From The Heart: Chris Gray Day, This Saturday

Yep, you’ve probably already heard about this by now, but just to add to the chorus…

As well as being the awesome {Latch Key Kids} show I’ve already blathered about, Saturday, January 14th is also Chris Gray Day, with festivities centered around the Midtown nexus (specifically at The Continental Club, Shoeshine Charley’s Big Top Lounge, and The Pachinko Hut).

The whole thing’s a benefit deal for much-loved {Houston Press} Music Editor Chris Gray, who collapsed on a Metro platform back in October of this past year and had to be resuscitated. It was a bad, bad deal, but thankfully Chris has recovered awesomely from the ordeal. He’s back online, back (I believe) at work, and doing well, from all reports. (Check out the blow-by-blow replay of the whole thing, right over here…)

Obviously, having to spend weeks in a hospital bed (not to mention in a medically-induced coma) racks up the bills like pretty much nothing else, and just like every other writerly-type person I know, Chris doesn’t make a crapload of money. Not sure if he’s got insurance or not, but either way, he’s got a mountain of medical bills to pay.

And yes, H-town has his back. A small army of bands have volunteered their time and music to come to Chris’s aid, including great, great people like {The Mathletes}, {Benjamin Wesley}, {Bright Men of Learning}, {Young Girls}, {The Wild Moccasins}, {the last place you look}, {Buxton}, {Poor Pilate}, {Spain Colored Orange}, {Little Joe Washington}, {Jealous Creatures}, Miss Leslie, {Chase Hamblin}, {Electric Attitude}, and a couple dozen more. See over here for the full, up-to-date schedule.

On top of the music, kind souls have donated all kinds of memorabilia to be auctioned off for Chris’s benefit, including a guitar signed by Joan Jett, autographed vinyl from ’80s Houston legends The Judy’s, a signed Willie Nelson album, vintage posters, and a lot more. Check out the Chris Gray Day WordPress site for more details on that, as well as info on donating something yourself.

The cost of a wristband for the benefit is $20, which ain’t bad considering the worthiness of the cause and the number of bands playing. And hey, if you feel compelled to give more, feel free; Chris can use all the help he can get, and anything above and beyond what’s needed for the medical bills will go to an equally worthy recipient, the hopefully-soon-to-exist Houston Blues Museum.

Seriously, this is a very cool thing. As both the HP‘s Assistant Music Editor and full-on Music Editor, Chris has worked tirelessly to promote music here in our fair city for years and years now, and he’s genuinely good people. Help the guy out.