Children's entertainer is Foote-loose

A performer’s life is always filled with craziness and the unexpected. For instance, children’s entertainer Norman Foote penned a song Love My Shirt about an old top he’d found at a yard sale.

“When I asked my kids what they thought about me writing a shirt song, they both said I was crazy. I proceeded to write it anyway and won a Juno,” laughs Foote in a laid-back interview from his North Vancouver home.

The iconic family entertainer is on the Always Be Yourself tour titled after his latest 10-track album release. And he’s slated to perform at the Morinville Community Cultural Centre on Thursday, Nov. 14.

The album’s theme is, “Listen to yourself. Stick up for yourself. Believe in yourself and respect others. It’s a simple thing to think about, but it’s important. Believe in yourself and don’t be afraid to express yourself,” he adds.

A modern vaudevillian at heart, Foote’s performances mix together music, puppetry, comedy and skits. Every performer has a shtick and his are talking heads developed in a moment of creative recycling.

“I found this old hockey helmet at a Salvation Army store. I had a broken buckle and I took it home. I made it into a puppet where I manipulate the mouth and do the acting.”

The star is Rosalita, the talking head with attitude that says all the wickedly funny things people don’t dare. But then for the last three decades, Foote has been on a mission to make people laugh and enjoy a short holiday from life’s routines.

A West Coast farm boy, Foote received his first guitar at Christmas when he was 12. By the time he was 15, he and his best buddy, Rory Wood created a duo known around the school as Wood & Foote. With an extensive repertoire of seven songs, they played at parties and during the school lunch hour.

“My life started when my dad gave me a guitar. All I ever wanted to do is be a musician. No question.”

At 19, he packed up his gear moving south to New Zealand busking as a folk musician. Earning about $80 a week, he lived cheaply and met many Kiwi musicians.”

Looking for more adventure, he travelled to Australia. While busking in downtown Sydney, a producer invited Foote on a four-month tour of children’s shows throughout South Wales.

“He asked me to record for a puppet show. On the tour, we stayed in campsites and the next day we go into schools.”

The tour was a grind, but Foote’s puppetry apprenticeship was thorough. And he was being paid $180 a week.

“It was phenomenal money and I got to travel all over Australia.”

But although Australia was a maturing experience, Vancouver beckoned and after two years, he returned home.

Switching to solo shows for schools, Foote rapidly developed a following and began performing at fairs and festivals. With symphonies across North America incorporating more children’s programming, he became a guest artist as far away as the Nashville Symphony and Oklahoma Symphony.

“For me, I like all shows whether they are small or big. That’s what makes my career so diverse and that’s what makes it so enjoyable.”