MC Lars Biography

Originally releasing tracks under the name Lars Horris, he eventually dropped Horris which later became the name of his record label, in order to become MC Lars. In the past, MC Lars was backed by a single friend who handled laptop duties. However, today's MC Lars live experience is very different. With a punk rock band (Rob Piccininni, Jr - bass/backup vocals; Jon Shiffman - drums; Steve Connelly - guitar/backup vocals) set to back him up, MC Lars plays a hip-hop set to a true punk rock background (a joining which he refers to as "post-punk laptop rap"). His bandmates play live over the samples and loops contained in his recorded music - all stored on his laptop computer.

As with many other rap and Hip-Hop acts, samples play a key role in MC Lars' music. But, with intent to preserve his rock roots, MC Lars chooses to sample alternative bands such as the British band Supergrass and Long Island, New York's Brand New.

MC Lars has also shown an interest in using lyrics and song titles based on English and American literature. "Rapbeth"'s title parodies that of William Shakespeare's play Macbeth whilst "Mr. Raven" is inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven." Also, the song "Ahab", which features on his latest release The Graduate, sees Lars rapping about the novel Moby Dick.

The term iGeneration, used to describe the generation born primarily in the mid-to-late 1980s, was not actually coined by MC Lars, but it was used in his song of the same name, which was given out for free to Facebook users in August 2006 in conjunction with iTunes.

MC Lars' MySpace profile includes exclusive tracks related to the MySpace social scene of the iGeneration: "Internet Relationships", "Hot Topic is Not Punk Rock", "Download This Song" and "Signing Emo". Hearts That Hate, whose song "Cry Tonight" is sampled in Lars' "Signing Emo", is a fictional group created by the rapper. The Grammy-nominated Texan band Bowling for Soup performed as Hearts That Hate when MC Lars has supported them on tour. A full version of "Cry Tonight" is available as a B-side to the UK "Signing Emo" single.

In early 2006, his song, Download This Song, was featured on the pop-culture CBC Radio show, Definitely Not The Opera, during an expos on geeks.

In 2006, Lars worked with the Canadian independent record label Nettwerk Records to release The Graduate. Following this release, Lars toured extensively throughout the U.S. and the UK and even did shows in Japan[1], and Australia. Not long after the album was released on iTunes, Lars received an e-mail from a 15-year-old fan Elisa Greubel on his web forum saying she identified with "Download This Song" since her family was one of many being sued by the Recording Industry Association of America. This led to Nettwerk executive Terry McBride and a team of major-label artists managed by Nettwerk to support the Greubels with their case.

MC Lars returned to the UK in October 2006, due to popular demand, to play more shows in support of his "Ahab" single and video.In April 2007, MC Lars and Nettwerk made the component tracks for his single "White Kids Aren't Hyphy" available for remix under a by-nc-sa Creative Commons license on the Jamglue online mixing site as a contest.

In July 2007, Lars recorded his new album with Wheatus frontman Brendan B. Brown, at Brown's own studio. then in November 2007, Lars returned to the UK on tour with pop-punk band Last Letter Read who performed their own set and then on stage with Lars.