women and flirting with rehab, but Shearwater's ambitions are considerably loftier. Often aided by a core... More >>

• Robert Glasper Experiment

  published March 1, 2012

  Missouri City native Robert Glasper is already a seasoned veteran, but now he may be urban music's next great hope. He's already been touted in... More >>

• iFest 2012 Heavy On Latin Rock, Funk, South Americans

  published Feb 28, 2012

  The Houston International Festival officially announced its 2012 lineup this morning. The music is heavy on Latin-flavored rock, reggae and funk, with Texas well-represented as always and an exceeding... More >>

• Careful With Those Karaoke Song Choices

  published Feb 27, 2012

  A man was shot and killed after another man at the Southwest Houston restaurant where he had just sung karaoke took issue with his song choice, according to Channel 13. The incident occurred in a ta... More >>

• King's X Drummer Jerry Gaskill Has Heart Attack

  published Feb 26, 2012

  Jerry Gaskill, drummer and vocalist for Houston progressive hard rock band King's X, had a heart attack Saturday night, according to a Facebook post by his bandmate DUg Pinnick: Jerry had a heart att... More >>

• Look Who Showed Up At The Rodeo Cookoff

  published Feb 24, 2012

  UPDATE: As per the commenters, it appears to be Nelson and Parton impersonators. It's a little hard to tell from the photo, and it's still a good story. Country stars Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton b... More >>

• Last Night: T-Bird & The Breaks At The Continental Club

  published Feb 24, 2012

  T-Bird & the Breaks Continental Club February 23, 2012 It may be an optical illusion, but some kinds of music just sound better when the band looks nice. Sharp suits and simple choreography, like the... More >>

• KTRU Spring Outdoor Show Books Titus Andronicus, Thermals, Slim Thug

  published Feb 24, 2012

  Its move to the HD airwaves and the Internet hasn't stopped Rice University student radio station KTRU from putting on its annual free outdoor show. Doing its part to counterprogram SXSW, KTRU has bo... More >>

• Houston Acts Stage Own SXSW Invasion

  published Feb 23, 2012

  Sixteen Houston acts will play an all-day free show during SXSW from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, March 16, at the Gypsy Lounge, 1504 E. 6th St. The party is sponsored by The Convoy Group, the company ru... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Obama's Best Campaign Strategy: Keep Singing The Blues

  published Feb 22, 2012

  After President Obama crooning Al Green's "Let's Stay Together" at a Harlem fundraiser became an unlikely iTunes sensation, even topping the ringtone chart, history is now repeating itself with his ... More >>