Berkner blasts back with new CD, Rosemont show
When she started working as a preschool music teacher, Laurie Berkner would come home and cry.
She just couldn't figure out how to speak the kids' language or how to connect with them through music.
"When I would go in, they'd scream 'Ackkkk!' and run around the room," she said.
It's funny to think about that now, given that Berkner has gone on to become one of the most popular and successful children's musicians in America. Her "We are - the Laurie Berkner Band" DVD has sold more than 4 million copies, and her CDs have been equally popular.
For the past six years, Berkner's been on a music-writing hiatus. She's been busy with other work - most notably, giving birth to a baby girl. But she's also made videos, written a book called "The Story of My Feelings" and worked on some projects with the Noggin cable channel.
This year, she finally found time to write her first CD in six years, "Rocketship Run," a folksy, fun album for young children. Berkner and band members Susie Lampert and Adam Bernstein will stop at the Rosemont Theatre Saturday, Dec. 13, to give fans a live listen.
We talked with the 39-year-old guitar-playing "Queen of Kid Rock" about everything from Sheryl Crow to pigs. Below is an excerpt of the interview.
Q. People have called you so many things - The Pied Piper of Preschool, a sippy-cup Sheryl Crow, the Queen of Kid Rock -
A. I know! It's very flattering to be compared to someone like Sheryl Crow. But sippy cup? I don't know.
Q. Do you have fanatical fans?
A. There's always a difference when it's really about your kids. It's more important when it's about your kids than when it's about yourself. It's more intense. More than one (adult who has met me) has said, "It's like meeting Mick Jagger!" I'm glad people are enjoying the music so much.
Q. What's the key to a good children's song?
A. It's hard to say. It's like, what's a good hook? There are so many different things. But what I find kids connect to is moving their body. That's what their whole experience of life is at that point. Also, making the lyrics relevant to them. Maybe sometimes it's the melody or the repetition of a word.
Q. What did you listen to when you were a kid?
A. "Free to be You and Me," and I listened to a lot of John Denver. And some very folksy, Peter, Paul and Mary album called "Peter, Paul and Mommy." Oh, and Hap Palmer. His albums are still around. There was this one song in particular called "Sammy," which I loved. I went back and listened to it and I realized I write a lot of my songs that are connected to this song.
Q. When you started out, your plan was to be an indie rocker. Ever regret that you didn't go down that path?
A. No. Sometimes I think about writing music that's not geared for kids, but not writing it so I can go play it in a rock club. At this point in my life, it holds little interest to me.
Q. What do you listen to now?
A. People send me CDs all the time, but how do I find an hour to sit down and listen? I have a lot of friends who play kids music, so I listen to their stuff. What I love to listen to is world music. I have songs of African women from Uganda and a Renaissance Christmas thing I'm listening to now. And Buena Vista Social Club and some Brazilian thing by David Byrne. I got into Hawaii Slack Key guitar. It's so cool.
Q. What's on the horizon for you?
A. I'm working on some stuff for Noggin, and some videos. You'll see me on there again.
Q. Do you have a pig on your head (as one of her most popular songs suggests)?
A. Not at the moment, but usually I keep it there all day.
The Laurie Berkner Band
When: 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 13
Where: Rosemont Theatre, 5400 N. River Road.
Tickets: $25-$35 at ticketmaster.com or (866) 448-7849, or at the Rosemont Theatre box office