Chris Gray Fundraiser

We in the print media are a dwindling fraternity, bolstered by our peers in radio and TV, publicists, and those internet comrades in arms, bloggers. This is short notice with so many worthy benefits happening - Esme Barrera, Traci Hancock, etc. – but Chris Gray needs your help too.

When the former Austin Chronicle Music news columnist dropped dead of a heart attack at age 36 on the Metro track tracks in Houston on Oct. 28, it took a miracle to bring him back. An alert citizen and two Metro officers who applied CPR until emergency services could transport him to the hospital saved Chris Gray’s life. His condition was so extreme that he was placed in a medically induced coma for 48 hours before he was stable enough to be brought back to consciousness.

Chris Gray is more than my friend. He was my protege. I read his writing at the Daily Texan and complained about it to Louis Black so much that I was told me to bring him to the Chronicle. That was the fall of 1994, and in the interim, his writing on music has been thought-provoking, intelligent, and insightful, serving the local front and well beyond. When Chris left the Chronicle for the Houston Press, we were like proud parents. When this near tragedy happened, we were stunned beyond belief.

I'll have more on the subject in this week's “One, Two, Tres, Cuatro,” but please pass on the above link. We need all the warm bodies we can get at the Continental Club this Sunday for sets from James McMurtry, the Allen Oldies Band, and the Gourds.

Post it, forward it, put it on your lists, print the art and put it on a wall, email it, tweet it, Facebook it, or whatever you do. It will be deeply appreciated.