Running with Scissors makes live concert debut
By Carin R. Kirkegaard; courtesy photos
Denis Freiden, Laurie Benton, John Grosh, David Feil and Greg Sherwood are the members of the local cover band Running with Scissors.
Running with Scissors, an amateur studio band that has been playing together for the past 15 years, made its public debut in August at a socially-distanced neighborhood block party.
Laurie Benton (lead vocals), David Feil (bass), Denis Freiden (guitar), John Grosh (guitar) and Greg Sherwood (drums) are the five current members of the band. Sherwood started the group in his home studio with a set of drums. The members and equipment have changed over the years, but the camaraderie, the desire to learn, and the love for music has always been a key factor.
Castle Pines neighbor Denis Freiden joined the group after reading about the band in a related article featured in The Connection’s July 2018 issue.
Freiden taught himself to play guitar as a kid growing up in Memphis, Tennessee. He remembers going to pawn shops and looking at instruments while his dad worked on Saturdays. Eventually, his dad loaned him the money to purchase his first guitar. “I wanted to learn how to play the songs I heard on the radio,” said Freiden. It was The Beatles that influenced Freiden – listening to them on the radio and seeing them perform on The Ed Sullivan Show.
Each member of the group has a day job but still manages to meet every Thursday to play. They consider themselves a work in progress. “Picking up an instrument is like learning a new language,” said Sherwood. Having patience is important while honing a new skill. The band credits the weekly practices in an equipped studio as the perfect environment to do just that.
Grosh commented that he has played guitar his whole life, but now that his kids are grown, he has more time to devote to perfecting his talent.
Resident Denis Freiden rehearses with band member John Grosh (back) at their Thursday night practice.
Not all the band members are at the same point in their lives. Feil is a sixth-grade music teacher and still has kids attending Douglas County schools. Although his life is full, he said he is usually the first one to arrive for Thursday night music club.
Benton, the band’s vocalist, leads the group in covering songs spanning the 1970s through the 1990s. The entire band credits their growing development and success to Benton and her incredible voice.
With skies threatening rain, the band had to put up tents and start later than advertised. In the end, they pulled off a successful first concert, – playing two sets to an audience nearing 100 people spaced around a cul-de-sac.
When it came time to take the stage and play the opening song, “Oh! Darling” by The Beatles, Freiden said, “We have rehearsed that song a lot and knew it well. When you know the songs, it’s easy. We were just having fun.”
