R.I.P CHRIS GAFFNEY

Chris Gaffney of The Hacienda Brothers and Dave Alvin's Guilty Men died Thursday, losing a bout with liver cancer. He was 57.

That's him playing accordion here with Alvin at the 2006 Thirsty Ear Festival.

There's a decent obit in the L.A. Times:

Gaffney sang in a tuneful yet conversational voice that was both
sandpapery and sweet. He had no pretentiousness about his music. In a 1992 Times interview, he described taking part in a songwriters panel at a folk festival: "The kids were asking, 'How do you write songs?' I said, 'I'm sitting in front of the TV, having a beer, and something comes to my mind, and I go 'what the hell' and write it down."

As I blogged earlier, Alvin and Gaffney's family set up a Web site to help with Gaffney's medical expenses. Though Chris is gone, I'm sure the medical bills live on, so if you can contribute, please click the banner below.

I'll do a little tribute for Gaffney tonight on the Santa Fe Opry. (KSFR, 101.1 FM, 10 to midnight. Webcasting from KSFR's site.)