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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2013 Stories by Chris Gray

• Last Night: Gary Allan at Reliant Stadium

  published Feb 27, 2013

  Gary Allan Reliant Stadium February 26, 2013 Gary Allan is a complicated man. If no one understands him but his woman, it doesn't matter because she's already 30,000 feet above him, on an airplane bo... More >>

• Blanco's Supposedly Needs a New Home by November

  published Feb 26, 2013

  Houston has known for a little while that Blanco's days are numbered. About six weeks ago, the Houston Chronicle reported that the honky-tonk in River Oaks had been sold to nearby St. John's School as... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Last Night: Toby Keith at Reliant Stadium

  published Feb 26, 2013

  Toby Keith Reliant Stadium February 25, 2013 Toby Keith. That big galoot. Thanks to one song that he didn't even play Monday night, Toby Keith is still painted in much of the media as a frothing, fl... More >>

• Saturday Night: Buxton at the Continental Club

  published Feb 25, 2013

  Buxton Continental Club February 23, 2013 Buxton's songs project an odd kind of innocence for a band that has been getting pretty seasoned the past couple of years. It's been five since they appeared... More >>

• Your All-Star Weekend Celebrity Guestbook, Part 2

  published Feb 17, 2013

  Houston is by most accounts one of America's more cultured and sophisticated cities, but it still loses its damn mind when a lot of famous people come to town. The swarm of people created by celebriti... More >>

• Your All-Star Weekend Celebrity Guestbook

  published Feb 16, 2013

  Rocks Off thought we'd stay as far away as the NBA All-Star Weekend hoopla as possible, so Friday night we went to see the wonderful Tift Merritt at McGonigel's Mucky Duck, where a friend of ours who ... More >>

• Tift Merritt Looks Outside Herself to Kindle a Spark

  published Feb 15, 2013

  Tift Merritt makes country music for city dwellers, the kinds of songs that NPR adores but Nashville doesn't have much use for anymore. Still, the thirtysomething singer-songwriter managed to score a ... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Last Night: fun. at Bayou Music Center

  published Feb 14, 2013

  fun. Bayou Music Center February 13, 2013 How long has it been since America's young people have had something to be optimistic about besides the music on the radior The '80sr That must be the guid... More >>

• The Sounds of H-Town

  published February 14, 2013

  Only in Houston The song must be either inspired by Houston or written and performed by a Houston-based artist, and be no longer... More >>

• Guess Who Is Bringing Ted Nugent to the State of the Union Addressr

  published Feb 12, 2013

  Texas Rep. Steve Stockman, arguably the Tea Party's No. 1 advocate on Capitol Hill, has already had an eventful first term his second time in Washington. About three weeks ago, Stockman said he was re... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Please Welcome Our New Advice Columnist, the Geto Boys' Willie D

  published Feb 12, 2013

  Rocks Off is so excited about this, we could just... well, we don't know what, but we're pretty damn excited. About a week ago, we got an email from Willie D of the Geto Boys offering his services as... More >>

• Saturday Night: Alejandro Escovedo at the Continental Club

  published Feb 11, 2013

  Alejandro Escovedo & the Sensitive Boys Continental Club February 9, 2013 It always makes me a little nervous when an artist opens with a true favorite right out of the gate, something you were expec... More >>

• Alejandro Escovedo: "Just to Have a Gig Is Pretty Cool"

  published Feb 08, 2013

  Earlier this morning, Alejandro Escovedo talked to Rocks Off about his recent albums Real Animal, Street Songs of Love and Big Station, which have put him in the vanguard of mature rock artists. But t... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Rodeo Explains Thousands of Ticket Cancellations

  published Feb 08, 2013

  The Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo has cancelled several thousand tickets to this month's rodeo, including 800 to the March 17 George Strait concert that were going as high as $8,100, after they alleg... More >>

• Alejandro Escovedo: "Getting Older Every Day, But I'm Digging It"

  published Feb 08, 2013

  Alejandro Escovedo is one of Texas' most gifted and versatile singer-songwriters, with the soul and background of a punk rocker, the work ethic of a tradesman, and the undying faith in rock and roll o... More >>

• Lightnin' Hopkins Finally Wins a Grammy

  published Feb 07, 2013

  It took the Texas Historical Society long enough to appropriately recognize Houston bluesman Lightnin' Hopkins, but not as long as the Grammys. As part of the run-up to Sunday night's 55th annual Gra... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Grandfather Child's Lucas Gorham On the Mend After Nasty Spill

  published Feb 07, 2013

  "Maaaaan, I'm doing OK," says Grandfather Child's Lucas Gorham over the phone. "A lot better than I was a couple of weeks ago, that's for sure." On Martin Luther King Day, the popular Houston roots/R... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Brazos River Bottom Bids Happy Trails After More Than 30 Years

  published Feb 07, 2013

  Brazos River Bottom, the Texas-themed LGBT bar on the border of Midtown and Montrose, has announced that it will close at the end of March, with the following message on its Web site: The sad news is... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Cactus Music Wants You to Help Pick "Houston's Playlist"

  published Feb 06, 2013

  In honor of "Social Media Week," which is a real thing nowadays, the good folks at Cactus Music are asking their customers (and our readers) to nominate one song either about Houston or from a Houston... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  10 Great Versions of "Wild Thing"

  published Feb 06, 2013

  "Wild Thing" may not be most-recorded song in history, but it's got to be up there. (It's not even in the Top 10, though, according to the UK's The Independent.) But when the version by the Troggs, wh... More >>

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  RIP Reg Presley: "Wild Thing" Singer, With the Troggs, Was 71

  published Feb 05, 2013

  Reg Presley, singer of the Troggs and the voice on one of the true rock and roll anthems, 1966's "Wild Thing," passed away late Monday night at age 71. Friend and publicist Keith Altham told Fox News ... More >>

• Beyonce Stoops to Conquer Toyota Center July 15

  published Feb 04, 2013

  Hot off the heels of her electrifying Super Bowl halftime performance, which some believe had something to do with the mysterious blackout at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome shortly into the game's third ... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Beyonce Blows 'Em Away In Wham-Bam Super Bowl Halftime

  published Feb 03, 2013

  An army of Beyonces. Can you handle itr The power circuits of the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans might not have been able to. Sticking to a few high-kicking dance moves, bringing out a gaggle... More >>

• Last Night: Eli Young Band at House of Blues

  published Feb 01, 2013

  Eli Young Band House of Blues January 31, 2013 They say Texans have lost our twang. Most Texans don't seem to be all that balled up about it. Rather, the some 1,500 Texan Eli Young Band fans who cra... More >>

• NBC's The Voice Holding Houston Auditions Next Saturday

  published Feb 01, 2013

  This just came in over the transom. Popular NBC singing show The Voice will hold auditions for its upcoming season next Saturday at Reliant Center next Saturday, February 9. All musical styles are bei... More >>