What should have been a night of celebration Monday night in Niagara Falls Ontario was clouded over by the passing of Walk Off The Earth multi-instrumentalist Mike `Bearded Guy’ Taylor, forcing the Burlington Band to pull out of the CBC TV-televised New Year’s Eve concert which also featured Burton Cummings and The Sheepdogs.
Beard passed away in his sleep from natural causes Saturday resulting in the surviving band members posting the following message on their Facebook page.
“It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved brother and band member, Mike `Bearded Guy’ Taylor. Mike had a love for life that was unmatched and a willingness to give that went beyond ordinary means. He passed away peacefully from natural causes last night in his sleep. Our deepest sympathies are with his two children, whom he adored more than anything else in the world. We ask for privacy for his family in this trying time.”
Walk Off The Earth gained recognition in 2012 after posting a cover of Australian artist Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used To Know” with all five members playing the song on a single guitar. Since being posted in January 2012, the video received over 185 million views and earned the band valuable exposure on the Ellen DeGeneres television show. Aside from recording several other creative song covers, the band also recorded five studio albums with their last two, “R.E.V.O “and “Sing It All Away” proving they could chalk up smash hits with their own original material.
Their scheduled appearance at the New Year’s Eve concert was supposed to kick off a world tour for the group but that has now been postponed indefinitely.
