After eight years of making a living playing cover music, Jeff Bryant has confronted his fear and written an original album.

The 40-year-old, who was raised in Oak Bay and graduated from Oak Bay High, will play at the Irish Times pub on Sept. 12.

ItB次元官网网址檚 the first solo album for Bryant, who was a fixture busking for years on the Causeway in the early 2000s. First, in a guitar duo with fellow University of Victoria student Adam Greeley in 2002 and 2003. Later, as a B次元官网网址渉uman statueB次元官网网址� in the vein of Clark ClarkB次元官网网址檚 Plasterman who recently died. In 2007, Bryant formed a successful guitar-strumming duo with Zach Stevenson called the Human Statues.

READ ALSO:

B次元官网网址淭he name was an homage to our time busking as human statues, which took us Toronto and back,B次元官网网址� Bryant said.

Stevenson created a popular character called Disco Man that was also popular on Granville Island.

Bryant performed as Johnny B Gold, and performed in Victoria, Toronto and Vancouver.

B次元官网网址淲e were exploring the professional world of street performance,B次元官网网址� Bryant recalled.

As the Human Statues, they started humbly, taking busker gigs and other small shows in Toronto, then working their way across the country with national tours until 2012. Since then though, Bryant has toured as a cover musician, showcasing his unique style and passion for Beatles and others 1960s and B次元官网网址�70s-style guitar rock.

B次元官网网址淢y family is still here, I came to check in on my parents and make sure my mom and dad had what they needed [for the long haul of COVID19],B次元官网网址� Bryant said. B次元官网网址淲hen I left my apartment I figured itB次元官网网址檚 either a week, or a year, and nothing in between.B次元官网网址�

Now is the next step as Bryant is still here and is launching his first solo album, The Great Unknown, with a release show Sept. 12 at the Irish Times. The pandemic has brought Bryant home and given him the chance to reconnect with his roots as he releases an album that is the next big step in his life, he said.

B次元官网网址淚 avoided original music [the past eight years], so this project is about me confronting that fear, and that creative atrophy,B次元官网网址� Bryant said.

READ MORE:

A medical incident last year spurred Bryant to record his own album of original music.

B次元官网网址淚 had some unexplained seizures. I went through a battery of tests, neurological and physical tests, and it went undiagnosed,B次元官网网址� Bryant said. B次元官网网址淚 struggle with heart pain, chest pain, dizziness. ItB次元官网网址檚 something that might not go away.B次元官网网址�

It clarified for Bryant that life is precious.

B次元官网网址淲hen you grasp that it shifts to a true appreciation for life and opportunity.B次元官网网址�

Bryant has kept to his roots as a busker, showing up to play a series of shows at Willows Beach this summer. ItB次元官网网址檚 a far cry from the popular busking shows he first performed in 2002.

B次元官网网址淚 used to watch the circle shows, what I called the busking shows that had a crowd of people around it,B次元官网网址� Bryant said. B次元官网网址淚 followed that. I designed a show to get all the people from the cruise ship to stick around. I used a shtick to keep them there until the end.B次元官网网址�

reporter@oakbaynews.com

Do you have a story tip? Email: vnc.editorial@blackpress.ca.

Follow us on and and like us on