Chris Gaffney

I'm sad to report the death of a great musician and very good friend, Chris Gaffney. Chris died in his sleep the morning of Thursday, April 17th after being hospitalized after a fall at home. For those who were not fortunate enough to see any of the bands Chris was in, there are some clips of him on the Hacienda Brothers website. I first saw Chris playing with the Phantom Herd at the long-gone Café Metro in Newport Beach, back in early 1979. In that band, also, were Gary Brandin and Wyman Reese, both long-time members of Chris' bands. Chris' latest ensemble was with LA's legendary guitarist and gearhead Dave Gonzales (the Paladins) in the Hacienda Brothers.

Chris was an amazing person: an ex-high school football player and Golden Gloves (champion) boxer, who could get teary -eyed on stage singing some old country weeper. He could be a man of few words, just nodding in conversation or showing a small, elfin smile, or (like the last time I got to talk to him, backstage at a bar in Denver) talking almost non-stop for around two hours, about boxing, music, cars, guitars and the funny things you see touring the country in a crowded band-van.

Years ago, at a Sunday afternoon gathering at the home of former Phantom Herd bass player "Bunk" Bentley, I mentioned to Chris, off-handedly, some comment about Chris being a great artist. He was hung over from the previous night's gig, but was sipping a beer anyway. "I'm no artist!", he said, grumpily. He took a long pull from the bottle, then said, quietly, "I'm a Country singer." He was, and and a lot more.