A British invasion - by way of Franklin

Greenfield - We still love them - yeah, yeah, yeah.

That's why a Beatles tribute band, including three Franklin residents, has quickly emerged as popular entertainment 47 years after the British lads landed in the U.S. and played at Milwaukee's Arena.

Liverpool '64 - scheduled to play Oct. 8 at the Greenfield Performing Arts Center - formed in June 2010. It will be the latest gig in a string of performances at such venues as Pabst Brewery, the Gazebo in the Village of Greendale, the Oak Creek Community Center as well as Milwaukee's Mitchell Boulevard Park, Charles Allis Museum and German Fest.

Come together

"We started off as a block party band," said band leader Doug Scherrer.

He described how he, his son Steve, Scott Harry, all of Franklin and Don Bolanowski, from Milwaukee, found each other through their mutual musical interests.

"We found each other through neighbors and friends," Scherrer said. "I had been playing in bands for a long time. I was with guys who played anything that was popular, including Ricky Nelson and Buddy Holly We just started strumming and playing and Beatles music just fit all of us.

"When you play the Beatles, you become the Beatles."

They became the Beatles from "day jobs." Scherrer is a retired insurance agency owner who handed the business to Steve. Harry is a graphic artist and Bolanowski is a retired teacher.

The group's neighborhood performances turned more and more formal as people began to ask them to perform at various functions, including fundraisers.

"We started wearing dark suits and we play the authentic instruments the Beatles played in 1964," Scherrer said.

They began wearing mop-top wigs to complete the look. After all, he noted, the band members, ranging in age from 40 to 65, preferred the wigs to their gray or thinning hair.

Getting better

"We stick with the early Beatles music, though we also mix in some later stuff," Scherrer said.

For a few numbers, the band adds a fifth Beatle- Scott Harry's wife, Donna, on keyboard. The band also is adding new wrinkles with each gig.

"In Greenfield, we put together a special black-and-white video intro and we are working with the Greenfield High School drama department and the cheerleading squad to have dancers," Scherrer said. "We're having fun adding different elements to keep the performances fresh."

Liverpool '64's Greenfield date will include a presentation of Beatles memorabilia by local photographer Paul Costanzo. ( See related story on Page 7.)

I feel fine

Scherrer said the biggest challenge to becoming popular is that those who have hired the band are asking for longer performances.

"We originally learned about 30 songs," Scherrer said. "Now we know about 45 to 50 songs. People know the songs by heart and the audience will sing along. This music is ageless and timeless."