Walk Off the Earth to gather with fans, friends as they remember bandmate ‘Beard Guy’

Devoted fans of YouTube pop act Walk Off the Earth will gather Sunday afternoon in the band’s hometown for an all-star concert dedicated to Mike Taylor, the steely-eyed and stoic keyboardist simply known as “Beard Guy.”

The Burlington, Ont.-raised musician, who died in his sleep on Dec. 30, will be celebrated by friends and fellow musicians with a free acoustic show featuring members of the Barenaked Ladies, Arkells, Scott Helman and others.

It’s an event that Taylor would’ve loved, because it’ll unite the many different circles of his life, said his bandmate Gianni (Luminati) Nicassio ahead of the tribute. He was a prominent member of the community not only as a musician, but a local hockey coach and owner of a shipping business.

“It’s going to be a really good testament of how the community comes together in hard times of loss,” Nicassio said.

Taylor’s role in Walk Off the Earth rocketed him to unexpected fame in early 2012 after the group’s YouTube cover of Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know” captured international attention. The clip featured all five members sharing a single guitar, strumming its strings and knocking on its frame as they sang in harmony.

Ellen DeGeneres was so impressed by the video she invited them to perform on her talk show, while an enthusiastic Russell Crowe tweeted his praises and suggested they cover his music too.

It was all a shock to Taylor, his friends say, because he wasn’t necessarily chasing a second full-time career, despite his interest in live music.

He was already the owner of a successful Burlington freight company he co-founded in 1994, more than a decade before Walk Off the Earth started.

Even while he was building his company, Taylor honed his musicianship, moonlighting with bands that included Toronto indie outfit Loomer.

He also raised his two children, Mylie, 16, and Jackson, 14, and took a role in some of their extracurricular activities, including as coach of his son’s hockey team.

But it was his daughter’s dance classes that introduced him to Walk Off the Earth, a blossoming Burlington band that was still mostly playing small gigs. The dance studio was owned by Nicassio’s sister, who introduced Taylor to the group.

Taylor offered to step behind the keyboards for a few casual gigs.

“He was a phenomenal player so we were happy to have him in the band — even though it wasn’t really official,” Nicassio remembered.

Around the same time, Walk Off the Earth was experimenting with filming YouTube videos. Taylor was fascinated with the process and appeared in a few. But on production day for “Somebody That I Used to Know,” he told Nicassio that matters with his shipping business would keep him away from the shoot.

When those work plans fell through, Taylor decided to stop by and help out Walk Off the Earth as they filmed. The band urged him to squeeze into the corner of the video frame and play the guitar along with them.

It was a decision that changed everything that followed.

Their cover was an instant hit, and people seemed especially captivated by Taylor, his thick eyebrows and well-coiffed beard only drawing more attention to his all-knowing and distant gaze.

Some referred to him as “the bearded man” or “bearded one” in the YouTube comments, remembered Nicassio, but the nickname “Beard Guy” was what really stuck.

“A lot of us called him that in regular conversation when we were hanging out,” he said.

“He loved being Beard Guy. He loved everything that came with it. He loved playing the character.”

Walk Off the Earth delivered a number of Canadian radio favourites, including “Rule the World” and “Fire in My Soul,” winning the 2016 Juno Award for group of the year.

And through it all, Taylor continued to manage his freight business, while touring the world in the band.

“He’s a super compassionate person, involved with a lot of charities and really cared about the younger fans,” Nicassio said.

“And he was (the one who) made sure everybody got their autograph.”

At this point, Walk Off the Earth and Taylor’s family have declined to outline the cause of Taylor’s death, simply saying it was of “natural causes.” Certain factors have been ruled out, Nicassio noted.

“He was a healthy guy, it wasn’t expected,” he said.

“There was no drugs or anything like that. He didn’t do drugs. He was very clean.”

Next month, Walk Off the Earth moves ahead with the first leg of a world tour that was planned long before Taylor’s death. Before the first show, in Truro, N.S., on Feb. 9, the band faces tough questions about their direction.

“We have to sit down and decide what we’re going to do,” Nicassio said.

“(Beard Guy) was a big part of our show … so we have a lot of work over the next couple of weeks to figure out a new way to carry on without him.”

Sunday’s tribute concert at Civic Square in downtown Burlington is a step in that process.

Other artists set to perform include Hamilton band Monster Truck and Toronto dance-rock duo USS.

Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward will introduce a Key to the City program for which Taylor will be the first recipient, she said on Twitter.

Viewers can stream the tribute for free on the CBC Gem app at 4:30 p.m. ET.

“The spirit of this event will be brought with us to the rest of our shows around the world,” said Nicassio.

 

—Follow @dfriend on Twitter.

David Friend, The Canadian Press