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

• Rapper Cornbreadd Now Running For Congress UPDATED

  published Feb 21, 2012

  UPDATE (Feb. 24, 5:04 p.m.): The fundraiser has been moved to Check Other Outfitters, 2507 Bagby. Rapper and 2009 Houston Press cover subject Cornbreadd, aka Maurice Duhon Jr., has just announced his... More >>

• T-Bird & the Breaks

  published February 23, 2012

  T for Texas, T for T-Bird & the Breaks. Like their Austin neighbors Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears, T-Bird & the Breaks bring a relentless... More >>

• Big Squeeze Auditions

  published February 23, 2012

  Awkward and unhip, the accordion is the unlikely musical glue that bonds Mexican conjunto and banda, Czech and German polkas, sad... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Marcus Manchild Tells VIBE -- And The Nation -- How To Be Trill

  published Feb 21, 2012

  It's always nice to see local artists making national headlines, especially when they haven't a) killed someone; or b) died. It's even nicer when that artist is someone with whom Rocks Off has worke... More >>

• Alabama

  published February 23, 2012

  It's common to see groups like Lady Antebellum and The Band Perry at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo these days, but Alabama once had that... More >>

• Bill O'Reilly Has A Hard-On For Willie Nelson

  published Feb 20, 2012

  Wilco, "Pot Kettle Black" Despite his appearance on SNL's "What's Up With Thatr" skit this weekend, Bill O'Reilly has managed to squander what little credibility he has among liberals, moderates an... More >>

• One More Hour To Vote In First Rodeo Rockstar Contest

  published Feb 20, 2012

  It does not seem possible that the rodeo is almost here, but Rocks Off saw a trail ride on the news this morning, so it must be true. If we were a TV instead of newspaper reporter, we would definitely... More >>

• Dave Grohl Vs. Skrillex: Dumbest Music Feud Everr

  published Feb 17, 2012

  Sometimes it's very easy for Rocks Off's brain to go on autopilot while checking our email in the morning. If we're not weeding out actual spam to delete, we're wincing at messages hyping music whose ... More >>

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  KILT Hosts Record Incisive Michael Berry Rap Song

  published Feb 17, 2012

  Conservative talk-radio host Michael Berry has been in the headlines citywide this week after Channel 2 News first aired a report that HPD is investigating a hit-and-run incident outside Montrose bar ... More >>

• Counting Crows Headlining SXSWr Seriouslyr

  published Feb 16, 2012

  Rocks Off has long since made our peace with the massive inconvenience SXSW can be. Even after our recent medical difficulties, we're even looking forward to going next month. We had a good time last ... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Top 5 Musical NBA Players

  published Feb 15, 2012

  The NBA All-Star Game is coming up in a couple of weeks. There may not be any Rockets on the roster - even ex-Rocket/Knicks sensation Jeremy Lin didn't blow up in time to be added as a reserve - but ... More >>

• Cowboy Mouth

  published February 16, 2012

  A passionate city like New Orleans needs a passionate rock band like Cowboy Mouth. Steered by Dash Rip Rock alum Fred LeBlanc, a singing dynamo of... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Local R&B Singer Talks Opening Whitney Houston's Final Tour

  published Feb 14, 2012

  It's not every day that someone calls our office claiming to being the opening act for Whitney Houston's final tour. But it did Monday morning, when Azaryah Davidson, a Houston R&B singer who goes by ... More >>

• The Beats Go On As Grammys Take Care Of Their Own

  published Feb 13, 2012

  The Grammy Awards on CBS Sunday night could have easily turned into a wake - or worse, a funeral. After Whitney Houston's death Saturday, the mood was appropriately somber until a dance party broke ou... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Whitney Houston In Houston: A Brief Retrospective

  published Feb 12, 2012

  All morning, the world woke up to the shocking, but not altogether surprising, news that troubled pop/R&B superstar Whitney Houston died Saturday afternoon in Los Angeles. Houston, 48, was pronounce... More >>

• "Dude, You're Getting Adele." Better Late Than Never...

  published Feb 10, 2012

  The best joke in the music business right now is, according to Cactus Music's Quinn Bishop, something frequently heard recently at his cash register: "Dude, you're getting Adele." Even I bought 21 ye... More >>

• Rocks Off Now Sponsoring Some Cactus Music In-Stores

  published Feb 10, 2012

  After a preview last fall featuring Girl In a Coma, it gives Rocks Off great pleasure to announce that effective immediately, we will be sponsoring selected in-stores at Cactus Music, no fewer than tw... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Summer Fest Promises 2012 Lineup "Soon"

  published Feb 09, 2012

  Rocks Off was setting our house in order after our long absence, when at some point we realized that while we were away, we had barely heard anything about this year's Free Press Summer Fest at all. W... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Roosevelt Lounge Back In The Headlines, And Not In A Good Way

  published Feb 08, 2012

  ANOTHER UPDATE: Read about two eyewitness accounts of the incident, as told to Rocks Off's Shea Serrano Wednesday. UPDATE: Activist Quannell X is organizing a protest in front of Roosevelt at 4 p.m. ... More >>

• Local Musicians, Up Early, Remember Late Nite Pie

  published Feb 08, 2012

  Correction: Per the commenters, Late Nite Pie originally opened in the early 2000s, not the late '90s. Midtown pizza restaurant Late Nite Pie burned some time after closing in the wee hours of Wednes... More >>

• Five Great Middle Finger Moments In Music History

  published Feb 07, 2012

  Monday morning, the Internet was awash in consternation and jpegs after M.I.A. flashed her middle finger during Madonna's Super Bowl halftime performance Sunday, meaning Janet Jackson is finally off t... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Madonna Playing Toyota Center October 24

  published Feb 07, 2012

  After her mostly praised Super Bowl XLVI halftime performance - aside from that whole M.I.A. middle-finger thing - Madonna will perform at Toyota Center on Wednesday, October 24, Live Nation announced... More >>