The highly danceable Buzz by the award winning Laurie Berker Band features "I Really Love to Dance" and "Bumblebee (Buzz Buzz)."Little ones' imaginations light up with musical stories such as "The Pretzel Store" and "The Cookie Bakers of the Night." Buzz also includes special renditions of traditional songs including "The More We Get Together," "The Erie Canal," and the a cappella "Rum Sum ." Be sure to have some stuffed animals on hand for "Pig on Her Head"! Other songs include I've Been Working on the Railroad, Telephone, There's a Little Wheel a-Turning' in My Heart, Monster Boogie, In the Clouds The Cookie Bakers of the Night, I'm a Mess, Ice Cream Cone, Clean it Up, Little Red Caboose, Magic Box, The Valley of the Vegetables and more! 22 song collection REVIEW "22 child-focused songs that are fun and inventive and really get kids to get up and move." -- The Mother Connection"A jam-packed collection of ditties that are certain to amuse the younger set . . . a welcome breath of fresh air." -- Today's Librarian, May, 1999"Berkner demonstrates her expertise in kid-pleasing fun. . . guaranteed to have little ones moving, grooving and laughing." -- Publisher's Weekly, December 14, 1998 ABOUT THE ARTIST Laurie Berkner has been working with children since 1992, singing, writing and teaching music, but her recent success as a children's recording artist was a surprise to her. "It was so unexpected," says Laurie. "I'd been performing in rock bands and struggling to write original music. Writing music for kids has not been a struggle at all." While Laurie never planned to be a children's performer, looking back on her career it almost seems inevitable. Growing up in Princeton, New Jersey, Laurie was always involved in music. In high school and throughout college (at Rutgers University), she toured Europe with several choirs and orchestras as a soloist and guitarist. After college, Laurie began working as the children's music specialist at New York area preschool and day care centers. Laurie Berkner's first release in 1997, 'Whaddaya Think Of That?' (only available on cassette at the time) was inspired by the parents of her young students. "The children were really responding to the music we created together," explains Laurie. Many of the songs involve movement, and all of them invite children's participation. Songs such as "We Are The Dinosaurs" allow children to act angry and to feel that they have power, while quieter songs inspire feelings of security and warmth. By the time she released her second CD in 1998, 'Buzz Buzz,' Laurie had formed her own record company, Two Tomatoes Records. Her work began to sell briskly in the New York area as word of mouth began to spread and critical acclaim began pouring in. Laurie's inventive, playful, and well-crafted songs, as well as her accomplished guitar playing and engaging vocals, stood out among other, often over-produced, children's fare. By the time Laurie's third release, 'Victor Vito' came out in late 1999, she had national distribution and a fanatic following among children aged 0-7, including the offspring of celebrities such as Madonna, Sting, and Ally Sheedy (all of whom invited Laurie to perform at their children's birthday parties). The CD received enormous critical acclaim, as well as two Children's Music Web awards and a Parent's Guide To Children's Media Award. 'Whaddaya Think Of That?' was remastered and re-released on CD in September, 2000. The recording features many of Laurie's kid-tested original songs that encourage movement, as well as old favorites. Critical raves soon followed. Family Fun's Moira McCormick named it one of the best children's CDs of 2000, and wrote, "[Laurie's] congenial voice and acoustic guitar, off-the-wall sense of humor, and ability to zero in on exactly what tickles her young audience's fancies make her special indeed . . . Berkner's a blast." The Los Angeles Times' Lynne Heffley took note of Laurie's expert use of "rhythm, rhyme and humor irresistible to little ones for play-along fun." Laurie made her debut on VHS in September, 2001, with the release of 'Laurie Berkner's Video Songbook.' Filmed at one of Laurie's standing-room-only concerts, the video blends deliberately simple animation with live footage, and includes an 11-track hit list of her most-requested songs, as well as a few new ones. NBC's Today Show previewed the video when Laurie performed live on the program in July, 2001. Publisher's Weekly's Shannon Maughan noted Laurie's "catchy, playful tunes and spontaneous, warm performance style." The video received a Parent's Guide To Children's Media Award and a Video Magic Award from Parenting Magazine. Laurie Berkner performs across the country with her husband, bassist Brian Mueller and keyboardist Susie Lampert (both appear on all three CDs and on video). Her concerts have been held at varied venues including the White House (for the Easter Egg Roll); New York's American Museum of Natural History; Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music; as well as national and international children's music festivals.See more
