Bob Marley once said, “One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.”
The Canadian alt-pop outfit’s mantra has been to create music to help take your mind off the negatives of the world surrounding their fans. Late last year, the band experienced a devastating loss when longtime band member and multi-instrumentalist Mike “Beard Guy” Taylor passed away.
The band, which still affects the band to this day, has taken the mantra they’ve used to help the lives of their fans in order to aid them in coping with this loss. On May 24, the band released “Mike’s Song” a cathartic song remembering their friend and bandmate.
Recently, we had a quick chat with the band to talk about healing — for themselves, for their fans, and more.
On your Facebook page you talk about the story behind the name of the band. How important do you think it is today for people to “walk off the earth?”
It’s a pretty overwhelming state of affairs in the world these days, that’s for sure. As politics, technology and culture become more and more difficult to wrap your head around with each new day, the importance of mental clarity and having a place to go (whether literal or figurative) when things get especially overwhelming is more important than ever. To us, that’s what Walk Off the Earth is all about: putting on your headphones, cue up your favorite Walk Off the Earth songs and taking a stroll away from the overwhelm of planet earth for a little while.
You guys suffered a tremendous loss late last year when Mike Taylor passed away. Can you talk about how the band has been able to cope with his loss?
Knowing that Mike would want nothing less than for us to carry on in his honor is definitely a realization that has helped us all find the strength to do just that. Immortalizing our brother with “Mike’s Song” is something that came very naturally and has proved cathartic for all of us as well.
On May 24 you released a song in his honor aptly named, ‘Mike’s Song.’ Can you talk about the song and how it came together?
Some of the strongest connections in our lives have been those forged through music, and the connection that we all had with Mike was a shining example of that. He was an incredible person that touched the lives of so many, and having the opportunity to commemorate his life and legacy with this song is an honor that we cherish greatly.
Walk off the Earth Tour Dates:
JUN 25: Arena Wien Open Air – Wien, Austria
JUN 26: Tollwood GmbH – Munchen, Germany
JUN 27: Forum Karlín – Praha 8, Czech Republic
JUN 29: Columbiahalle – Berlin, Germany
JUN 30: Parkpop – Den Haag, Netherlands
JUL 1: Stadtpark – Hamburg-Nord, Germany
JUL 3: Burg Abenberg – Abenberg, Germany
JUL 5: The SSE Arena, Wembley – London, United Kingdom
JUL 6: Rock Zottegem Music Festival – Zottegem, Belgium
JUL 7: Am Mercedes-Benz Museum – Stuttgart, Germany
JUL 8: L’Olympia Bruno Coquatrix – Paris, France
JUL 9: KUNST!RASEN GmbH – Bonn-Bad Godesberg, Germany
JUL 30: Moore Theatre – Seattle, WA, United States
AUG 1: Keller Auditorium – Portland, OR, United States
AUG 2: The Festival At Sandpoint – Sandpoint, ID, United States
AUG 3: Orpheum Theatre – Vancouver, Canada
AUG 10: Aéroport De Saint-Jean-Sur-Richelieu – Saint-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, Canada
AUG 22: Exhibition Park StagEX – Lethbridge, Canada
AUG 24: The Badlands Amphitheatre – Drumheller, Canada
