https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/musician-jesse-stewart-1.6282048
He sang to millions on YouTube. He died on the streets of Edmonton
’He didn't want to live a boring life’
A neighbour recorded a shaky video of the performance with friends in the background wagging bottles and laughing. That evening, it was uploaded onto Facebook.
By morning, it had over a million views.
"Jesse was shell shocked," said his friend Loryn Reinelt. "Who knows what to do in a situation like that."
It was 2014. Things started to move fast and a month later Jesse was featured on an episode of Trailer Park Boys.
"We were really happy for him," said Michelle Stewart, mom. "We knew he was talented."
Last month, Jesse, 31, died on the streets of Edmonton. It was likely a drug overdose, said Michelle.
By the time of his death, Cold Beer had almost 14 million views on YouTube.
The life of Jesse Stewart
Michelle said in elementary school, teachers noticed Jesse was intelligent for his age. By Grade 5, he was already attending a high school computer class.
Jesse was drawn to music early on, and his grandfather paid for private guitar lessons.
He later became obsessed with the Sex Pistols, Michelle said. Inspired by the band's bassist Sid Vicious, Jesse wore a lock around his neck, tossing away the key. For years, the bolt remained, until it eventually disintegrated.
Jesse Stewart got into music at a young age. (Submitted by Michelle Stewart)
After Jesse left home, he travelled widely with his dog Arlo. The two hitchhiked across Canada — twice — sometimes even jumping onto passing freight trains.
"He didn't want to live a boring life, like going to a nine to five job," said Michelle.
Arlo would regularly come onto stage during shows and Jesse even wrote a song about her.
"Not only did Arlo keep him physically warm when he was out on the streets, but she kept his heart from freezing over," said Reinelt.
His music
While Cold Beer is a cover, Jesse made it his own. The original, called Cry Tunes by Donnie Dumphy, is a comedy about someone choosing beer over their girlfriend. Jesse's is about a battle with alcoholism.
"He completely transformed it to his own," said Reinelt.
Judging by the thousands of comments beneath his videos, his music touched many. Some wrote that Jesse inspired them to drive across the country, follow a dream or even stop suicide attempts.
Jesse Stewart got to meet the cast from the Trailer Park Boys after his song Cold Beer went viral. (Reddit )
As his fan base grew, Jesse was able to survive from advertising revenues on YouTube. However, fame came at a cost.
"He became famous for playing a song about drinking beer and I think that became part of his identity," Reinelt said.
Jesse started to struggle with drugs and alcohol, eventually landing in prison for a couple weeks. Before Michelle could finish plans to bring her son home to Vancouver Island, Jesse was released unexpectedly.
"I lost touch with him. And then a week later, I found out that he had passed."
Before going to jail, Jesse left his dog with someone, but after his death Arlo went missing.
Searching for Arlo
His family flew to Edmonton and put up 150 missing posters, offering a $1,000 reward and even hired a private investigator to find Jesse's dog. They drove alleys and walked street after street, searching for a black and tan Doberman Rottweiler.
"She is a connection to Jesse, but it's more than that," said Michelle on CBC Edmonton's Radio Active.
"She deserves a good home where she can live out her days and be comfortable."
Weeks went by and there was little news. Michelle began to think Arlo was gone.
Jesse Stewart wrote a song about his dog called Arlo's Song. (Submitted by Michelle Stewart )
After careful internet sleuthing, Jesse's family was eventually able to track down the beloved dog. The person who had the dog, who lives outside Edmonton, had no idea Arlo was missing.
Soon, Arlo will fly home and live with Michelle.
"It doesn't fix everything," she said.
"But now we can kind of focus on what we need to focus on and try to start healing."
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