The keyboardist for a popular Canadian rock group has died, according to the band.
Mike "The Beard Guy" Taylor, who played keyboards and was a vocalist with the indie pop group Walk off the Earth, died Sunday morning at his home in Burlington, Ont. The band used Twitter to confirm the news.
https://twitter.com/WalkOffTheEarth/status/1079528087333814273
"[Mike] passed peacefully from natural causes last night in his sleep," read the statement. "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."
In addition to keyboards, Taylor also played the organ, accordion, xylophone, euphonium, trumpet and other instruments for the group.
According to ET Canada, the band was supposed to kick off its newest concert tour with a New Year's Eve show at Queen Victoria Park in Niagara Falls. That show has been cancelled and the tour is clearly in doubt. A May 22, 2019 concert date was scheduled for the Fillmore Theatre in Detroit.
The band, known for its harmonies and its ingenious use of instruments in its recordings, was formed in Burlington in 2006, but found a large audience when a cover version of Gotye's "Someone That I Used to Know" became a hit on YouTube. Since then, the band has generated hits that include "Red Hands", "Rule the World" and "Hold On". The group won the 2016 Juno Award for Best Group.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bt-FHaFVH8