St. Albert man's avalanche death hits local music community hard
Chisholm enjoyed fishing, hunting, camping and playing games with his children and wife, as well as music
Todd Chisholm would laugh while he drummed.
His bandmates said everyone came to Exit 303 shows to see what they described as "the eighteenth wonder of the world."
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"Todd was the anchor," said Chisholm's bandmate Dean Park, "He was the guy that everyone came to watch because he was just so full of energy.
"We fed off him hugely, I don't know how many times I would just have to turn around just to keep him in check because he was just crazy."
Chisholm, 47, was one of the five people killed in the McBride avalanche on Friday. He was the father of four children and a loving husband to his wife of 18 years, his bandmates said.
His family released a statement saying Chisholm enjoyed fishing, hunting, camping and playing games with his children and wife, as well as music.
"He died too young doing what he enjoyed with his sledding buddies," the statement read.
The St. Albert resident was the drummer of long-time Edmonton band Exit 303. The group has played together for 16 years completing two albums and numerous western Canadian tours. They were just in the middle of their third album; it was their first record since 2003.
Todd was a musician, he was our buddy, but he was so much more than that.-Cameron Ambrose
They played more than 300 shows together, and Chisholm was the centre of attention for almost all of them said bandmate Cameron Ambrose.
"Todd was a musician, he was our buddy, but he was so much more than that. He was a family guy, he was just a good friend to everybody. People just liked being around Todd.
"His kids were everything to him."
Chisholm's death rippled further into the music industry than Exit 303. He used to play in a band with well-known country singer George Canyon.
Canyon posted a statement on his Facebook page on Saturday night saying Chisholm "was not only a big part of my career when I first went into the music business but was a dear friend and like a brother all those years ago."
The band played their last show in November at The Drake in Canmore.
Ambrose and Park say the venue was packed and the audience was singing along to both old and new tunes.
Chisholm even took a turn at singing when the band took a stab at Bon Jovi's Living on a Prayer.
"On the Saturday night we had a full crowd, the place was absolutely packed," Ambrose said.
"And we had people just belting out at the top of their lungs for a lot of songs. It was just a really fantastic show. After 16 years, I would put it in the top five that we've played.
"I'm really glad we had that."
And while Exit 303 may see the stage again Ambrose and Park are adamant they will never see another drummer quite like Chisholm.
"Todd's irreplaceable for as far as I'm concerned," said Ambrose.