RIP, Beard Guy (Walk Off the Earth)

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Mendalla

Mendalla

Happy headbanging ape!!
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No. This is not what I expected or wanted to see on Twitter tonight. Mike Taylor of Walk Off the Earth, better known to fans as "Beard Guy," died in his sleep last night. No cause known yet nor do they mention his age. He's the father of two children, one of whom appeared in the band's Christmas movie a couple years ago.

Walk Off the Earth band member Mike Taylor dead | CBC News

WOTE have been my favorite band of the last few years and Beard Guy's towering, tight-lipped presence and talent at multiple instruments were no small part of that.

He has also been releasing some nice piano solo videos in the past year or two that show off his skill on the keys quite nicely.

I am sure the band will go on, but they definitely won't be the same without him.
 
Mike Taylor at the piano from his first solo album:


And an acoustic piano take on a song from WOTE's latest album:

 
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The band will, of course, be bowing out of their New Year's Eve performance in Niagara Falls tomorrow night. Here they are from NYE 2017 in Toronto, where they debuted Fire In My Soul.

 
My niece and her boyfriend, and their friends were planning on going to Niagara Falls for new years. They hadn't heard of Walk off the Earth, so we were talking about them earlier this week. We were all shocked to read this news.

May his family be held in love and get peace during this time.
 
From the band's Twitter account today:

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Burlington is a bit far unless it's an afternoon event but they are talking about a live stream.
 
The details are out. It's a free event in Burlington Civic Square. Nice lineup. Just WOTE, Barenaked Ladies, and Scott Helman is a lineup I would happily pay to see if I lived closer.

Twitter

Donations in his memory are going, fittingly, to MusiCounts, which supports music programs across the country and which Beard Guy supported.
 
The stream just started and Sarah is speaking. She came pretty close to tears once already.

First act is St. Alvia, a Burlington band who played gigs with WOTE back in the early days.
 
Up next are the Darenots who opened for WOTE on their US and European tours last year.
 
Gotta love winter outdoor concerts in most of Canada. Players in parkas, lol. Must be hard to keep instruments tuned.
 
Getting caught up. Watching Monster Truck right now. I am surprised that I have never really heard of these guys given that they beat WOTE, Hey Ocean, and Yukon Blonde for Breakthrough Group of the Year at the 2013 Junos. Beard Guy was a big fan of theirs per Sarah.

Kind of a rougher, less polished Sheepdogs.
 
Great story about Scott Helman from Sarah. He had the pleasure of shooting a video with WOTE while she was in labour. Yes, they finished the video before son #2 arrived.
 
Oh God, he's got a trumpeter. That was one of Beard Guy's instruments.
 
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