Chad VanGaalen – Soft Airplane EP
We have a High School art exhibit/contest showing in the lobby at my work right now. It is interesting looking at the broad range of work showcased there. We have examples that range from fail to fantastic. I know it is all subjective, but there is some stuff there that is just terrible. Some pieces look like they were painted by 10 year olds and other pieces show a culmination of great talent with no imagination. After wading through all this you will see examples that are solid. Talent meets up with imagination. One of my favorite styles to see is the one that isn’t a traditional realistic painting, but art that may look a little juvenile in skill yet has imagination loaded up so strong that it does not matter. It is amazing how far imagination can take an artist.
One artist that I appreciate (far beyond the realms of this High School show) is Calgary’s own busking to Sub Pop success story Chad VanGaalen. His visual art may not be technical and traditionally ‘good’ but when I watch a video like Clinically Dead (above) I can’t deny that Chad has the mind of a true artist. The same can be said for his music. This is not a prepackaged indie rock formula, but a well thought out creation. His songs usually make me wonder “Why am I not exploring and listening to his music more.”
Anyway, there is a follow up EP to his 2008 album, Soft Airplane that is being given away on his website. I am a sucker for bands that are willing to dole out some of their music for free. I understand that they need to make a living so I do buy their music, but I admire the greedless action nonetheless. Download the free Soft Airplane – B-sides EP.
December 1st, 2009 at 10:48 pm
It’s nice to see chad have success. I went to school with chad, and he dated my good friend. We chose him to perform a song at our high school graduation that pissed off half the parents. They took one of the lines out of context. OH BOY. I’d still choose him all over again. it was for us, not the parents… and some of the other auditions were terrible. Like a dance to a lion king song. barf.