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When Cory Myraas was asked to perform in his hometown of Vernon over the weekend, he never thought something near and dear to him would be stolen.
Myraas, who goes by Windmills on stage, performed at the Vernon Sunshine Festival from 3-4 p.m. in the afternoon on Saturday.
After his set, the second annual Heroes Shave It Off took place on stage, where participants raise money for brain cancer by shaving their heads.
“This year was very special because the woman who started it last year actually passed away in April. All the money raised is directly related to her and her family. It was a pretty big deal,” said Myraas.
The musician placed his computer, which he uses to perform live, in a bag beside the stage, along with an honorarium cheque from the City of Vernon. People were gathered around the side of the stage for the fundraiser when Myraas stepped to the side for less than ten minutes to get some air.
“Somebody must’ve just grabbed the bag and walked off with it,” he said.
Shortly after, he walked up to the stage to organize his gear and saw that the bag wasn’t where he left it. He began asking around but no one could recall it. Usually, Myraas said he packs his car up right after a show, but this time he planned on playing a couple more songs after the fundraiser.
While it may seem to be just a computer, Myraas said it’s much more than that. Along with crucial backing tracks he needs to perform live, the laptop is also what he uses for booking, press and publicity.
“It’s one thing to have a computer stolen, that’s just a thing. The thing about this is it has everything to do with Windmills, myself as a performer, myself as a self-employed artist. My entire livelihood,” Myraas said. “Everything to do with the business side of Windmills is on that computer and everything for performing live.
“Without it I can’t perform anymore.”
Myraas immediately did a few laps around the area, thinking it got moved or was just misplaced.
“As you look and more time has passed you get that realization that, OK, it’s probably gone. It sets in and it’s a sick feeling. I still don’t know what to do,” he said. ““The carpet has been pulled out from under my feet. I’m trying to grasp how to keep going with this, how to move past it.”
Myraas already had been booked to perform in Kelowna on Canada Day and again in August. Along with a few other private events, he was also set to play at a music festival in Victoria in September.
“Right now it’s a standstill. I’m not sure what to do because I can’t perform like I would,” Myraas said. “I love to perform and it’s fantastic to be able to play my songs and meet people.”
To know that someone would steal from him, especially at an event in his hometown, Myraas said is both disappointing and disheartening.
“For whatever reason, whoever took it felt they needed to take it and I can’t judge them for that, the hard part is when you play a show in your hometown, when you play a show anywhere, you’re not anticipating getting something stolen,” said Myraas. “There’s a lot that can’t be replaced.”
Besides business, the computer also has years of personal mementos stored. The artist, who has been travelling for more than five years, has all his photos saved to the device.
When he realized it was really gone, he made a Facebook post asking for help finding it, a post that has been shared more than 400 times in 14 hours.
“The outpouring of support has really been fantastic and a bit overwhelming. I was not anticipating so many people getting involved and wanting to help,” he said. “I’m not mad. I just desperately want to keep playing music. I want to do what I love to do. It’s one of the few things right now that is keeping me going.”
If you or someone you know has information on where Myraas’ laptop bag may be, you can contact him at 1-250-308-0681, or by email.
The theft has been reported to the RCMP, and the bag is described as a burgundy ASOS messenger bag with a MacBook Pro inside.
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