In early 1984 Johnny Gooch (drums), Perry Edge (Bass Guitar) and Bobby Ruppe (keyboards) decided to form a Beach band and in March of that year The Dynamic Breakers were born. Johnny Lathan, another Spartanburg native was asked to join as lead guitar and vocals. Paul Finger with his powerful rock vocal style rounded out the rhythm and vocal part of the band.
As with the more popular Rhythm & Beach groups of the day the rhythm section knew they needed a strong horn section. Ron Miller a local sax player was asked to find the right horns for the band. Ron had recently played in the pit orchestra for West Side Story at the local theater and was impressed with the big sound and high range of another Spartanburg native, Russ Gaffney. Russ had just graduated from Winthrop University with a degree in music and was doing some private teaching at Converse College.
Rehearsals began in earnest and the bands first performance was at the old "Private Sides" Club on Blackstock road in Spartanburg. The combination of talents soon put The Breakers on the road and there they remained for 16 years. The band also formed a long standing relationship with The Willis Blume Agency out of Orangeburg, SC. Willis Blume had his own band Shagtime, as well as managing the booking of many other very popular bands.
While the popularity of the band was growing in both number of gigs and areas traveled, the members were convinced they needed a little bit more, but more of what? Through his musical connections, sax player Ron Miller contacted Mickey Connolly, a trombone player and band director in Union, SC. Mickey rounded out an already strong horn section and enabled the horns to play more challenging songs including those by Chicago and Tower of Power. While the band was powerful, the styles did not mix well and lead singer Paul Finger left to pursue other passions.
Billy Scott, formerly of The Georgia Prophets joined the band in 1985 and was the ingredient needed to take The Breakers to the next level. Now the band could offer a broader range of music from "This Time is Real" by Tower of Power to "I Got the Fever", a Billy Scott classic. With Billy Scott on the marquee the band was able to travel even further from Spartanburg to Georgia, Florida, North Carolina and Virginia.
By the summer of 1987 trumpeter Russ Gaffney was finishing his Masters in Trumpet from UNC-Greensboro and was about to settle down to married life. As the band continued to grow, so did the travel distances from Greensboro and in the fall of 87 Russ parted ways with The Breakers.
In the fall of 1987 Curt Walker & Steve Hopper joined The Breakers. Curt filled the trumpet void left by Russ and was also an accomplished vocalist and entertainer. Steve Hopper was also both a saxophonist and vocalist. Curt and Steve had played together in another band and the combination enabled the group to expand their song list and gave both Gooch and Ruppe a long overdue break from singing.
The band continued to perform with Billy Scott until December 31st, 1988, when Billy Scott and The Prophets were reformed. While Billy's noteriety helped get The Breakers into some larger venues, The Breakers now needed to form their own identity. In 1989 they released their first full length cassette and then released a CD in 1994. Hits like "Boogie in the Streets", "Take Out Some Insurance" and "West End Avenue" started finding their way to the airwaves, as well as, various compilation recordings.
While the gigs kept on coming, the time and energy began to diminish and on December 31st, 1999 the band decided to "hang it up". While the band members started finding new hobbies the fans continued to listen, buy and request our music. In October of 2005 a reunion gig was held at Cleveland Park in Spartanburg. Russ Gaffney reunited with the band for one great night of music, dancing and fun with old friends. This reunion gig ignited a desire to play again and reform The Breakers. While in the process of putting the band back together, Trumpeter Curt Walker passed away suddenly on March 12th, 2006.
This put the reformation of the band on hold, but only temporarily. Perry (P.W.) Edge who was the original bass player decided not to return and was replaced by long time Spartanburg native and friend Toby Morgan. Ron Miller, sax and Mickey Connolly, trombone also were unable to return. Original Guitarist Johnny Lathan returned briefly, then left but ultimately returned in 2012. After much coaxing Russ Gaffney also agreed to rejoin the band.
Along with Russ and new members, Toby, Grier, Brad and Steve, The Dynamic Breakers are once again building their own identity. To our loyal fans you will once again hear many of your favorites, as well as, "new" classics.
We're Back!!!