RIP, Beard Guy (Walk Off the Earth)

[Mendalla]

Scott's second song is one of his own and came with a great Mike Taylor story about them shooting a video for it in Paris while Scott was touring with WOTE.

 

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And they're playing that video.

 

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And an unannounced appearance by Hamilton rock band The Arkells. One of the best bands in Canada right now. Covering Stand by Me.

 

[Pinga]

Here is the link again,to watch the tribute concert:

 

[Mendalla]

I did finally finish it. The final tribute, set to Mike leading an audience in singing Bohemian Rhapsody (and I saw comment in the live chat from people who were part of those singalongs) was terrific. WOTE have posted it on their YouTube channel.

 

[Mendalla]

The band announced on Twitter that their 2019 tour, which starts in Truro, NS on Feb. 9, is a go. Not an easy decision to be sure, but it is how this band rolls and why their fans are so devoted.

 

[Mendalla]

Happily, WOTE got one last video in the can before losing Beard Guy. It's classic WOTE, fun and a bit silly, for their song Fifth Avenue. I posted the lyric video for this song a while back so the song isn't new, just the video.

 

[Mendalla]

A terrific acoustic version of Fifth Avenue filmed in London, UK a year ago with Beard Guy in his prime.

 

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It was, perhaps, inevitable that the band would pour their grief into a song. That song came out yesterday in the form of a lyric video. It's simply called "Mike's Song".

 

[Mendalla]

The official video for the song is out and features the band delivering musical instruments to children, a cause that Beard Guy supported and worked to promote. Has some great archival footage of Beard Guy with children, too. At the end, they give the URL to donate to Music Counts in his name.

 

[Mendalla]

Less than a year has passed, and WOTE have a new album out and have gone from a tragic event that might have ended some bands to one of their biggest successes to date. Number 1 on the Neilson pop albums chart in the US, number 3 on the Neilson Canadian album sales chart, number 4 on the Billboard US album sales. And a terrific new video for one of the songs to boot.

 

[Mendalla]

WOTE cancelled their New Year's Eve 2018 appearance in Niagara Falls in the wake of Mike Taylor's death. For 2019, though, they were back with two songs from their latest album and, fittingly, "Mike's Song", the tribute to Beard Guy that they released earlier this year. It is a bit weird seeing them without Mike and Marshall (who announced his departure last month) but the WOTE sound and spirit are still there and strong.