Paul Gray (American musician)

Paul Gray
Paul Gray performing with Slipknot in 2008.
Background information
Birth name	Paul Dedrick Gray
Also known as	#2, The Pig, The Ghost
Born	(1972-04-08)April 8, 1972 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Origin	Des Moines, Iowa, United States
Died	May 24, 2010(2010-05-24) (aged 38) Johnston, Iowa, United States
Genres	Alternative metal, nu metal, heavy metal, death metal
Occupation(s)	Musician, songwriter
Instruments	Bass guitar, guitar
Years active	1994–2010
Labels	Roadrunner, Nuclear Blast, Pale One, -ismist
Associated acts	Slipknot, Anal Blast,[1] Vexx, Body Pit, Inveigh Catharsis,[2] Unida, Reggie and the Full Effect, Painface
Website	www.slipknot1.com
Notable instruments
Ibanez PGB1L Signature Model Warwick basses Peavey Amps

Paul Dedrick Gray (April 8, 1972 – May 24, 2010), also known as The Pig or by his number #2, was an American musician, best known as the bassist and one of the founding members of the Grammy Award-winning metal band Slipknot.

Early life and career

Paul Dedrick Gray was born in Los Angeles, California. Later his family relocated to Des Moines, Iowa. In his youth, Gray performed in bands such as Anal Blast, Vexx, Body Pit, The Have Nots and Inveigh Catharsis.

In June 2003, Gray crashed his car into another vehicle. After police were called to the scene and searched his car, Gray was arrested for possession of marijuana, cocaine and drug paraphernalia, as well as failure to obey a traffic signal.^[3][4]

At the time of his death, he was one of three original members of Slipknot remaining in the band, and the only one who had maintained his original role in the band due to Clown's switch from main drums to custom percussion during the early days. He was one of the two members not born in Iowa (the other is Jim Root, who was born in Las Vegas). In 2010 Slipknot released the Download 2009 performance on DVD in memory of Gray.

Besides Slipknot, Gray filled in as bassist for Unida during their 2003 tour, appeared on Drop Dead, Gorgeous' Worse Than a Fairy Tale, toured briefly with Reggie and the Full Effect and appeared on the Roadrunner United project, performing bass on "The Enemy" and "Baptized in the Redemption" from the project's album The All-Star Sessions.

An award was named after Paul titled "Paul Gray: Best Bassist of the Year", as a tribute to Paul. Slipknot presented the award to Nikki Sixx, of Sixx A.M. and Mötley Crüe.

Death

On May 24, 2010, The Des Moines Register reported that Gray had been found dead in room 431 at the TownePlace Suites Hotel in Johnston, Iowa at about 10:50 a.m. local time.^{[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]} In a 911-call, obtained by TMZ, one of the hotel's proprietors said that a hypodermic needle was found next to Gray's bed, as well as many pills that were apparently scattered across the room.^[13] An initial autopsy determined that no foul play or trauma was involved, but could not establish the cause of death.^[8][9][14] He survived by his wife Brenna and their daughter October, who was born after his death.

On June 21, 2010, autopsy results were released that stated Gray had died of an overdose of morphine, and had also shown signs of "significant heart disease".^[15]

Aftermath

On the day after Gray's death, May 25, 2010, the band, without their usual masks, held a formal press conference in Des Moines, Iowa. They did not take any questions from the media. The band, as well as Gray's brother, Tony, and wife, Brenna, paid tribute to him.

"He was kind of the person in the band that really wanted everybody in the band to always get along and just concentrate on the band. He was a really great friend and just a great person. He's going to be sadly missed, and the world is going to be a different place without him."

— Shawn Crahan^[16]

A private funeral was held on May 28, 2010. Paul Gray is buried at the Highland Memory Gardens Cemetery in Iowa. On November 8, 2010, items that decorated Gray's grave, including a Buddha statue and gargoyle statue, were stolen.^[17] The band responded to this event with a post on their MySpace and Facebook page, asking the robbers to return the stolen items and appealing for information from the public.^[18]

On July 30, Paul Gray was posthumously awarded the Kerrang! "Services to Metal" award; it was collected by his Slipknot bandmate Corey Taylor on his behalf.^[19]

Slipknot's former guitarist Donnie Steele filled in on bass guitar for Gray on Slipknot's 2011 Summer tour. Slipknot shows during this time featured Paul's jumpsuit and Self-Titled era pig mask on a stand, along with a bass guitar standing next to it. Fans honoured Gray with a two-minute silence during the band's headline set at Sonisphere Festival, Knebworth.^[20]

Corey Taylor also got a tattoo of Gray and his number on the back of his right leg.

Trial against physician

In September 2012, Gray's physician Daniel Baldi was charged with involuntary manslaughter relating to Gray's death, as well as the deaths of at least seven others. He was accused of continually writing high-dose prescription narcotics to Gray, despite his being a known drug addict from December 27, 2005 until his death. The doctor appeared in court on September 27, 2012 to face the charges, to which he pleaded not guilty.^[21] On May 1, 2014, jurors found Daniel Baldi not guilty on all seven counts of involuntary manslaughter following two days of deliberation. Gray's wife Brenna had testified during the two-week-long trial that Baldi prescribed the anti-anxiety drug Xanax to her husband, despite knowing he was addicted to the prescription medicine.^[22]

Discography

Filmography

• 1999: Welcome to Our Neighborhood
• 2002: Disasterpieces
• 2002: Rollerball
• 2006: Voliminal: Inside the Nine
• 2008: Nine: The Making of "All Hope Is Gone"
• 2008: Behind The Player: Paul Gray
• 2009: Of the (sic): Your Nightmares, Our Dreams
• 2010: (sic)nesses (posthumous)
• 2011: Goat (Iowa DVD) (posthumous)

References

External links

Wikinews has related news: Slipknot bassist Paul Gray found dead in hotel room at age 38

• Official Slipknot website