Ready to Retire? If You’re Like Kevin Gray, It’s Time to Rock!
Kevin Gray thought he was getting “long in the tooth” for rock ’n roll when his bandmates went their separate ways in 1987.
It turns out that he was wrong. The members of the indie rock band White Animals have gotten back together. And now they’ve released their first album in 24 years to rave reviews.
Music Collector’s Magazine Goldmine called Star Time “explosive” and said that “it’s hard to imagine a more compelling set of songs.” Nashville Scene described the record as “arguably the best of their career.”
Bill Bentley with Bentleys Bandstand/Americana Highways praised the group’s “guts” and wrote that band members “combine melodic riffs, heartfelt lyrics, and just enough bravado to make people listen.”
Not bad feedback for a 73-year-old who retired in 2023 after 31 years as a physician with the Dallas Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
“You can’t help growing older,” Gray said, quoting his wife, Halina. “But you can always stay immature.”
Lifelong Highland Park resident Gray and bandmates Steve Boyd, Rich Parks, and Ray Crabtree packed clubs in the early 1980s. By 1983, the White Animals was playing 250 shows a year. But the bandmates’ skill and talent never quite translated into worldwide fame.
“Show biz is a heartbreaker. It’s not a meritocracy,” said Gray, who is the band’s co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist. “People that make it are super-talented but that ain’t enough.”
By 1987, the members of the White Animals knew the end was near. They did an extended farewell tour, shook hands, and parted company as friends. Gray, who had known he wanted to be a doctor since he was 6, finished his medical training and went on to become a geriatric neuropsychiatrist.
The White Animals took a 12-year hiatus. Then in 1999, Gray and his bandmates decided to get back together. Since cassettes and records were now passe, they released a greatest hits CD called 3,000 Nights in Babylon. It immediately sold out.
The band released another album, Monster Mash Message (AKA The Red One), in 2001. Despite the demands of work and families, the members of the White Animals managed to play several shows a year in Nashville and other favorite cities.
“It was so damn fun, just being up there and rockin’ the house,” Gray said.
Near the end of 2022, Gray brought a new song to the band called “My Baby Put Me on The Shelf.” His composition inspired Boyd, the band’s other primary writer, to produce “Back Around.” But it wasn’t until 2023 that the White Animals thought seriously about making another record.
Since Star Time’s release in 2024, the band has gone on a “micro-tour,” though it’s harder to cram into a van and go from town to town today than it was in the 1980s. Gray said the future holds more songs, and perhaps even “worldwide fame and fortune. You know, the usual.”
