There he was, construction worker Devon Bjarnason, heading out every day to make a living and driving home every night, knowing his guitar was waiting for him.
“I had a really good life, people said, but I was miserable at work because I wasn’t playing my guitar,” he said.
“So, one day, I walked in and quit my job.”
Devon Coyote was born.
What: The Devon Coyote Band
Where: The Dirty Jersey, 1200 Eighth St.
When: Wednesday, Jan. 15, 8 p.m.
The name change made sense to him, he said, because he’d been performing as part of a duo around his hometown of Kelowna and he wanted to keep that part of his identity.
But, Bjarnason just wasn’t going to work in the marketing scheme racing through his head.
“Coyote suited my lifestyle at the time,” he said, “and there was no other Devon Coyote website so, when you Google it, my site comes up first.”
He recorded an EP and the road beckoned, with the ex-labourer heading east, setting up gigs, playing his music, hopping in the car, driving more miles.
Somewhere in northern Ontario, the car started to have problems — not serious enough to stop him from making it to Toronto, he said, but bad enough to cancel the Maritime leg of his first dream tour.
He came back home, got to work writing and singing and booking and promoting — and then doing it all over again.
“Those first few years were interesting,” Bjarnason said.
“Nobody knows you. Nobody wants to hire you.”
Last year, D’Arcy Booth joined Bjarnason, bringing along his bass to add to the guitar and vocals, and the two of them did more than 160 shows, finally making it out east for shows not only in Toronto, but in Montreal.
Late last year, Dylan Ranney and his drum kit joined and the duo became a trio.
Most of the songwriting is done by Bjarnason, but the other two chime in at the end to make sure the bass lines or the beats work with what he has created.
Don’t ask them to define their genre, though.
Bjarnason is proud they sing songs ranging from blues to country to pop to folk.
“Anything with music,” he said.
They’re back in town on Wednesday, Jan. 15, for a show at the Dirty Jersey.
Bjarnason said he likes that venue because it lends itself to some quiet musical moments.
He’s had some fun shows at the Blue Grotto, as well, he said, as well as some gigs years ago at Pogue Mahone Irish Alehouse.
“Kamloops’ been great to the Devon Coyote Band,” he said, adding he knew it would be hard, but he knows he made the right decision to give up the day job and turn the night hobby into his life’s work.
“All it takes is one leap of faith.”
