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Born
in Opelika Alabama on the day of the oriental celebration of Buddha, April
8, 1975, Ernie Gray moved with his mother and father, Randy and Penny
Gray to Kingsport Tennessee where he grew up with two younger brothers,
Adam and Vince.
As a young person, Ernie spent much time drawing, designing and playing complex fantasy role playing games, tinkering with programming on Apple II computers, and making sound recordings of his environment. In adolescence, Ernie played various instruments, sang and danced in a national award-winning show choir, competed and won various Lincoln-Douglass debate tournaments, and ran varsity on a state champion cross-country team.
In early adulthood Ernie returned to the area of his birth to attend Auburn University, but instead began to persue musical performance and composition, performing as vocalist/songwriter with various groups, none of which found much success beyond a limited audience.
During
his early twenties, much of Ernie's time was spent working odd jobs, writing
music and poetry, reading philosphy and psychology, and investigating
metaphysics.. He moved back to his home area for two years and during
a period of personal growth worked for The Kingsport United Way.
At twenty-two, Ernie moved to Murfreesboro Tennessee to make music in the prolific local area scene and attend MTSU. After an undecided attempt at Recording Industry Mangement studies, and an interim period driving a forklift at Nissan in Smyrna and practicing buddhism with Laotian masters, Ernie settled into the Sociology and Philosophy departments of MTSU. Through his study of postmodern and marxist social philosophy, he became passionately involved in political activism.
The active local music scene also saw his involvement in two impressive music projects: The Alexis Wax, and Junk Buddha. The latter fused Drum and Bass with elements of Pop, Folk, and Rock, and was well received by the Nashville press. The height of the their collaboration was playing Nashville's Uptown Mix with recording artists Venus Hum.
For a more in-depth narrative of Ernie Gray's musical journey, to read his unfinished liner note sketches...
It was also during this time that Ernie developed a personal interest in web design and programming. Early work for friends turned into more opportunities, and in 1999 he founded Sirendesign Multimedia, which steadily grew into a successful enterprise offering graphic design, programming, and IT consulting solutions to businesses in the area, allowing him an increasingly independent and flexible livelyhood.
In 2000, while at a conference of radical philosophy in Havana Cuba, Ernie fell in love with his future wife, Christy Rose. They were married in June of 2002. Through Christy, Ernie devoloped an interest in her passion, modern dance and ballet. In 2003, Ernie was acccepted into the Blue Moves Modern Dance Company, where he and Christy collaborate on original choreography and music composition for performance.
In
2003 Ernie's father, Randy Gray was diagnosed with ALS, or Lou Gherig's
Disease, which is neuro-degenerative disorder that slowly incapacitates
the voluntary nervous system. Defying the victim mindset, Randy proactively
recruited managed care and began to use sophisticated technology to 
allow
him to communicate and work via his computer. Despite the disease, Randy
continues to work, writing, doing fundraising, and trading stocks online.
In 2004, Ernie met Larry Cunningham, an experienced sales and marketing professional in the Nashville area who also had a multimedia marketing and web development company called Nashville Netlinks. Cunningham, a seasoned pro in direct sales, was capable of generating significant exposure in the Nashville market, but had limited experience in development and programming. Seeing a win-win opportunity, they merged the operation into a more dynamic Nashville Netlinks Inc. and Ernie became a full-time partner. The company is now one of the fastest growing web marketing enterprises in Tennessee.
During this time, Ernie began playing music locally again, first with a kitsch synth pop project called REDGIRL, and then a melodic rock outfit called Clockwork.
In August of 2005, Christy and Ernie bought their first home in the progressive art community of East Nashville, where they enjoy an active life entertaining, performing, and playing with interior design.
Ernie looks forward to producing more music, art, multimedia designs, beautiful living spaces, and perhaps even children.
Christy and Ernie with friends at Lynn Hearn's birthday party in Nashville
2005
Ernie and Brother Vincent Gray
2004
Ernie and Brother Adam Gray 2004