A self-described "army brat,"
Christopher F. Gaffney was born in
Vienna, Austria, In addition to music, Gaffney loved sports, especially boxing, and earned an LA
Golden Gloves championship in 1967 and even trained with boxing hall-of-famer Jackie McCoy. As a child, he learned to play the
accordion and listened to
norteno,
country, and
rock & roll. As a teenager, Gaffney played in various house bands and eventually released his first solo album,
Road to Indio, in 1986. Produced by friend Wyman Reese, his debut album demonstrated his "genre-bending" tastes by showcasing forays into
honky tonk, soul, and
Bakersfield country. His next solo album, ''
Loser's Paradise'' (1995), was produced by Gaffney's friend
Dave Alvin and featured contributions from
Lucinda Williams and
Jim Lauderdale. In 2002, Gaffney formed the
Hacienda Brothers with guitarist/songwriter
Dave Gonzalez, a founding member of
The Paladins. They recorded their third studio album
Arizona Motel shortly before Gaffney's death in early 2008. He died from
liver cancer in
Newport Beach, California. In addition to his solo and band work, Gaffney has also toured as a member of Dave Alvin & the Guilty Men In 2011, Dave Alvin included a song about Gaffney, "Run Conejo Run", in his album
Eleven Eleven. ==Discography==