Laurie Berkner

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Biography

Laurie Berkner (born March, 1969, in Neuilly-sur-Seine , France of American parents) is an American musician best known for her work as a children's music|children's musical artist . Berkner plays guitar and singer|sings in the Laurie Berkner Band , along with piano|pianist Susie Lampert, bass guitar|bassist Adam Bernstein, and drums|drummer Bobby Golden. She is a popular artist in the Kindie rock genre.

Biography

Growing up in Princeton, New Jersey , Berkner was involved in choirs, bands and musical theater . As a student at Rutgers University , she toured Europe as a choir soloist and an orchestral guitar player. After working as a summer-camp music counselor, she spent several years as a children's music specialist for day care centers and preschools in the New York area.

In 1992, she began to perform as a professional rock and roll|rock musician, playing in an all-female cover band called Lois Lane. When she started a band that played original music, Red Onion (Berkner, Brian Mueller, Adam Bernstein and Alan Lerner), she found song-writing to be a struggle—a problem that disappeared when she started writing children's music. "Writing music for kids has not been a struggle at all," Berkner has said. "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."LaurieBerkner.com,

Some of her first performances as a children's musician were birthday party gigs at $125 a show. "Those days were intense,” she told The New York Times . “I used to arrive early and memorize every child’s name, so I could feel like I knew them.”Davis, Michael "Laurie's Big Music Gig for the Littlest Rock 'n' Rollers", The New York Times January 8, 2007. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/08/arts/television/08berk.html? _r=1& scp=3& sq=Laurie%20Berkner& st=cse

In 1997, working with Susie Lampert, Mueller and guest bassist Adam Bernstein, she put out her first album, Whaddaya Think of That? as a cassette-only release. She had been encouraged to record by the parents of the children she worked with. "The children were really responding to the music we created together," she said. The album contained original songs like "We Are the Dinosaurs" and "I Know a Chicken", along with covers of classics like "The Cat Came Back" and " The Lion Sleeps Tonight|Wimoweh (The Lion Sleeps Tonight) ".

In 1998, Berkner formed her own independent record company, Two Tomatoes Records, to release her second album, Buzz Buzz , which includes such Berkner standards as "Pig on Her Head" and "Monster Boogie". With 1999's Victor Vito , Berkner achieved national fame, appearing on the FX (TV channel)|FX network's American Baby Show and winning a Parent's Guide to Children's Media Award. Her latest album is Rocketship Run , which came out in August 2008.

Berkner's audience increased dramatically when she appeared on The Today Show in 2001. Since then, she has played in high-profile locations such as Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center; she has also played at the White House Easter Egg Roll. Berkner also played a free concert in Central Park to celebrate Earth Day, which was attended by fifteen thousand people.

Mueller, who is married to Berkner, left the band in 2006 "to keep the couple’s personal and professional lives separate", and was replaced by Adam Bernstein. In 2008, Bobby Golden became the band's drummer after producing ''Rocketship Run," as well as "We Are The Laurie Berkner Band" and all of her songs for Jack's Big Music Show.

Her music is generally in a major key and in what Berkner calls the "human tempo": 100-120 beats per minute, the speed of walking or marching. Her lyrics have been called "self-effacing and occasionally confessional".

Berkner was also a judge for the 10th annual The Independent Music Awards|Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers.

Other media

Berkner regularly appears on Nick Jr. (TV channel)|Nick Jr. (with Lampert and Bernstein), a television network aimed at children, in music videos played between programs and on the program '' Jack's Big Music Show . Berkner has also appeared in Jamarama Live!'', a touring music festival for children sponsored by Noggin, and in the 2006 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade . In 2009, she was featured on Ziggy Marley 's children's album Family Time in a song called "Future Man, Future Lady".

Berkner has written two children's books: Victor Vito and Freddie Vasco , based on her song "Victor Vito", and Story of My Feelings . She has also put out a video and DVD, We Are...The Laurie Berkner Band ; the DVD, has sold more than 400,000 copies since its 2006 release.

Works

===Albums

Whaddaya Think of That? (1997)

# We Are the Dinosaurs
# Doodlebugs
# Down Down Baby
# She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain
# Bring Your Clothes
# I'm a Little Snowflake
# The Animal Fair
# What Falls in the Fall
# These Are My Glasses
# ABCD Medley
# I Know a Chicken
# Wimoweh (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)
# I Love My Rooster
# The Cat Came Back
# Can You Imagine
# (I'm Gonna Eat) On Thanksgiving Day
# All the Pretty Little Horses
# The Airplane Song
# 123
# Last Night I Had a Dream
# The Great Big Dog

Buzz, Buzz (1998)

# I Really Love to Dance
# The Pretzel Store
# Pig On Her Head
# I've Been Working on the Railroad
# Bumblebee (Buzz Buzz)
# Telephone
# There's a Little Wheel A-Turnin' In My Heart
# Monster Boogie
# In the Clouds
# The Cookie Bakers of the Night
# The More We Get Together
# I'm a Mess
# Ice Cream Cone
# Clean It Up
# Little Red Caboose
# Rum Sun Sum
# Magic Box
# The Valley of Vegetables
# Popcorn Calling Me
# Lots of Little Pigs
# The Erie Canal
# I Had a Friend

Victor Vito (album)|Victor Vito (1999)

# Victor Vito
# Bottle Caps
# Moon Moon Moon
# Froggie Went A-Courtin'
# I'm Not Perfect
# The Toy Museum
# O Susannah
# BOOTS
# Oleanna
# The Crabs
# Sneaks
# The Goldfish
# Zodiac
# Trucks
# Fruit Salad Salsa
# The Story of My Feelings
# I Feel Crazy So I Jump in the Soup
# Shakin' Down the Sugar
# Googleheads
# Tingolayo
# White Coral Bells
# Goodnight

Under a Shady Tree (2002)

# Under a Shady Tree
# Rhubarb Pie (Hot Commodity)
# Mister
# Drive My Car
# I'm Gonna Catch You
# Just Like the Sun
# Mahalo
# I'm Me and You're You
# Choc-o-lot in My Pock-o-lot
# Shortnin' Bread
# Running Down the Hill
# My Energy
# After it Rains
# Do the Dragon
# Song in My Tummy
# This Hat
# Who's That?
# Smile
# Boody Boody Ya Ya Ya
# Blow a Kiss

Rocketship Run (2008)

# Rocketship Run
# Going on a Hunt (ska)
# Mouse in My Toolbox
# Candy Cane Jane
# All Around My Room
# One More Stop on the Train
# Going on a Hunt
# Jump and Fly
# Pigbasket
# Five Days Old
# Mr. Bassman (and Piano Girl)
# Winter Lullaby
# Let's Samba
# Going on a Hunt (conga)
# My Blue Sailboat
# Balance Beam
# Thunderstorm
# Fast and Slow (The Rabbit and the Turtle)
# Going on a Hunt (jig)
# Farm Song (That's What I Did on the Farm)
# Nona
# Walk Along the River
# Going on a Hunt (hand jive)
# Fly Me to the Moon

The Best of the Laurie Berkner Band (2010)

# Bumblebee (Buzz Buzz)
# Rocketship Run
# Victor Vito
# We Are the Dinosaurs
# I'm Gonna Catch You
# Moon Moon Moon
# Pig on her Head
# Fast and Slow (The Rabbit and the Turtle)
# I'm Not Perfect
# I Really Love to Dance
# BOOTS
# Five Days Old
# The Goldfish
# Monster Boogie
# Song in My Tummy
# I Know a Chicken
# Under a Shady Tree
# Pig on Her Head (alternate version)
# Moon Moon Moon (alternate version)
# Open Your Heart

Videos

'' Laurie Berkner's Video Songbook (2001)

We Are...The Laurie Berkner Band (2006)

'' encyc:Let's Hear It for the Laurie Berkner Band|Let's Hear It for the Laurie Berkner Band (2010)

Books

Victor Vito and Freddie Vasco (2004)

Story of My Feelings (2007)

The Laurie Berkner Songbook (2007)

Copyright Citations

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Children's Music Artists

Laurie Berkner

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