Laurie Berkner has been a professional musician since 1992, but
her success as a children's recording artist was a surprise to
her. "It was so unexpected," says Laurie. "I'd been performing
in rock bands (including Lois Lane, an all-female cover band, as
well as her own original rock band, Red Onion) and struggling to
write original music. Writing music for kids has not been a
struggle at all. The more I started working on material for
children, the more I realized that it opened up creativity in me
that I never knew I had."
While Laurie never planned to be a children's performer, looking
back on her career it almost seems inevitable. Music was
certainly in her blood, and working with children was a running
theme. Growing up in Princeton, New Jersey, Laurie was always
involved in music, whether singing in choirs, playing in bands,
or performing in musical theater. In high school and throughout
college (at Rutgers University), she toured Europe with several
choirs and orchestras as a soloist and guitarist. After
college, Laurie worked as music counselor at summer camps, and
later worked for several years as a children's music specialist
at New York area preschool and day care centers. Working with
children became the perfect creative outlet for Laurie to
express her talents and create something that, she says, "has
turned out to be incredibly rewarding."
Laurie's early loves included music from Gilbert and Sullivan
operettas and Broadway musicals (especially ones starring Julie
Andrews!), Marlo Thomas' 'Free To Be You And Me' album, and
Simon & Garfunkel. In high school her tastes ranged from the
Beatles to Blondie, and during college it evolved towards
artists such as Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Joan Armatrading, the
Rolling Stones and Talking Heads. More recently she has been
inspired by a diverse group of musicians including Beck, Liz
Phair, Aimee Mann, Hawaiian slack key guitarist Dennis Kamakahi
(whom she discovered on her honeymoon), and the late African
guitarist and bluesman Ali Farka Touré.
Laurie's first release in 1997, 'Whaddaya Think Of That?' (only
available on cassette at the time) was inspired by the parents
of her young students. "The children were really responding to
the music we created together," explains Laurie. Many of the
songs involve movement, and all of them invite children's
participation. Songs such as 'We Are The Dinosaurs' allow
children to express anger and to feel powerful, while quieter
songs inspire feelings of security and warmth. By the time she
released her second CD in 1998, 'Buzz Buzz,' Laurie had formed
her own record company, Two Tomatoes Records, LLC. Her work
began to sell briskly in the New York area as word of mouth
began to spread and critical acclaim began pouring in. Laurie's
inventive, playful, and well-crafted songs, as well as her
accomplished guitar playing and warm, engaging vocals, stood out
among other, often over-produced, children's fare.
By the time Laurie's third release, 'Victor Vito' came out in
late 1999, Laurie had national distribution and a fanatic
following among children aged 0-7. The CD received enormous
critical acclaim from publications ranging from People Magazine
to U.S. News & World Report, and the FX Network's "American Baby
Show" invited Laurie to make her first national TV appearance.
'Victor Vito' was bestowed two Children's Music Web awards and a
Parent's Guide To Children's Media Award. Us Magazine's Bruce
Kluger proclaimed, "the title cut has already become a birthday
party anthem."
'Whaddaya Think Of That?' was re-mastered and re-released on CD
in September, 2000. Critical raves soon followed. Family Fun's
Moira McCormick named it one of the best children's CDs of 2000,
and wrote, "[Laurie's] congenial voice and acoustic guitar,
off-the-wall sense of humor, and ability to zero in on exactly
what tickles her young audience's fancies make her special
indeed . . . Berkner's a blast." The Los Angeles Times' Lynne
Heffley took note of Laurie's expert use of "rhythm, rhyme and
humor irresistible to little ones for play-along fun."
The Laurie Berkner Band, Susie Lampert on keyboards and Laurie's
husband Brian Mueller on bass (Brian left the band in early
2006), made their debut on VHS in September, 2001, with the
release of 'Laurie Berkner's Video Songbook.' Filmed at one of
their standing-room-only concerts, the video blends deliberately
simple animation with live footage. NBC's Today Show previewed
the video when the band performed live on the program in July,
2001. Publisher's Weekly's Shannon Maughan noted Laurie's
"catchy, playful tunes and spontaneous, warm performance style,"
while Amazon.com's Tammy La Gorce wrote, "Laugh-along
interactive numbers and a playful vibe make this a songbook
worthy of more than a few flip-throughs." The video received a
2003 Telly Bronze Award, a Kids First! Endorsement, a Parent's
Guide To Children's Media Award and a Video Magic Award from
Parenting Magazine.
In 2002, Laurie, Brian and Susie joined with Elefanten
children's shoes and Americans for the Arts to create a program
called Steps to ArtTM, to raise funds and awareness for early
childhood arts education programs. The band created a special
fundraising CD, 'Bumblebees & Googleheads: Fun Songs By Laurie
Berkner,' featuring favorite songs chosen from their first three
recordings.
Laurie Berkner's fourth studio CD, 'Under A Shady Tree,' was
released in late 2002 to rave reviews and multiple awards,
including a N.A.P.P.A. Gold Award, a Parents' Choice Silver
Honor Award, a Parent's Guide To Children's Media Award, a
Children's Music Web Award (Best Recording For Toddlers), an
iParenting Media Award and an Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum
Award. National magazines from People to Child singled out the
recording as one of the best of the year, while Publisher's
Weekly's Shannon Maughan called it "[the band's] most
accomplished recording yet." The band expanded their use of
varied instruments on this CD, and explored genres from reggae
to world beat on several of the songs (which, with one
exception, were all originals). In 2003, Laurie's "hip"
quotient rose when Entertainment Weekly proclaimed her the "in"
children's performer, and HBO's Sex & The City used one of her
songs for an episode ('Clean It Up' from 'Buzz Buzz').
February, 2004 brought the release of Laurie's first picture
book-with-CD, 'Victor Vito and Freddie Vasco,' on Scholastic's
Orchard Books imprint. The lyrics of Laurie's hit song 'Victor
Vito' come to life as two road-tripping polar bears set out on
a cross-country mission to find tasty new items for the menu at
their Klondike Cafá. The book is vividly illustrated by noted
children's book artist Henry Cole, and is accompanied by a
special CD featuring 'Victor Vito' as well as 'Bumblebee (Buzz
Buzz),' and commentary by Laurie. National family magazines
including Family Fun, Child, Parents and American Baby gave the
songbook rave reviews and it was a winner of an iParenting Media
Award.
Shortly thereafter, The Laurie Berkner Band made their debut on
the NOGGIN TV channel (Nickelodeon's educational,
commercial-free preschool sister station) with a series of six
musical interstitials airing throughout the day's programming as
part of the network's Move To The Music series. The videos
showcased Laurie, Brian and Susie performing their hit songs.
The exposure on national television sent sales of their CDs
soaring -- hitting Billboard's 'Top Internet Album Sales' and
'Top Kid Audio' charts, and becoming the numbers #1- 4
best-selling children's discs on amazon.com. 'Laurie Berkner's
Video Songbook' was the #1 best-selling video (out of all
categories!) on the site.
Laurie contributed an original song, "I Want It," to Marlo
Thomas' book and companion CD, "Thanks & Giving All Year Long,"
which was released at Thanksgiving, 2004. The track was
recorded by Marlo and rap-rock singer Uncle Kracker. The CD won
a Grammy Award in 2006.
In a March, 2005 segment, ABC's Good Morning America proclaimed
"If you think the Beatles made a splash in '63, wail 'till you
see the mayhem caused by this woman." A second performance on
the Today Show in June, 2005 and a glowing review of 'Under A
Shady Tree' shortly thereafter in Time Magazine sent sales
soaring again, as did the band's debut on NOGGIN's new original
half-hour series Jack's Big Music Show. Laurie was featured in
every episode of its' debut season. Hosted by Jack, a
preschooler puppet, the show is a platform for children's music
featuring videos and in-studio performances.
In February, 2006, the band released their first DVD, "We are .
. . The Laurie Berkner Band" (Two Tomatoes Records, LLC/Razor &
Tie Entertainment/Starbucks Hear Music), produced by
award-winning children's film producer Jane Startz. Packaged
with a compilation CD that includes a brand new track, the DVD
entered Billboard's Top Music Video chart at #1, where it stayed
for six weeks, and went quadruple platinum. "We are . . . The
Laurie Berkner Band" marked the first time Starbucks Hear Music
co-released a family title. Parenting Magazine wrote, "The Pied
Piper of Preschool pulls together a bouncy set of her best
get-up-and-dance music videos, sure to keep wee toes tapping.
This critic's faves: the delightfully silly "Pig on Her Head"
and Berkner's can't-help-but-sing-along anthem, "Victor Vito."
The DVD was the recipient of a 2007 NAPPA Honors Award, was
chosen in the February, 2007 issue of Parenting magazine as a
Parenting Mom-Tested! DVD Of The Year.
Earlier in the year, Laurie and Brian made a joint decision that
it was best for them to keep their work and family lives
separate. Brian's departure from the band left him free to go
back to school and pursue a masters degree in psychology.
Laurie made her third appearance on the Today Show in March,
2006 in conjunction with the DVD's release. She was accompanied
by bassist Adam Bernstein, who performed on her first three CDs.
In June, Laurie, Adam and Susie made their debut on Live with
Regis and Kelly, and in August the trio gave a performance on
Good Morning America. In November, 2006, the band made their
debut at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade® on the
Fisher-Price® float.
The band rang in 2007 with a return to Jack's Big Music Show.
The NOGGIN series' second season features two new music videos
by the band in addition to show appearances by Laurie. Also in
January, The New York Times heralded Laurie, Adam and Susie's
appearances on the show with a story on the front page of its
Arts section.
Later in the spring, the paperback version of Laurie's "Victor
Vito and Freddie Vasco" book was released, as was her very first
sheet music compilation, The Laurie Berkner Songbook (Music
Sales Group). The book comprises 25 of the band's songs,
arranged for easy piano, voice and guitar. It also includes
suggested guitar strumming patterns and many related play
activities. An instrumental sing-along backing CD, containing
seven favorite songs such as 'Bumblebee (Buzz Buzz),' 'Victor
Vito' and 'We Are the Dinosaurs' is also included.
In April, The Laurie Berkner Band drew an incredible crowd of
15,000 fans at their free concert in Central Park at the Green
Apple Music & Arts Festival, as part of a nationwide Earth Day
celebration.
In September, the band released its second book-with-CD, "The
Story of My Feelings," on Scholastic's Orchard Books imprint.
The CD features the title track as well as a bonus song "Walk
Along the River." Kids can read and sing along as feelings come
to life through Caroline Jayne Church's delightful
illustrations. Growing up is not always easy and it is
important for children to be able to identify and express their
feelings. Says Laurie, "I wrote this song to remind myself that
it's okay to express my feelings with sounds - and to remember
how good it feels to connect with my life energy that way." The
book was the recipient of a 2007 iParenting Media Award. Later that
autumn, Laurie's version of the theme song for the Showtime TV
program 'Weeds' ("Little Boxes" by Malvina Reynolds) aired on one
of the season's final episodes.
The Laurie Berkner Band's hit songs were featured at the end of
2007 on a software cartridge that accompanies an updated version
of Fisher-Price's® award-winning product, Learn Through Music
Plus. Kids can sing along with Laurie with a Record & Play
microphone while a touch-sensitive screen allows them to scroll
through colorful light-up scenes. In its fifth year on the
market, this innovative learning platform teaches a fundamental
preschool curriculum through the use of rhythm, rhyme and
repetition of song.
February, 2008 brought the band's debut on ABC Television's "The
View." They performed a medley of three songs to an audience
filled with excited kids. The next stop was a second performance on "Live with Regis &
Kelly" in August.
On August 5, 2008 Laurie, Adam and Susie released their first new CD since 2002,
'Rocketship Run.' The recording was met with immediate critical acclaim.
People Magazine bestowed it three stars, while Parents, Family Fun,
and Parenting gave it rave reviews. Cookie Magazine proclaimed, "It'll be a
matter of mere days before your kids Ð and you Ð have the whole album memorized." New
York Magazine's "Agenda" newsletter asserted that Laurie "may have outdone her peers with
this cute and versatile album . . . a rare instance where the packaging is almost as fun
as the product."
'Rocketship Run' portrays a musical journey on a rocket ship in search of treasure, with
the song "Going on A Hunt" performed in different styles throughout, creating a
storyline. The CD features 20 new songs and arrangements (plus four additional versions
of "Going on A Hunt"), ranging from a Brazilian samba to an Irish jig to a folk song set
against a gospel/country background.
The recording represents considerable growth by The Laurie Berkner Band. Says Laurie,
"It's a much more collaborative effort than I have ever done before. We arranged most of
the songs as a band, Susie and Adam have both contributed songs, and I co-produced the
album with Bob Golden, who recorded/produced the sound for all our NOGGIN videos and our
2006 DVD, instead of doing it mostly all myself. We also have a lot of talented guest
artists performing on this CD."
The Laurie Berkner Band performs across North America. Their
concerts have been held at varied venues from the White House
(for the Easter Egg Roll in 2000) to national and international
children's music festivals.
Susie Lampert grew up in Pomona, NY in a large family with five
siblings, dogs and cats. From an early age, she loved music and
played piano. Her first live venture came at age 15, playing in
a jazz group influenced by Miles Davis, Jimi Hendrix, John
Coltrane and Lee Morgan, among others.
Adam Bernstein is no stranger to performing with Laurie! Adam
played bass on Laurie Berkner's first three award-winning and
critically acclaimed releases, 1997's 'Whaddaya Think Of That?',
1998's 'Buzz Buzz,' and 1999's 'Victor Vito' before officially
joining the band. On 2008's 'Rocketship Run,' in addition to
singing and playing bass and electric guitar, Adam also
contributed his songwriting and arranging talents.
