Brian Karscig (“I have the same birthday as Beethoven”) sang in the church choir at St. Joan of Arc Catholic School in Toledo, OH at age seven, before moving with his family to San Diego at age ten. He originally took piano lessons before picking up the guitar at fifteen.
He decided at a young age that he wasn’t cut out for the nine-to-five world. “I worked at a really nice French restaurant when I was seventeen,” he told the Reader, “and I asked for my eighteenth birthday off, two weeks in advance. I remember coming in to look at the schedule two days before my birthday, and I was scheduled. I confronted my French a-hole of a boss about it…he said ‘if you don’t show up to work, don’t ever come back.’ That was the last day I saw him.”
Karscig first earned local notice with Convoy, along with other founding members Jason Hill and Mark Maigaard. When that group disbanded, the trio founded Louis XIV, releasing their Illegal Tender EP on Pineapple Recording Group/Vice. That was followed up by their major label debut on Atlantic Records, The Best Little Secrets are Kept.
Many were surprised at the sudden breakup of Louis XIV, who garnered innumerable articles and toured the world. “Taking a step away from a band I’ve been in to do something new, when you’ve been working with the same group of friends for a long time, is a pretty scary thing to do. Mix in some debt collectors, relationships, and people and pets close to me passing. When you’re used to a life of certain people and amenities close to you, then they’re gone, it’s easy to get inside your head, crawl into a corner, and stress out.”
Karscig co-founded the Nervous Wreckords in 2009 with keyboardist/guitarist Anthony Saffery, producer and member of U.K. band Cornershop.
In early 2011, Karscig co-produced an album with new group Subsurfer, about which he says “Great band I just finished working with...they’re pretty awesome!” A “Making Of the Album” video is on YouTube (search Subsurfer).
Karscig has also collaborated with the Killers, providing vocals on their 2006 release Sam's Town. 2013 saw Karscig reuniting with Louis XIV to open for the Killers on a tour through Europe, Latin America, and Mexico. He joined the Killers onstage for the Louis XIV tune "Finding Out True Love Is Blind" at North Park Observatory on September 19, 2015, as well as touring South America as the piano/guitar player for Brandon Flowers' Desired Effect Tour. For the Killers' 2016 U.S./Canada tour, Karscig served as the band's second guitar player.
As the owner of Nervous Productions, and co-owner of the Pineapple Recording Group, he has produced records for artists such as Anya Marina, the Silent Comedy, Transfer, Les Gars, Apes of Wrath, Republic of Letters, and Subsurfer. As a songwriter, his collaborators include Brandon Flowers of the Killers ("Thief in the Choir" and "Turn the Light On"), and Sam Endicott of the Bravery ("Send It in a Letter"), as well as Anya Marina ("Afterparty at Jimmy's") and AJ Croce's 2013 single "Keep the Change."
By 2018, Karscig was performing around town as a solo act, performing new music as well as tracks from Convoy, Louis XIV, and Nervous Wreckords.