Interview with Laurie Berkner - The Preschool Pied Piper

Laurie Berkner is a household name if there are young children in your house. She has been referred to as the "pied piper of preschool" by Parenting magazine. Baby Talk magazine has compared her to the children's version of Sheryl Crow. Walk into any toddler's house and you will probably hear songs such as "Victor Vito", "I'm Gonna Catch You' and "We Are the Dinosaurs". Once you hear these songs, you will find yourself singing them yourselves.

The Laurie Berkner Band consists of Laurie on vocals and guitar, Susie Lampert on keyboard and Adam Bernstein on bass. Bernstein recently replaced Berkner's husband, Brian Mueller in early 2006. The children were sad to see Mueller go but welcomed Bernstein with open arms.

Berkner has been a professional musician since 1992, although she did not start out doing children's music. She actually started out in a rock band. She never planned on becoming a children's performer but it certainly suits her well. After attending Rutgers University, she worked a summer camp as a music counselor as well as a children's music specialist in NY area preschools and day care centers.

Berkner's first children's release was "Whaddaya Think of That?" in 1997. It was only available on cassette at the time of its release. Her second release, "Buzz Buzz" was released on CD in 1998. She had formed her own record company during this time period as well called Two Tomatoes Records, LLC. Her third release, "Victor Vito" was released in late 1999. By that time, she was recognized by almost all children age seven and younger. Her first release, "Whaddaya Think of That?" was re-mastered and re-released on CD in 2000. The reviews started coming in faster than one can imagine and they were all good. The fourth CD, "Under a Shady Tree" was then released in 2002.

The first VHS came out in September 2001 and was called "Laurie Berkner's Video Songbook". It was filmed at one of their standing room only shows and consists of live footage as well as some animation. In February 2004, the first picture book with CD came out, called "Victor Vito and Freddie Vasco".

Berkner made her Noggin debut with six videos in 2004. These videos were showed as a part of "Move to the Music" that aired in between other shows. Jack's Big Music Show debuted shortly after that in 2005 and just started its second season in January of this year. Berkner and her band are featured in most of the shows which are half an hour in length. Noggin is the commercial free preschool channel from Nickelodeon that airs daily from 6am to 6pm via cable or satellite television. It currently reaches 54 million households.

In February 2006, the band released their first DVD, "We Are...The Laurie Berkner Band". Along with the DVD came a compilation CD as well. The DVD entered Billboard's top music video chart at number one. It stayed there for six weeks and went quadruple platinum.

Probably one of Laurie's biggest creations came in September 2004, her daughter, Lucy. She did all of this while becoming a first time mother. That is a working mother for you!!

MV: How did your appearances on Noggin come about?
LB: The creative director of Noggin heard my first cassette tape and loved it. She later found a way to get in touch with me by finding my mother's phone number. It took five years from that phone call until that first meeting and being told that there were two pilots for Noggin that she wanted me to be a part of. She said she wanted me to be on the pilot of these shows and then be a guest on the show occasionally. When I went in to do the pilots, we filmed six videos for "Move to the Music" which airs between shows. Jack's Big Music Show was the pilot that got picked up. There was such a big response from it.

MV: How did it make you feel to have your DVD be chosen as one of Parenting magazine's DVD's of the year in February 2007?
LB: That is a great honor. It feels really good to know that people enjoy it so much.

MV: Will you make another DVD soon?
LB: I am working on a new CD right now but not a DVD just yet. I would like to do another one in the future though.

MV: Was it a hard decision for your husband, Brian, to leave the group?
LB: It took a long time for us to come to that decision. It is much better for us to have separate careers since we are married and raising a child together. Having our own careers is what works best for us.

MV: How did Adam come into the group?
LB: He is actually on the first three albums as a bass player. He is an old friend of both mine and Brian's. Brian and Adam were actually roommates at one time. We played in old bands together too. We have played a lot of music together over the years. He was just going to fill in until we found someone to replace Brian but it worked out so great and he was available so the search ended. We are glad to have him.

MV: Your daughter, Lucy, must love what you do for a living. Your major following is her age group. What does she think when she sees you on Noggin?
LB: When she was younger, she would watch the DVD over and over. When she watches Noggin and one of my videos comes on she certainly doesn't want to change the channel. She loves my music but also loves other music as well. We sometimes act out the songs and she just loves that. At her age, she doesn't realize that what I do is something different than what other moms do.

MV: Do you write all of your own songs, which are very catchy and fun by the way?
LB: Yes, I do write my own songs.

MV: Where does the inspiration your songs come from?
LB: I love to listen to what children have to say. Victor Vito came from a combination of my accountants names. I couldn't get their names out of my head. I love playing with words, the way they sound. "I'm Gonna Catch You" came from watching a father chase after his child while shouting out "I'm gonna catch you, you'd better run".

MV: Well thank you very much for taking time out of your busy schedule to speak with me. I can't wait for the show in August and neither can my kids. They are very excited and I must say so am I.
LB: Well, thank you!! I hope you guys enjoy the show. I will see you in August.

Well the show has come and gone and I must say that she is one of the best performers I have had the pleasure to see in a long time. You can tell that Laurie, as well as Adam and Susie, really enjoy what they do. They just love children and that can be seen when watching them perform. The show went by fast. It was about an hour and a half long but seemed much shorter since it was such a blast. I sang along to every song, which were all well known. I looked around and saw many other parents singing and dancing along as well. There were at least 50 or more preschoolers in the pit up against the stage just dancing and singing their little hearts out. It was an amazing site and I was so lucky to be in the fourth row from the stage to be able to witness it up close. My four children had such a blast.

I was lucky enough to be able to take my kids backstage to meet the band after the show. What an amazing feeling to see my kids happy, smiling faces as they met the people that they watch on television on a daily basis. Even my youngest, 19 month old, Jesse, really loved seeing them up close and personal. My ten year old nearly tackled Laurie to the ground. Lexi, my ten year old, wants to learn to play guitar, mainly because of Laurie. She has been learning, slowly, and I thanked Laurie for being such a good role model for her. They all were the sweetest, kindest people that I have met in a long time. They really enjoyed their time mingling with a few lucky fans.

If the Laurie Berkner band ever comes to your area, I highly suggest taking your children. It was so much fun and the memories that were made that day will live on in my house for a very long time.