Reunion Celebration Pays Loving Tribute to Musician Chris Gaffney

By John Roos

What made singer-songwriter-musician Chris Gaffney so special to so many folks was on display in droves last night at the sold-out, multi-act tribute concert at the Scottish Rite Event Center in Long Beach.

A mainstay on the local music scene since the 1990’s, Gaffney succumbed to liver cancer in 2008 when he was only 57-years-old. After years spent in relative obscurity playing Orange County bars like Linda's Doll Hut, Old Towne Brewing Company, and the Swallow's Inn, the Austria-born, Arizona-bred and ultimately Costa Mesa-based Gaffney toured extensively as a member of Dave Alvin's backing band, the Guilty Men, and as co-lead singer of the Hacienda Brothers, a unique classic country-and-western-meets-soul band featuring singer, songwriter and guitarist Dave Gonzalez, steel guitarist Dave Barzansky, bassist Hank Maninger, and drummer Dale Daniel.

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of Gaffney's passing, concert promoter Chris Burkhardt of Stellar Shows and Tucson-based record producer and the Haciendas band manager Jeb Schoonover organized last night’s Chris Gaffney Reunion Party featuring Dave Alvin benefit concert with many of the roots-based musicians and bands with personal ties to Gaffney and his family, including Dave Alvin (performing here with the Cold Hard Facts, Gaffney's longtime backing band), the surviving members of the Hacienda Brothers, Los Fabulocos, Kid Ramos, and James Intveld & the Honky Tonk Palominos. (Alt-country duo Jann Browne & Matt Barnes were scheduled to appear but cancelled due to illness.)

With a rekindled sense of community clearly present, emotions ran high throughout the evening as the musicians onstage, with rotating slides of Gaffney’s life projected on a wall in the room, shared memorable stories of Gaff that touched their lives, both as a fellow musician and friend. Something said by Dave Alvin—widely-known as Gaffney’s best friend—rang especially true while perfectly pointing to Gaff’s songwriting depth. Introducing “The Gardens” – an autobiographical song about living in the rough-and-tumble city of Hawaiian Gardens - Alvin declared, “This next song really shows the sensitive side of Chris, even if he didn’t want you to know it.”

The nearly five hours of heartfelt live music began with a set of predominantly Norteño and Tex-Mex songs by Los Fabulocos, a Cali-Mex quartet fronted by Jesus Cuevas, a vocalist and accordion player formerly with the Blazers, an East L.A.-based band. Their set featured songs, sung in both English and Spanish, played with a winning playfulness that propelled some in the audience onto the dance floor.

Next up, rockabilly and roots musician James Intveld and the Honky Tonk Palominos turned in an exceptional performance highlighted by the smokin’ “All the Way from Memphis;” a nostalgic ballad from 2008 titled “This Place Ain’t What it Used to Be;” and the poignant “Love Calls,” which Intveld dedicated to Gaffney’s widow, Julie. The now Nashville-based Intveld shared a memory about his musician father, Fred, who also knew Gaffney. Back in the day, after Fred and Gaff played together at a now-extinct club in Anaheim, Gaff deadpanned to James, “You know, he’s better than we are.”

The evening’s electricity turned up a notch when Gaffney’s longtime band, the Cold Hard Facts, followed Intveld’s strong set. With a placement on a pedestal on side of the stage of Gaffney’s accordion and cowboy hat, lead guitarist Danny Ott, keyboardist Wyman Reese, drummer John Senne, bassist Mike Barry and steel guitarist Doug Livingston reformed for this special reunion (and were later joined onstage by another Cold Hard Facts alumnus, singer-songwriter-guitarist Rick Shea, and Blasters co-founder and longtime solo artist Dave Alvin.)

Early in this set, Ott stepped up on lead vocals for the classic "Artesia" and Shea took his best shot singing lead on “Ten Years Ago.” Kudos to both men—as well as Wyman and Alvin—for their efforts to fill the void but no one can replicate the distinctive, smoky baritone of Gaffney (nor his amazing accordion playing.) That said, Ott did connect with another heartbreak ballad, “Glass House,” especially when delivering these apropos words: “The weight is too heavy for one man to carry.”

After Alvin stepped onstage and quipped, “Let’s pretend we’re at the Blue Café (popular but now defunct Long Beach club) on a Sunday afternoon,” the concert caught fire with a series of songs whose fierce determination and delivery were things to behold. These intoxicating numbers included an explosive rave-up of Alvin’s self-professed favorite Gaffney song, “Albuquerque;” the rollicking “East of Houston, West of Baton Rouge;” “Fight (Tonight’s the Night);” and “The Fourth of July,” the latter penned by Alvin and one he introduced by saying: “This is a very special song written on Stewart and Gray Road in Downey. Anyone know where that is? If Chris and I had `our’ song, this would be it.”

The reunited Hacienda Brothers had the unenviable task of following the dynamic set turned in by Alvin and the Cold Hard Facts. Still, the Haciendas closed the show with a gutsy 45 minutes of no-frills western soul that was clearly emotionally draining for all. The sense of loss and sadness could not be masked as a choked-up Gonzalez stood in on lead vocals for “Walkin’ on My Dreams,” which Gonzalez self-effacingly introduced as a blues song he wrote for Gaffney to sing “because he could belt the blues and I really can’t.”

What Gonzalez and the Haciendas can do, even without their beloved Gaff, is deliver the goods on such classic honky tonk fare as “A Little Bit South of Lonesome,” “What’s Wrong with Right,” and “Turn To Grey.” The band was joined late in their set by guitarist Kid Ramos and Los Fabulocos’ Cuevas for some inspired Tex-Mex-Cajun flavoring (“Bayou Bum”) and the evening-closing instrumental titled “Light it Again Charlie.” The latter number was an extended, bluesy jam that allowed Ramos and Gonzalez to trade tasteful solo licks until building to a rousing, soul-stirring climax.

Somewhere, Christopher F. Gaffney was smiling.

One is left to ponder how much more of Chris Gaffney’s magic we would have been blessed to hear had he not passed away a little more than 10 years ago. What we do know, though, is he left a lasting mark on a Southern California music scene and community that will forever treasure his unique gifts. As Dave Alvin remarked from the stage, “I miss you every day, my brother.”