On That Note
Wayne Faust - One Cool Bald Guy!
by Corey Columbin
Colorado Serenity Magazine
This
man knows he's bald. And he knows bald can be cool. In fact, Wayne Faust's most
popular song to date is called, "Bald Guys Are Cool." On Stage, Faust invites
the hair-challenged guys in the audience to join him. No problem getting
volunteers; one eager guy even ripped off his toupee to come up on stage. Faust
sings, "Bald guys are happenin', really gettin' hip..." and the dancing chorus
shouts, "Bald guys!" The song continues, "We don't waste our male hormones on
growing hair..." and again they shout, "Bald guys!" shimmying to the music.
Hilarious! Depending on how enthusiastic the performance, dollar bills have been
thrown on stage or tucked into the bald guys' waistbands. This song even got
aired on the Today Show a few weeks back.
Not just about being bald, if you Google "comedy music,"
Faust's website, picklehead.com pops up first on the list. Not surprising,
considering he has been a professional singer, songwriter, and comedian for the
past thirty-one years. He has even written a book on the subject, Thirty
Years Without A REAL Job. So how does a college student on his way to
becoming a lawyer turn into this cool bald guy with over five thousand
performances under his belt, a CD, and a published book? Even though he's worked
hard every step of the way, I think Wayne himself is still scratching his head
over that one.
Have you ever wanted to pitch it "all" into the nearest body
of water and just work at what you love? And then reason won out when you
thought about the things you wanted - marriage, and a family, a home of your
own, and a life? What if you could have it all? Wayne Faust asked that question,
put it into motion, and made it happen. The first test to his resolve:
convincing his college sweetheart's dad that a professional entertainer would
make a good husband. He passed that test, after delivering his detailed plan,
won Sally's hand (his wife still today), and began life as a professional
entertainer.
He started in Chicago in the usual way: playing coffee
houses, open mic nights, parties, and then spread out to bigger and better
venues, even playing a six-year stint in the night club and stand-up comedy
scene in Los Angeles. What brought Wayne to Colorado was an invitation by Jerry
Cooney to perform at the Briar Rose restaurant in Breckenridge during the ski
season. That was in 1983. The Briar Rose became one of his regualr seasonal gigs
and that exposure hooked him up with other gigs at places like Sloppy Joe's in
Key West where he played for fifteen years and The Beer Barrel Saloon in
Put-In-Bay, Ohio (home of the world's longest bar), where he entertained an
audience of three thousand. On the wall of his basement office, Wayne proudly
displays a map dotted with stars, marking all the places he's performed all over
the United States and Mexico. He has also traveled overseas to perform in
England, Holland and Scotland.
So what does he do? Wayne describes his act as "music,
comedy, and improv," explaining that every show is different. He has a knack for
parody, making up new words for old songs or making up songs on the spot about
subjects shouted out from the audience. Wayne admits that most of his really
good stuff comes to him in the shower, but his improvisational material he gets
when the lights come on on stage. For instance, a room full of brain surgeons
gathered at a convention can be hilariously funny. It's the same with the annual
appearance for N.A.R.F. E. (National Association of Retired Federal Employees).
He caters his material to his audience - be it shows for kids, senior citizens,
business conventions, parties in a bar, or skiers fresh from the slopes. Wayne
keeps the rating peaked at about PG-13. On stage, he strums along with his
guitar or banjo and sings songs from his humorous shower-inspired repertoire or
makes them up as he goes. He doesn't always perform alone, either. Sven often
accompanies him. Sven is his two-foot wooden sidekick - a Swede of few words,
proudly topped with a Viking hat, who joined the act several years ago. I met
Sven, who lives in a custom wooden case, ready for travel. "You haven't lived
until you've tried to go through security with this guy!" says Wayne, adjusting
one of his Viking horns. And for nearly half of his career, Wayne partnered up
with Rusty Lewis, taking their act on the road. Faust & Lewis wrote many songs
together, including the song "Bald Guys song, "Onetontomata," Lots Of Things
Rhyme With Duck." Still friends, they broke up in 2001, and Faust went on with
his solo act - solo if you don't count Sven.
"The performing is the best part of show business," says
Faust, "because the business part of show business is work." Admittedly, Faust
works hard at promoting and managing the act and his Website, picklehead.com,
which was established in 1996 - a little ahead of the cyberspace domain craze.
"Why Picklehead?" I asked.
"Because you may not remember my name," Wayne explains, 'but
you will remember Picklehead. It was also the nickname my father had for me when
I was a kid."
After thirty-five years of entertaining, and with his
secret-to-success book published, his CD Bald Guys Are Cool out, his
career at a comfortable point, and his three kids nearly all grown, you'd think
Wayne and Sven might just kick back on the couch for a while.
Always planning, in addition to performing, Wayne would like
to spend more time writing in the future, and continue as captain of his adult
hockey team.
"I don't think I could ever stop," says Faust, "even when I'm
in an old folks home, I'll still be trying to make people laugh."
Now that's one cool bald guy!
For information about bookings, performance schedule, and
song clips, log on to www.waynefaust.com.