Brian Larsen

Brian Larsen
On stage in Baltimore, May 2006
Background information
Birth name	Brian Larsen
Born	(1986-04-09) April 9, 1986
Origin	Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Genres	Rock, pop rock, folk rock
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter, musician, producer
Instruments	Guitar, Piano, Synthesizer, Bass Guitar, drums
Years active	1997–present
Labels	Protocol Records
Associated acts	Twilight's Moon
Website	www.twilightsmoon.com

Brian Larsen (born April 9, 1986, in Laurel, Maryland) is a multi-instrumentalist, singer, and record producer. Larsen has released ten albums, eight under the name "Twilight's Moon" and two under his own name, 2009's Breaking and 2012's Building. In late 2012, it was announced that Larsen's eleventh album would be titled Being and is to be released in early 2014.^[1]

Early life

Born in Laurel, Maryland, a small suburb of Washington, D.C., Larsen was the fourth and youngest son in his family. Growing up in the MTV era, Larsen was fascinated by music from a very early age, and he began taking piano lessons at the age of five.^[2] His love of the piano eventually inspired a self-taught fingerpicking guitar technique using the speed and dexterity Larsen gained through piano lessons.

Larsen's first forays into songwriting took place while he was still in elementary school. Inspired by his older uncle, Bryon Moore, who achieved success in music through his popular South Carolina band Uncle Mingo, Larsen resolved to become a musician and songwriter in his own right.

By the age of ten, Larsen spent most of his spare time writing and recording demos onto a Tascam 4-track recorder his parents bought him for Christmas. Despite his young age, Larsen stated his intention to have his music released commercially, though his early songs were little more than variations of other artists' work.

Twilight's Moon

In 1996, Larsen officially formed Twilight's Moon with schoolmates Trevor Hunter, Alex Masonis, and Andrew Jones, though Masonis and Jones left the band less than a year later over creative control disputes. Hunter and Larsen continued recording, with Hunter assuming Jones' role as drummer and Larsen assuming Masonis' role as keyboardist. The demos that the duo recorded during this period were intended to be released as Tarot, but were shelved indefinitely due to Larsen's concerns over the quality of the performances. Hunter vacated his role as performer, agreeing instead to concentrate on acting as Larsen’s manager, and in response, Larsen agreed to assume all musical roles within the band.^[3]

Larsen spent the next year writing new material and meticulously overdubbing tracks. The resulting album, Pi, was released in September 1998.^[3] Despite questionable sound quality stemming from Larsen's extensive overdubbing and use of analog equipment, the album sold several hundred copies. Larsen immediately began recording The Classics, a disc composed solely of original and interpreted classical songs. The album was released in February 1999 to positive reviews but poor sales, even though Larsen performed extensively in support of the disc. The next year, Larsen began writing and recording demos for what would eventually become The Slope, his first internationally distributed album. The album was released on August 3, 2000 to mixed reviews, but became a modest hit thanks to the instrumental track "Zoo II".

Recognizing the need to refine his songs, Larsen returned to the studio to record a follow-up album with the specific intention of recording tracks that were more radio-friendly. The resulting album, ClockWork, was released on January 23, 2001, and featured a guest performance from Larsen’s uncle, Bryon Moore. Overall, the album received a positive commercial and critical response. Inspired by this success, Larsen performed live in support of the album but quickly returned to the studio to record a follow-up album using digital recording equipment. That album, Emergency Exit, was received even more enthusiastically by critics and fans alike, being called "the beginning of Larsen hitting his musical stride" and "the best Twilight’s Moon album to [that] point" by noted critic Steven Thomas Erlewine.^[4]

After the release of Emergency Exit, Larsen took an extensive vacation from the music industry while attending high school. He released Close to Me, a five-track EP, on his 16th birthday, but stated on his website that he intended to begin work on an album of trance music. That album, Electric, took nearly two years to complete, but was met with great commercial success upon its release in 2003, supported by the album's self-titled single as well as the track "Casino", both of which received rotation in American and Asian dance clubs.

Demand for a new album led to Larsen recording his first original tracks of rock music in two years. Broken Windows, a mixture of original tracks and cover songs, was released on December 23, 2003, to mixed reviews. Some critics criticized Larsen for his use of cover tracks on the album, something Larsen later stated that he regretted doing. B-sides from the Broken Windows sessions were collected and released as Mind Candy in early 2004. Similar to the quick follow-up of Emergency Exit to ClockWork (spaced ten months apart), Larsen indicated that his desire was to release a follow-up album to Broken Windows, tentatively titled The Last of the Romantics, sometime in late 2004. Writer's block and Larsen's involvement in other projects stalled the album, however, and its release date was pushed back several times. In June 2005, the album was listed on Amazon.com as being available for pre-order, selling enough copies to enter Amazon.com's best-sellers list before the release date was changed once more.^[5] Several singles have been officially released from the album, however, including "In the Fall", "In the Summer", "Goodnight", "I Tried", and "In the Meantime", all of which have received significant downloads on Larsen's official website and MySpace.^[6] A six-song EP, In the Meantime, was released in August 2007.

Solo Artist

Larsen in Toronto, Canada in April, 2013.

On October 10, 2007, Larsen announced on his official website that he intended to disband Twilight's Moon and stated that he was in the process of writing and recording music under his own name.^[7] The resulting album, Breaking, was released on August 4, 2009 to mostly positive reviews.^[8][9][10] In the summer of 2009, Larsen assembled a permanent touring band composed of guitarist Anne Muntuerto (of the Philippines-based band Cattski), bassist Devon Eason, and session drummer Lydia Lewis. Brian and his band toured the United States through the end of 2009, and Larsen (sometimes accompanied by Muntuerto) toured the country again, performing acoustic version of his songs during the first half of 2010, including a Los Angeles charity concert on the evening before the 52nd Grammy Awards to benefit victims of the 2010 Haiti Earthquake.^[11]

In early 2010, Brian wrote a song with former Eurythmics member Dave Stewart, though the track has yet to appear on a studio album.^[12] Later that year, Larsen has announced via his Twitter account that he was in the process of writing and recording another album, his 10th overall.^[13] In November, 2010, a YouTube video was released announcing that the album would be titled "Building". It was released on April 17, 2012 and was Larsen's first album to earn a Parental Advisory warning for explicit lyrics.^[14] Also in 2012, Brian began working with the all-female band Ivy Rose, coaching the group for their appearances on season 7 of the reality television series America's Got Talent and co-producing their 2012 EP.^[13][15] In late 2012, Larsen announced via a YouTube video that he was in the process of recording another album of new material, to be released in early 2014.^[16] It was later announced that the album would be titled "Being" and, like many of his previous albums, would feature Larsen performing all of the album's instrumentation and singing himself.^[17]

Side Projects

Since his teenage years, Brian Larsen has expressed interest in other forms of entertainment and expression. In 1996, Larsen founded Protocol Records. In 2004, he wrote a book, In Words, a collection of song lyrics and commentary with a brief autobiography. Some of Larsen's avant-garde artwork is featured on his official website, including an abstract 6 inch tall paper clip sculpture of a figure reaching for the stars. Additionally, Larsen had a brief role in the movie xXx2: State of the Union, though his part was eventually cut from the movie due to time constraints. In 2003, Larsen founded the band Serrano Terrace, though no official releases from the band have surfaced. Larsen also endorses products including Thayer's Lozenges.^[18]

In 2007, he began working with frequent Howard Stern guest Riley Martin on his Sirius radio show and official website. Larsen regularly receives on air "shout-outs" from Martin, who thanks and praises Larsen for his involvement with Martin and his show.^[19][20] Also in 2007, Brian started a Vlog (video blog) called BlogBrian, which features a mixture of comedic scenarios (such as Larsen playing Bingo with a group of senior citizens), stunts (including Larsen eating an entire cake in one sitting), and musical performances. As of October 2011, Larsen has approximately 270,000 YouTube followers.^[21]

Personal life

Larsen is known for his honesty and candidness in interviews concerning his personal life. Although he was raised Christian, Larsen became interested in Hinduism as a teenager and strongly supports eastern religions, even putting a hidden track, "Namah Parvarti", sung entirely in Hindi, on his Broken Windows album. Larsen has two tattoos on his abdomen, an Om and the Dog Latin phrase "Sic gorgiamus allos subjectatos nunc", meaning "we gladly feast on those who would subdue us."

In 2005, a stalker broke into Larsen's Maryland home, forcing him to obtain a permanent restraining order.^[22] Larsen spent the last half of 2006 mourning the death of his longtime manager, Debra Ritz Mason.^[23] His hobbies include snowboarding and cooking, though he claims to be a terrible chef.^[24]

Discography

Albums

Singles

External links

• Brian Larsen's Official Site
• Brian Larsen's MySpace Site
• Brian Larsen's YouTube Channel

References