Jim Pash, Surfaris guitarist, dies

Jim Pash, an original member of the classic rock band the Surfaris,

died Friday of liver disease. He was 56.

Pash, who played guitar, saxophone and keyboards for the group

since 1962, had been unable to tour with the band in recent months

due to failing health. On April 16 at the Hard Rock Cafe in Fashion

Island, a number of famous surf-rock musicians -- including Dick

Dale, the Chantays, and the other Surfaris -- held a benefit show to

raise money for Pash’s treatment.

Jay Truax, the current bassist for the Surfaris and the organizer

of the Fashion Island show, remembered his late bandmate as a humble

and devoutly religious man, who had a knack for conversation.

“He was very up to date on everything,” Truax said. “He was one of

those guys who were very eclectic and very sharp. You could talk to

him about any subject.”

About the benefit show in April, Truax added: “The fact that all

those people came together on his behalf was, I thought, very cool.

He was very thankful and just really overwhelmed.”

Pash and his wife, Linda, had five children together. The couple

lived in recent years in Yucca Valley, where Pash, apart from his

tours with the Surfaris, worked as a surveyor and a musical

instrument repairman. He and other surf rockers frequently went on

tour during the summer, when demand for their music was high.

“All those guys are like a brotherhood,” Pash said before the

Fashion Island concert. “It shows the caliber of people they are.”