Mind Candy (album)

Brian Larsen (born April 9, 1986, in Laurel, Maryland) is a multi-instrumentalist, singer, record producer, entrepreneur and business executive. 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. Larsen is also the co-founder, President, and CEO of the company RestoraPet.

Early life

Born in Laurel, Maryland, a small suburb of Washington, D.C., Larsen was the fourth and youngest son in his family. 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.

Career

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. 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." "Twilight's Moon: Overview.”URL last accessed 2007-05-19

The album, ''Pi'', was released in September 1998 and 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. 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".

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 hatpoint" by noted critic Steven Thomas Erlewine.

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. 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. A six-song EP, ''In the Meantime'', was released in August 2007.

Solo artist

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. The resulting album, '' Breaking'', was released on August 4, 2009, to mostly positive reviews. 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.

In 2010 Larsen announced via his Twitter account that he was in the process of writing and recording his 10th album. 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. 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. It was later announced that the album would be titled ''Being.''

Business

In 2014, Larsen created the company RestoraPet with Kenny Kramm, the founder and former CEO of FLAVORx. 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. Larsen holds an MBA from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business.“The ExecMBA Podcast, Episode 60: An Interview with Brian Larsen, GEMBA Class of 2020”
URL last accessed 2019-07-25 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. 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.

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

External links

Brian Larsen's Official Site

{{DEFAULTSORT:Larsen, Brian
1986 births
Living people
American rock songwriters
American rock singers
American male singer-songwriters
American rock guitarists
American male guitarists
Record producers from Maryland
People from Laurel, Maryland
Musicians from Baltimore
20th-century American singers
21st-century American singers
20th-century American guitarists
21st-century American guitarists
Singer-songwriters from Maryland
Guitarists from Maryland
20th-century American male singers
21st-century American male singers