Bleeding art: Steve van Gelder is Joe Fool

Steve van Gelder is more than just a double for newsworthy comedian and Howard Stern Show favorite Robert Schimmel.

Separated at birth: Steve van Gelder (l) and Bob Schimmel

In fact, he’s a versatile and accomplished talent who’s achieved notice as a tasteful Canuck rocker, prize-winning painter and self-hating corporate graphic artist.

Now, Steve is following the lead of other indie musicians who have given up on making money with their art by dumping his entire catalog on the Web via his new site, joefool.com.

A history in music

Steve’s oeuvre includes six albums, ranging from 1992’s Road Rash (recorded in Steve’s native Toronto) to the 2008 Dallas solo production Long Hot Winter.

In between, Steve released three Joe Fool albums, Early Rains (1996), Garden (2000) and Guesthouse (2001) and teamed with Dallas pals Brandon Higgins (of Kicked In The Nuts fame) and Charlie Begue as the Karolinas for Big Record (2004).

Steve’s perhaps most notable, however, for his oversized acrylic on wood art work Love Hurts, featuring my own stylized portrait, adorned with an audaciously bleeding heart.

Sample a few SVG tracks here. Then visit joefool.com for a whole lot more.

Long Hot Winter  (2:38)

Never Blue  (3:47)

Velvet  (4:52)

Train Song  (3:44)

Posted in: Profiles at 11:29 pm Tue, May 26, 2009.