Your child’s favorite music artist, Laurie Berkner, opens up about performing live, realizing that kindie rock was her calling, and why she often has a pig on her head.
With her 18th album, Walking With the Penguins, set to release this month on June 26th, Berkner’s eponymous band is unsurpassable in the world of music created for the ten-and-under crowd. The highly anticipated latest album launch will contribute sixteen new memorable songs that encourage curiosity, movement, and singing along. To date, The Laurie Berkner Band has amassed more than one billion streams across social media, proving that households throughout the world are playing some of their favorite earworms more than a few times.
“I was born in France because my father was doing his dissertation and research in Europe but moved back to the States when I was just three months old, living in Southern California until I was about seven and then relocating to New Jersey. My parents were not musicians, although my dad still had a violin from junior high that he would pull out and play at Christmas, and music was playing all the time in our house – mostly classical and folk. When we moved to the East Coast, I started taking piano lessons and going to musicals a lot. I recall many times singing, Doe, a deer, (from The Sound of Music soundtrack, Do-Re-Mi) in my bedroom during the early morning hours, when I was waiting for my parents to let me out of my room because they wanted to sleep in. When I got to 3rd grade, I was in a chorus, and that was the first time I remember singing while surrounded by other people – hearing their voices and the vibration of music. I was so filled with joy, everything about music made me feel happy… well, not always happy, but it made me feel.
I originally wanted to be on Broadway, but when I realized how horrible I felt after being rejected at an audition, I decided it wasn’t for me. I became a music teacher for preschoolers about a year out of college, but only because I was babysitting for someone who was a movement teacher for preschoolers and she said, ‘Hey you’re good with kids, the school needs someone… want a gig?’ A few years into that, I was writing songs for the children – and they really liked them. That was when I thought, maybe I could do something with this.”
Berkner’s target demographic wasn’t always a gathering of toddlers. In the 1990s, after studying psychology at Rutgers University, the future mega-star led the indie rock band Red Onion. Exhibiting unyielding loyalty, some of the members are still with her to this day.
“The reason I was interested in studying psychology, is because to me, connection is the underlying most important thing about being a human…it’s part of what makes music so special and how it can evoke such incredible change in people – including the way they interact with each other.
Red Onion sort of fell apart when the drummer left. We most likely all separated musically, but the guitar player was my husband, Brian, who ended up playing in The Laurie Berkner Band. (Funnily enough, the bass player that later replaced him was Adam Bernstein, who had also been in Red Onion.) When that band fell apart, I answered a Village Voice ad and joined The Cassandras, which was led by Patrick McGuinn. I saw the name and thought, could that be Roger McGuinn’s (The Byrds) son? It turned out it was, which was pretty cool… but my band that lasted the longest was Lois Lane, an all-female cover band. Those gigs were about four hours long, started at eleven at night, and took place in a lot of smoky bars. I was getting home at five in the morning, trudging up the stairs with my amp and electric guitars, falling into bed and then needing to wake up a few hours later, only to jump in the shower and get myself to kids’ birthday parties.
I think I decided to make kids’ music my full-time job after playing a gig with Lois Lane one night. I remember hearing a bunch of drunk people yell, ‘Play “Free Bird,”’ and then playing at a birthday party the next morning and hearing, Play Victor Vito, play Bumble-Bee, and seeing joyful, happy kids with their parents. I thought oh, this audience appreciates me singing the music I’m writing, not me singing other people’s songs. It felt so good to be recognized for not only what I was good at, but what I truly enjoyed doing – and from then on I focused fully on kids’ music.”
Evolving into the first recording artist ever to perform in music videos on Nick Jr., appearing in almost every episode of Jack’s Big Music Show on Noggin, and having her 2011 DVD, Party Day!, enter the Billboard Top Music Videos chart at number one, Berkner was primed for additional monumental pursuits.
“I had the lead in a couple of musicals in high school – and had always wanted to be a performer in some way – it just took a while to figure out in what sense.
Some of the turning points in my experience as a performer happened when I played at The White House and my first time appearing on The Today Show. Interestingly, at the White House, our show was outdoors, as part of the Easter Egg Roll, and when we actually got on stage, people were sort of just walking by because there were so many stages and other things to do. But before we went on, there were still many thousands of people in line waiting to get in, and they had Susie (Lampert), my keyboardist, and me do an impromptu show at the entrance while everyone was waiting. I was scared because that was the first time I had played in front of so many people, but it went well and was so fun!
Similarly, before The Today Show, I was also very nervous. But that time, lined up at four-thirty in the morning in the Plaza with signs, were all these families of the kids I had taught, who had come there for us! I felt so much support from all of them. I remember standing on stage thinking, ” Oh, I hope this works, because it’s a giant opportunity… and then I heard, ‘Five, four,’ and saw one of the cameramen count 3-2-1 down with just their hands, and suddenly, we were live, and I was singing and playing. When that happened, I thought, wait – I know how to do this… this is what I do.
I’m actually always nervous before every live show and have to give myself a little pep talk to remind myself people are here because they want to be, and that this is what I really want to be doing – because it is always scary to go out and be completely vulnerable in front of an audience.” Since releasing her first album in 1997, Berkner has spent many years honing a masterful creative prowess, resulting in a large catalog of hit after hit.
“I don’t think my creative process is too different from when I started. There’s definitely more similarity than difference to how I think about writing and what I want to write about. My first video was actually a full-length VHS tape (which is very funny for me to watch back). The animation was sweet (and may have even been a little bit ahead of its time for a home-made project!). Susie, Brian, and I looked like we were inside of a book, and Brian sometimes sat on the edge of it and he was very small.
I remember making that video and thinking about how there were many parents who wouldn’t want their children watching a lot of television. It inspired me to make audio that helped kids use their imaginations to connect with themselves and their feelings, which are things I had always wanted to do while writing music anyway. Very early on when I was playing songs like ‘The Goldfish,’ I was designing them to keep kids engaged in my music class. Because I wasn’t a classroom teacher (I was a music specialist who would visit different schools), all I did with the kids was music, and my whole job depended on keeping them interested. If I had nothing to offer them, they would basically just ignore me. That’s actually how I wrote ‘Pig On Her Head.’ I walked into a day-care classroom, and one child wouldn’t put the plastic animal he had been playing with away… he looked right at me and put it on his head instead. I thought, all right what do I do? So I made up a song about what he was doing, started singing, and then all the other kids joined in and wanted to be part of it.
After I had been writing songs for the kids for a while, I found out that some of them were being used outside of my classes. When the other teachers were walking to my music room from their classrooms, they got the kids there by having them march down the hall singing, ‘We Are The Dinosaurs.’ My biggest desire was that I wanted music to be fun for the kids. I wanted some of their very first experiences around music to be positive. Even when there was also some sadness that came up because they were missing their parents while at school, I wanted them to feel like they were being taken care of. I wanted them to be allowed to feel all of their emotions, and to feel that singing could be a happy place… that’s what I’m still trying to do.”
Greatly attuned to individual differences, Berkner offers relaxed performances specifically designed for children with autism, learning differences, or sensory needs, providing a judgment-free, welcoming atmosphere. These shows feature adjusted lighting and sound and allow movement or breaks.
“The reason I’m able to do these shows is totally because of the venues. I really have to give kudos to McCarter Theatre in particu-lar, and in Hartford (Connecticut), The Bushnell – I’ve always done one sensory friendly show along with my regular show at those theaters. Last year Peekskill (Paramount Theater Hudson Valley) also came to me and said, ‘We see what you’re doing, we want to do a relaxed show here too.’ It’s really about the venue… they have to be completely on board, because if we don’t have ushers that are understanding of what the space needs to feel like, if they’re not ok with making sure that kids can walk around and make noise and do whatever they need to do to get through it, it won’t work.
From the performance side, we make sure there is less sensory stimulation coming from the stage and want to send a clear message to people looking to see if this show will be all right for their loved one, that they are welcome, and we are trying our best to make it feel safe. It feels really good to be able to provide that for people so they don’t have to worry and can enjoy the experience.”
Extending the discovery and wonder into the comfort of your own home, Berkner has transformed six of her most popular songs into kids books, enhancing the lyrics with stunning pictorials. The Story of My Feelings, illustrated by Caroline Jayne Church, explains how it’s perfectly acceptable to have and express emotions, and Pil-lowland, illustrated by Camille Garouche, takes readers on a whimsical journey to bedtime, demonstrating how playing with pillows can add a bit of excitement to the routine.
In 2018, Audible Originals added Laurie Berkner’s Song and Story Kitchen to their inventory of audiobooks for children. Featuring Berkner as the narrator and including some of her best-loved characters, such as Oscar Beebee the bumblebee, Layla Meeska the mouse, and Tallulah Jones the dinosaur, the interactive series takes place both in a fanciful, animated kitchen and in the fantastical land of Juniper Fields. Navigating some of life’s challenges through original stories and songs, the collection is available exclusively on Audible, with each story offering a free downloadable PDF of recipes plus a musical bonus chapter.
“I do enjoy cooking and always wanted a show that involved cooking. The series was originally an idea that I had for a visual property and then Audible came to me and said, ‘We want to do something with you, do have any ideas?’ I told them I was working on a fun show, which eventually became Laurie Berkner’s Song and Story Kitchen. In each episode, I’m in the kitchen cooking with Thelonious Pig (Josiah Gaffney) and in the second season, his little sister, Rosetta (Faye Mar-guerite Gardner). They have some sort of issue and we start to talk about it. The pigs jump on my head, which allows us to travel to the magical land of Juniper Fields and meet all the characters from my songs who are there. A story unfolds with a life lesson in it, and then we come back to the kitchen, finish what we were cooking and talk about what was learned. Overall, it’s more about the storytelling and the music, but I love that it takes place in the kitchen because that’s always been a warm and cozy place for me.”
Maintaining her composure in uncharted territory, Berkner started her own recording company, Two Tomatoes Records, when it was clear that was the only viable option.
“Well, when I made my first cassette, it was really just for the parents of the kids in my music classes. They kept asking me, ‘What is this dinosaur song my children are singing?’ I borrowed money to make that cassette from one of the places I worked. Once I made 500 of them, I sold them all in a month or two, paying the money back quickly. It was a happy surprise because I thought I would have those cassettes forever! Then I realized, wait, now I have to keep track of everything, and maybe this isn’t just a side gig. Parents started asking for some to put in their children’s birthday party goodie bags, and as I was making more because of the demand… I thought maybe I should try to sell them in stores. I called a friend to ask what to do, and she said, ‘I think you actually need to start your own company to keep track of all this,’ and that’s what I did. I’ve learned the business along the way, and although I’ve stayed quite small, I have thought about expanding. But I like it this way and am really grateful for the people that have been with me for a long time.”
Berkner has performed at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and is prominently featured in Happy and You Know It, a children’s music documentary available to stream now on HBO Max. Despite receiving a multitude of accolades, Berkner has her own favorite artist that she respects, and hopes that her legacy will continue as the kids who listen to her songs now, will perhaps one day sing them to their own children.
“I really admire David Byrne (Talking Heads). I think he’s so in-teresting in what he’s done with different styles of music and how he has pivoted in his own career… it’s very inspiring. I really hope when people think of me, they feel I made music that people don’t forget… and didn’t want to forget.”
With a career still going strong after three decades, Berkner has nothing to worry about.
