Trey Gray was born in Indianapolis, IN, USA as George Lewis Gray, III to his father, George and mother, Cindy. His passion for drums started at the early age of 6 and it was then that he knew his destiny. Gray had his share of rough starts yet always stayed focus on what he loved the most.
“I remember seeing a commercial for the band KISS on TV. I couldn’t keep my eyes off the drummer” says Gray. That led to many broken pots and pans and his first drum set for his 10th birthday. “I played them all the time. I never even thought of doing anything else for a living, he recalls.”
It wasn’t until right after high school that Gray’s first big break happen. While playing in a local band in Indiana, the guitar player in that band had a friend who moved to Nashville a couple of years earlier and was going to be stopping by the club to say hello. By the end of the night he had Gray convinced that he played good enough to move to Nashville. “Six months later I was living on his couch and learning, playing and meeting as many people as I could”. That all paid off, Gray was getting to play and meeting lots of musicians.
All that led to an audition for an up and coming country singer named, Faith Hill. “That was a huge turning point in my career. The next seven years were like being on a great roller coaster ride that you never wanted to get off. It was during that seven years other life changing events happened. Marriages, kids, divorce, travel to new places, being on television, getting to play on records, shooting videos. I was even fortunate enough to win a “Drummie” Award which I gave to my dad.”
After Gray ended his seven-year-run with Hill he started playing with Jewel. That was in 2001 and also when he first started feeling not quite right health-wise. “I was having times when I would feel fatigue or off balance, for what seemed like no good reason. Sometimes my moods would change on a dime, or it was hard to leave my hotel room.”
Having turned 30 a few years earlier Gray thought that he was just getting older and his body was starting to wear a little bit. Then the next year, 2002, he found out his uncle was diagnosed with something he had never head of, Huntington’s disease. It was shortly after that the same year that Gray’s mom, Cindy tested positive. Luckily, his only blood sister tested negative. “That did make me feel better and even gave me some hope, but I knew…you know how your body feels? In January of 2003 I tested positive to the gene as well.”
He continues to travel and play all over the world and actually started working on another passion, producing and developing new artists. “I was blessed with a new marriage. God brought her to me to help me through all of this. He has given me so many blessings, HD is one of those blessings actually.”
This year Gray became The National Spokesperson for HDSA.org and because of what he does Gray hopes a few more people can find out about HD and want to donate to a worthy cause. “We can all make a difference and we will find treatment but most important a cure.”
