Kevin "B.F." Burt

My baby, she got the giggles, yea my baby

Whether it is his siblings, his children or those close to him, Kevin “B.F.” Burt’s family makes him laugh.

“My kids, they’re my primary source of entertainment,” he said. “Every laugh, every giggle, every goofy moment is as pure as it can be.”

Some of his best moments with his daughters, Delaney and Phoebe, also involve the family pets — three cats and a 130-pound Rottweiler named Luther.

“A lot of the stuff I watch my kids do takes me back to my childhood and that’s what’s funny about it,” Burt said. “It’s almost the more repetitive it is for me, the fresher it is.”

From his experience at libraries, schools and other events, Burt said it is harder to make kids laugh, but more rewarding.

“Grown folks, you’ve just got to catch them off guard,” he said.

With kids, however, “there’s a purity to it,” he said. He said he can see when the “lightbulb comes on” and they start to enjoy it, Burt said.

“It’s just kind of a cool coincidence it’s going on while I’m there,” he said.

On stage with his band, the same fellas he’s been performing with for almost 20 years, “we keep each other probably as entertained as anybody,” Burt said.

Burt said he believes that when they entertain themselves, there’s a higher probability of entertaining others.

There’s nothing better than when the audience is interacting with the band, he said.

“That’s when I’m at my best. I’ve got to stay on my toes,” he said.

— Rachel Gallegos

Iowa City Press-Citizen -- March 12, 2009