George Gilbert "Gil" Ray (September 17, 1956 – January 24, 2017) was an American rock drummer, guitarist, and vocalist, best known for his recordings in the 1980s and 1990s as a member of the bands Game Theory and The Loud Family.

"[5] The Big Shot Chronicles was described as "harsh, dense, and metallic-sounding," and "damned ambitious as pop fare goes nowadays," citing the "difficult time signatures" and "criss-cross rhythms" as distinctive.

In a review of the double album, Spin cited Lolita Nation as "some of the gutsiest, most distinctive rock 'n' roll heard in 1987," with "sumptuous melodic hooks ... played with startling intensity and precision," while simultaneously noting that the band "elected to shinny way out on an aesthetic limb" with "a thoroughly perplexing conglomeration of brief instrumental shards and stabs".

The group's 1988 release, Two Steps from the Middle Ages, took a less experimental approach, but despite numerous positive reviews and airplay on college radio, the album failed to reach a mainstream audience.

Spin called the album "essential California rock 'n' roll for the 80s – tense, bristling energy, ingenious hooks and haunting melodies that ought to spell commercial potential.

[8] Keyboard player Shelley LaFreniere and bassist Guillaume Gassuan departed at that time as well, leaving Ray as the only band member to remain with Scott Miller.

"[11] Prior to Game Theory's 1989 "mini-tour" of the Northwestern United States, Ray was a victim of random street violence in San Francisco, resulting in a serious eye injury.

[12][13] In late May and early June 2016, Ray went into the studio with Nan Becker, Dave Gill, and Suzi Ziegler to record percussion for the Game Theory album Supercalifragile (2017).

"[18] In September 2011, Ray returned to performing live on drums after eleven years, participating in a reunion of his early 1980s band Fade To Black as part of San Francisco's Deathstock music festival.

The reunited Rain Parade line-up also included original members Matt Piucci, Steven Roback, and John Thoman, augmented by Mark Hanley and Alec Palao.

Ray continued touring with Rain Parade in 2013 and 2014, including two shows in December 2013 with three other reunited Paisley Underground bands – The Bangles, The Dream Syndicate, and The Three O'Clock – at The Fillmore in San Francisco and The Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles.

[26] In 2013, drummer Todd Phillips of The Juliana Hatfield Three cited Ray's influence on his work, telling Spin that in 1993, "I was listening to this record Lolita Nation by Game Theory all the time.