BOOM

George Meyers is a School Psychologist by day and a musician at night (and weekends and whenever he gets a chance). George began playing guitar as an adolescent with influences such as The Beatles, Stones, Hendrix, The Doors, many blues artists, and so many others as the years rolled on. While in college, George began studying the Double Bass under the former principal bassist of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra (Massachusetts), the late Maestro Anthony Bevivino.

Throughout his adult years, George kept music as a hobby, playing in various community orchestras, musicals, and several bands. However, playing in bands became "short lived" due to the constant presents of cigarette smoke and other things that he just couldn't tollerate. However, when George was asked to play bass for some fellow musicians of the "baby boom," he went for it. Seeing that nobody smoked and that most night clubs now have a no-smoking policy, the idea of making music with a great bunch of guys really appealled to him. The rest is history!

Haig Papasian
Although his real name is Gary Travis, he wanted a name that wasn’t so ‘white bread’ so he went with Haig Papasian . No white bread there.   Born in the early 1950s, he picked up the guitar in the early 1960s.  Played a $25.00 department store guitar until his fingers bled. In late 1965 he had his first ‘good’ guitar. A Guild, single cut-away, slim line, hollow body with a Florentine cut. (Still has it.) Studied guitar for 5 years. 

During this time he played in a number of local rock bands. His first choice in life was to go college for music theory, rejected that concept knowing that had he gone to music college, chances are he would end up teaching music.   Studied communication, ended up in the TV business, but always kept a guitar near-by.

Lately he is back to writing music and performing, feels comfortable with writing melodic ballads, but holds that genre at arms length, in search of what he calls, the true ‘rocker’. The quest will continue as rock will always be new and young, and when you hear that ‘rocker of a song’ you’ll know it.

Larry Rifkin has been behind a drumkit since the 6th grade. Then, as now, backing up the vocal stylings of Steve Mednick, in a band called THE AVENGERS.

Rifkin continued drumming throughout his life for his personal enjoyment, while pursuing a career in television and radio. For his fiftieth birthday, he assembled many key elements of what has become the band, BOOM.

The performance at Crossroads Cantina in Waterbury on June 8, 2002 set the stage for band's development. Rifkin has recorded with BOOM and on Steve's solo projects. In addition to his unique left-handed, traditional drum styling for the band, he sings and has composed original compositions which the band performs.

Steve Mednick, guitar, keyboards, harmonica and vocals, has played music with Larry Rifkin since the 7th grade at Kingsbury School in Waterbury, CT.   Steve and Larry defended against the British Invasion by forming “The Avengers” and proceeded to mimic the music of John, Paul, George and Ringo, the Rolling Stones, Kinks, Dave Clark Five, the Who, Traffic, Cream…the defenses crumbled by the time the boys entered high school. 

Nonetheless, music has always been a major part of Steve’s and the BOOM set list and wish list includes songs by many of his heroes, The Beatles, Dylan, CSN (&Y), J.T., Jackson Browne, Joni Mitchell, Steve Winwood, Warren Zevon, Randy Newman, Jimmy Webb, Joan Armatrading, Richard Thompson, John Hiatt, Elvis Costello, Paul Brady and Fairport Convention.  

Mednick also writes words and music and is inspired by, among others, Reynolds Price, Arthur Schlessinger, David Halberstam, Walter Mosley and Barry Unsworth.  By day Steve continues to practice law.

Visit his website at www.stevemednick.com

Tony Casagrande
Tony’s start in music was with “Blue Condition”, a four-piece garage band out of the North End of Waterbury, Connecticut, specializing in musical numbers from the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Cream, the Doors and others.

From there he moved on to “WHOP” and “Hard Road”, two eight-piece horn groups that worked the Waterbury, Bristol and Hartford areas during the early 70s pumping out brass-filled tunes by Chicago, the Edgar Winter Group, Flock and other full-sound performers.

More recently, Tony has been enjoying his music grinding out varied classic rock tunes with “BOOM”, a mature, six-piece rock n’ roll ensemble.

Vern Coles
As a young kid, around 4 or 5, I remember my mother, aunts and uncles listening to "The Johnny Otis Band", "Louis Jordan", "LaVern Baker", "Lloyd Price" and other black bands of the early 1950's. Mostly I remember the songs having horn solos. Fastforward : the early 1960's hearing groups like The Ventures playing "Walk Don't Run"and other groups playing "Telestar", "Wipe-Out" ,"Pipeline". What can I say; the sound of the guitar caught my attention. I was hooked.

When I was 14 my older brother, James, who played drums and friend Dion Petteys who played guitar got hold of an old electric guitar, showed me 3 notes... so I could play the bass parts with them, the notes were C,Fand G... and away we went. First with "Twist and Shout", "Louie,Louie" and on and on. Later I hooked up with other high school guys playing rock and roll and, of course, soul. But then I had to get real about life and get a job. However I always kept a guitar close by in my non-professional life outside of the TV broadcasting business.

Throughout the 1970's I played out in the Albany, New York area; gigging or just jamming. It was all good. By the 90's I wasn't sure I wanted to do music anymore. But then a friend asked if I ever taken guitar lessons. I hadn't. I was self taught. Whatever licks and riffs I knew I had learned from watching others. But I eventually did take lessons...albeit Jazz lessons. That was the spark that reignited my interest in playing with others. So now as they say: "I DO DA ROCK" and with "BOOM" a fun bunch of guys.