The Hacienda Brothers is an American

alternative country Alternative country, or alternative country rock (sometimes alt-country, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative), is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that differ significantly in style ...

band composed of Chris Gaffney, Dave Gonzalez, Dave Berzansky, Dale Daniel, and Hank Maninger. They have been described as "the finest

country rock Country rock is a genre of music which fuses rock and country. It was developed by rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. These musicians recorded rock records using country themes, vocal s ...

band since the Flying Burrito Brothers in their prime," Hal Horowitz's review of Music for Ranch & Town/ref> and were called "the best country band of the decade." Their music blends

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

, Tex-Mex and

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

. They themselves call it "western Soul." The band was hailed as making a "groundbreaking blend of country, rock, blues and accordion-anchored Americana" and by the time founder Chris Gaffney died in 2008 had made three studio albums and one live album.

History

The Hacienda Brothers began in 2002 when friends Chris Gaffney and Dave Gonzalez played together during a planned jam session at the 40th birthday party of their mutual friend Jeb Schoonover. Gaffney was a successful singer and songwriter who had released several albums with the band the Cold Hard Facts and had toured with

Dave Alvin David Albert Alvin (born November 11, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer. He is a former and founding member of the roots rock band the Blasters. Alvin has recorded and performed as a solo artist since the late 1980s a ...

. Gonzalez is a singer, songwriter, and guitar player, then mainly active with

The Paladins The Paladins are an American roots rock-rockabilly band from San Diego, California. Founded in the early 1980s by guitarist Dave Gonzalez and his high school friend and double bass player Thomas Yearsley, they have recorded nine studio albums an ...

. After playing on stage together, and at the urging of Schoonover (who would become their business partner and manager), they soon joined in

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

, to write and record their first album. Calling themselves the Hacienda Brothers, they were joined by Dave Berzansky ( pedal steel), Hank Maninger (

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

, also with the

Aqua Velvets Aqua Velvets are an American surf rock revival band from San Francisco, California, formed in the 1980s by guitarist Miles Corbin. Rather than simply recreate the vintage 1963 surf sound, Corbin set out to add depth and dimension with original song ...

), and Dale Daniel (drums). Their self-titled debut (2005) was produced by the legendary Dan Penn, who also wrote two tracks. ''Hacienda Brothers'' on Allmusic.com/ref> The album was praised widely; ''

Vintage Guitar A vintage guitar is an older guitar usually sought after and maintained by avid collectors or musicians. The term may indicate either that an instrument is merely old, or that is sought after for its tonal quality, cosmetic appearance, or hist ...

'' called it "a great CD." ''What's Wrong with Right'', also produced by Penn, was released the following year and garnered critical accolades. Bob Mehr, writing for '' Mojo Magazine'', praised its "authentic sawdust-floor shuffles" and "cinematic Morricone twang." Their self-titled debut album appeared in 2005, and quickly the band received critical recognition for their eclectic music. Their second album, ''What's Wrong With Right'', was chosen by the alternative country magazine '' No Depression'' as one of the top 60 albums for 2006See the Jan/Feb 2007 issue of '' No Depression''. and by '' R&R'' as one of the top 100 Albums of 2006. Band leaders Gaffney and Gonzalez were interviewed by Terry Gross on NPR's '' Fresh Air''; and Gonzalez was voted one of the "Top 101 All-time Unsung Guitar Heroes" by ''

Guitar Player Magazine ''Guitar Player'' is an American popular magazine for guitarists, founded in 1967 in San Jose, California. It contains articles, interviews, reviews and lessons of an eclectic collection of artists, genres and products. It has been in print si ...

''. In 2007, they were nominated for "Group of the Year" by the American Music Association. In August 2007, they released a live album ''Music for Ranch & Town''. Chris Gaffney died of liver cancer on April 17, 2008, while the band was wrapping up the recording of their third studio album, ''Arizona Motel''. The album received great critical acclaim and was called "forceful and timeless." A positive review accompanied an "in memoriam" article for Gaffney in ''Vintage Guitar''; a later review in the same magazine said the album "kicked butt": "This album delivers more moments of greatness, more consistently, than any of their previous releases and is a fully realized work of music-craft." The band planned on touring in support of a tribute album for Gaffney and did so in 2008; on at least one occasion they were joined by Dave Alvin as a special guest. In 2009, a tribute album to Gaffney was released, ''A Man of Somebody's Dreams: A Tribute to the Songs of Chris Gaffney'', which included songs played by fellow Hacienda Brothers as well as others.

Song choice

Their range of musical taste is evident in their choice of material. In addition to many originals, they have recorded

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...

's "Home of the Blues," " Cry Like a Baby" (originally by the

Box Tops The Box Tops is an American rock band formed in Memphis in 1967. They are best known for the hits " The Letter", " Cry Like a Baby", "Choo Choo Train," and " Soul Deep" and are considered a major blue-eyed soul group of the period. They perfo ...

Gamble and Huff Kenneth Gamble (born August 11, 1943, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) and Leon A. Huff (born April 8, 1942, Camden, New Jersey) are an American songwriting and production team credited for developing the Philadelphia soul music genre (also known as ...

's "Cowboys to Girls" (recorded by The Intruders and the Commodores),

Charlie Rich Charles Allan Rich (December 14, 1932July 25, 1995) was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. His eclectic style of music was often difficult to classify, encompassing the rockabilly, jazz, blues, country music, country, sou ...

's "Rebound" and "Life's Little Ups and Downs," Penn and

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, wh ...

's "It Tears Me Up" (also recorded by Percy Sledge), and "Mental Revenge" (a song written for

Waylon Jennings Waylon Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He pioneered the Outlaw Movement in country music. Jennings started playing guitar at the age of eight and performed at age f ...

by Mel Tillis).

Band members

* Chris Gaffney - vocal and

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

* Dave Gonzalez - vocal and guitar *Dave Berzansky -

pedal steel guitar The pedal steel guitar is a Console steel guitar, console-type of steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings to enable playing more varied and complex music than any previous steel guitar design. Like all s ...

*Dale Daniel - drums *Hank Maninger -

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

Discography

*2005 - ''Hacienda Brothers'' *2006 - ''What's Wrong with Right'' *2007 - ''Music for Ranch & Town (Live)'' *2008 - ''Arizona Motel''

References

External links

Official WebsiteMySpace Page
{{Authority control American alternative country groups Rockabilly music groups Musical groups from Tucson, Arizona American country rock groups Musical groups from California Musical groups established in 2002 2002 establishments in the United States Proper Records artists