Chad VanGaalen Would Rather Stay Home

In Chad VanGaalen's world, there are a lot of things he'd rather do with his money and fossil fuels instead of touring.

"I'd rather, I don't know, go buy a hundred basketballs and roll them down the street or something," he says.

For fans of the Calgary-based singer/songwriter, the fact that his world is a little... different from most people should come as no surprise.

VanGaalen will be in Toronto on March 12 to play at the Horseshoe Tavern as part of Canadian Music Week. While he says he doesn't consider himself to be a performer, he insists his reputation as a reclusive genius isn't totally accurate.

"I'd rather be hanging out in the sunshine, but I'm just too busy to leave my house right now," he says. "Just because I'm working on animations as well, so both my studios are at home. Also, I like staying home with my daughter, so everything revolves [around my house]."

Naturally, VanGaalen is in his basement, enjoying some new musical toys when I phone him. He's apparently been doing a lot of this, as he's set to clear out his closet and release a mountain of goodies in the next few months.

After his debut album, Infiniheart, in which he used a variety of homemade instruments, VanGaalen's focus has gradually shifted to circuit bent drum machines and other electronic tools. Now, he's just finished an all-instrumental electronic album called Black Mold.

While VanGaalen hopes to release Black Mold in April, he admits "everything is way slower than it seems. In my mind, it was going to be done last year."

Besides Black Mold, fans can look forward to an hour-long DVD compilation of VanGaalen's famously bizarre animated music videos, including some new videos for Black Mold songs.

As if the new album and DVD weren't enough work, VanGaalen is also preparing something in the neighbourhood of 70 unreleased B-side tracks that he'll make available as a free download. The bonus songs should be available around May.

No wonder this guy rarely leaves his basement.

Chad VanGaalen has the following upcoming shows:

March 11 Peterborough, ON @ The Montreal House w/Gentleman Reg
March 12 Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern (CMW)
March 28 Los Angeles, CA @ Spaceland w/Women
March 29 San Diego, CA @ Cashbah w/Herman Dune and Women
March 30 Visalia, CA @ The Cellar Door w/Women
March 31 San Francisco, CA @ Bottom Of The Hill w/Women
April 2 Portland, OR @ Holocene w/Women
April 3 Seattle, WA @ Chop Suey w/Women
April 4 Victoria, BC @ Sugar Nightclub w/Women
May 28 Berlin, Germany @ Magnet Club
May 30 Barcelona, Spain @ Primavera Sound Festival
May 31 St. Brieuc, Belgium @ Art Rock Festival
June 2 Paris, France @ Cafe De La Danse
June 3 Bordeaux, France @ Le Krakatou
June 4 Nantes, France @ L'Olympic
June 5 Cherbourg, France @ La Terra Trema
June 9 Fribourg, France @ Fri-Son
June 10 Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Paradiso
June 11 London, England @ Institute Of Contemporary Arts
Aug. 14 Salmon Arm, BC @ Salmon Arm Roots And Blues Festival