Moms on the Move - Laurie Berkner
Today we are thrilled to have musician Laurie Berkner on The Mag. Recognized as “the queen of kids’ music” by People magazine (as well as a frequent fave on my daughter’s Spotify playlists), Laurie is a singer, songwriter, lyricist, author and founder of Two Tomatoes Records, LLC. Read below to find out more about how she got started, her best tips for multi-tasking families and where she finds inspiration.
Photo credit: Jayme Thorton
Tell us your story! We’d love to hear a little bit about yourself and your family.
I’ve been making music, videos, picture books and stories for kids for more than 20 years now. I’ve been married to my husband, Brian Mueller, for almost as long. When I first started performing kids’ music, Brian used to play bass with me in The Laurie Berkner Band. After we had our daughter, Lucy, about 15 years ago, he decided to go back to school and become a psychologist. Lucy started 9th grade this year at the performing arts high school in Manhattan, with a focus in Technical Theater. She claims it’s because she grew up backstage with me and feels the most at home there. I am just grateful that she still seems to like spending time with us, now and then.
How many kids do you have, what ages?
Just Lucy. She is 15.
What inspired you to start teaching?
I was just a year out of college when I started. I was living in the East Village in Manhattan and babysitting for my downstairs neighbor’s daughter. I used to also perform at local cafes, and I would sing some of the same songs I played at my gigs, when I was babysitting. My neighbor, who was a movement teacher at a local pre-school, knew that I loved making music with her daughter and told me they were looking for a new music specialist at her job. I applied and got hired, mostly because I was both eager, and thrilled with the relatively low salary. At first I was really quite bad at working with the kids, but once I started listening to them and putting what I wanted to say into the music, I started to get better.
As a mom, musician, teacher and content creator, you have a full plate. What are three tips/wise words you have for parents feeling under pressure of juggling work and parenting?
I actually think I can answer this question best by quoting my own songs. These are words that I say or sing to myself when I feel stressed, self-critical, beaten down, or just disconnected from my heart and from what’s really important. (I hope it’s ok that I added a 4th one!)
I’m not perfect, no I’m not. I’m not perfect, but I’ve got what I’ve got. I do my very best, I do my very best, I do my very best each day. But I’m not perfect and I hope you like me that way.
I’ve got so much to give. I’ve got so much to give. This is the life I was born to live and I’ve got so much to give.
Listen to the sounds of my breath as I breathe in and I breathe out. That’s me. Love me.
I’m a mess, I’m a mess, I’m a big old messy mess. From the north to the south and the east to the west, what I am is really really really big mess!
Where do you find inspiration online?
I spend a LOT of time listening to podcasts. I know it may not seem directly related to making music for kids, but I like to listen to podcasts about food, health and the health of the planet, like The Doctor’s Farmacy with Mark Hyman, and I like more storytelling podcasts like Without Fail, Heavyweight and Reply All. The people they talk with and the ideas that are shared (as well as the way they are shared) are always inspiring to me. I also get a lot of inspiration just from listening to music.
Anything else you want to add?
I’m trying to connect with families virtually as much possible, since touring has been curtailed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. I post a different video of one my songs each weekday morning (“Berkner Breakfast” at 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time), afternoon (“Berkner Break” at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time), and evening (“Berkner Bedtime” at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time). Plus, I’ve put together a 50-minute “Educational Music Videos” compilation on my YouTube channel, which focuses on counting, the alphabet, telling time, emotions, and so much more. I hope that all of this is helping families while the kids are at home.
I’ve been very busy writing songs for my next album, which will be released next year, and we’ve been releasing some of these songs as singles, ahead of the album release. Watch for “Jumping Jack” and “Beautiful Light” in June! Throughout the year, we’re releasing videos as part of my “Look at All The Letters” alphabet series. We’ve progressed through the letter “D,” as I write this. You can see these videos on this playlist. I’ll be making more music videos, based on some of my new songs, during the summer and fall.
And finally, where can we find you?
Website: www.laurieberkner.com
Instagram: @laurieberknerband
