Brian Larsen (born April 9, 1986, in Laurel, Maryland) is a multi-instrumentalist, singer, record producer, entrepreneur and business executive.[1] 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 2021.[2] Larsen is also the co-founder, President, and CEO of the company RestoraPet.[3]
Brian Larsen | |
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 On stage in Baltimore, May 2006 | |
| Born | Brian Charles Larsen April 9, 1986 Laurel, Maryland, U.S. |
| Education | University of Maryland (BS) University of Virginia (MBA) |
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Early life
editBorn in Laurel, Maryland, a small suburb of Washington, D.C., Larsen was the fourth and youngest son in his family.[4] 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.[5]
Career
editTwilight's Moon
editIn 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. 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.[6]
The album, Pi, was released in September 1998 and sold several hundred copies.[6] 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. 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".[7]
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.[8]
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. 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.[9] 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.[10] A six-song EP, In the Meantime, was released in August 2007.
Solo artist
edit
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.[11] The resulting album, Breaking, was released on August 4, 2009, to mostly positive reviews.[12][13][14] 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.[15]
In 2010 Larsen announced via his Twitter account that he was in the process of writing and recording his 10th album.[16] 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.[17] 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.[18] It was later announced that the album would be titled Being.[1]
Business
editIn 2014, Larsen created the company RestoraPet with Kenny Kramm, the founder and former CEO of FLAVORx.[19] Larsen was inspired to start the business after witnessing the death of his childhood Siberian Husky. The company develops and manufactures over the counter supplements for dogs, cats, and horses. The products were invented and researched by Larsen, who has a background in chemistry and pharmacology. After Kramm's death in 2016, Larsen took over as president and CEO of RestoraPet, growing the company's sales to $2 million in 2019 and $10 million in 2020.[3] Larsen holds an MBA from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business.[20] In April, 2020 amidst shortages of personal protective equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic, RestoraPet began producing hand sanitizer to donate to hospitals and nursing homes.[21] Larsen's company, RestoraPet, was listed as the #1 fastest growing pet company in the US and the 218th fastest growing of all businesses in the US in the 2021 Inc. 5000 list.[22][23]
Discography
editAlbums
edit| Year | Album |
|---|---|
| 1997 | Pi |
| 1998 | The Classics |
| 1999 | The Slope |
| 2001 | ClockWork |
| 2001 | Emergency Exit |
| 2002 | Close to Me (EP) |
| 2003 | Electric |
| 2003 | Broken Windows |
| 2004 | Mind Candy (Soundtrack) |
| 2007 | In The Meantime |
| 2009 | Breaking |
| 2012 | Building |
| 2021 | Being |
Singles
edit| Year | Song | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | "Picture (in my Mind)" | Pi |
| 1999 | "Zoo II" | The Slope |
| 2000 | "I Have My Doubts" | ClockWork |
| 2000 | "Can't Walk Away" | ClockWork |
| 2001 | "Circles on the Water" | ClockWork |
| 2001 | "The Game" | ClockWork |
| 2001 | "I Should Know" | ClockWork |
| 2001 | "Anyway" | Emergency Exit |
| 2001 | "I'm Not Your Psychiatrist" | Emergency Exit |
| 2002 | "Sunday Funday" | Emergency Exit |
| 2002 | "Close to Me" | Close to Me (EP) |
| 2002 | "Electric" | Electric |
| 2003 | "Casino" | Electric |
| 2003 | "I Tried" | Broken Windows |
| 2004 | "1,000 Other Things" | Broken Windows |
| 2004 | "I'm Letting You Go" | Broken Windows |
| 2004 | "Mind Candy" | Mind Candy (soundtrack) |
| 2004 | "Kelly" | Mind Candy (soundtrack) |
| 2005 | "In The Fall" | The Last of the Romantics |
| 2006 | "Goodnight" | The Last of the Romantics |
| 2006 | "In the Summer" | The Last of the Romantics |
| 2006 | "I Tried" | The Last of the Romantics |
| 2006 | "Kelly (Remix)" | The Last of the Romantics |
| 2007 | "In The Meantime" | In The Meantime (EP) |
| 2007 | "In The Fall (2007 Version)" | In The Meantime (EP) |
| 2007 | "Slip Away" | In The Meantime (EP) |
| 2009 | "Hang On" | Breaking |
| 2010 | "Frozen" | Breaking |
| 2011 | "Hold Me Down" | Breaking |
| 2011 | "Stand My Ground" | Breaking |
| 2012 | "How Long?" | Building |
References
edit- ^ a b University of Virginia Darden Executive Businesscasts: Brian Larsen, retrieved July 12, 2019
- ^ Brian Larsen - Being, retrieved January 12, 2018
- ^ a b "His Mentor's Tragic Legacy Motivated Him to Launch a Pet Care Company. Now It's On Track for $10 Million in Revenue". Inc. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
- ^ "Brian Larsen Biography: Allmusic.com." URL last accessed 2007-05-10
- ^ "Jacob Interviews…Brian Larsen". Jake's Take. Retrieved November 14, 2015.
- ^ a b ""Twilight's Moon: Overview.” URL last accessed 2007-05-19
- ^ ""'The Slope' Album Review." URL last accessed 2015-11-15
- ^ ""'Emergency Exit' Album Review." URL last accessed 2007-05-09
- ^ "“The Last of the Romantics: Amazon.com.” URL last accessed 2007-05-10
- ^ "“Twilight's Moon: MySpace.” URL last accessed 2007-05-16
- ^ "“Time For A Change – www.TwilightsMoon.com.” URL last accessed 2007-10-10
- ^ "“Wildy's World: Review: Brian Larsen – Breaking” URL last accessed 2010-08-06
- ^ "“Breaking by Brian Larsen” URL last accessed 2010-08-06
- ^ "“Brian Larsen – 'Breaking' Review” Archived July 24, 2011, at the Wayback Machine URL last accessed 2010-08-06
- ^ "“Brian Larsen's Pre-Grammy Party and Benefit” URL last accessed 2010-08-06
- ^ "“Twitter – Brian Larsen” URL last accessed 2010-08-06
- ^ "Building by Brian Larsen". Music.apple.com. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
- ^ "Brian Larsen - Surprise Trailer for New Album (Coming 2013) - YouTube". Youtube.com. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
- ^ "RestoraPet Company Profile: Valuation & Investors | PitchBook". Pitchbook.com. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
- ^ "“The ExecMBA Podcast, Episode 60: An Interview with Brian Larsen, GEMBA Class of 2020” URL last accessed 2019-07-25
- ^ "Why This Pet Industry Entrepreneur Pivoted Production To Help Fight COVID-19". Forbes. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
- ^ "Inc. Company Profile: RestoraPet". Inc. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
- ^ "RestoraPet Ranks as Number One in Inc. Magazine as Fastest Growing Pet Company in The U.S." Pet Business Magazine. August 18, 2021. Retrieved August 20, 2021.