Flavour of the Week: Chevelle

I’ve been chewing on an idea to add a regular band / artist feature to the blog. Now, if you have been following this blog from the start, you may remember the 4 piece feature I did on Slipknot in January / February of this year. The idea is to condense that into a shorter, more pertinent post, featuring an artist of my choosing. This will be my first such post, and I will call it... “Flavour of the Week”

I must disclose in advance that I only recently discovered Chevelle. I knew one or two of their singles, but for some reason, never had the time or inclination to thoroughly get to know them. This was a mistake, because since having listened to their repertoire, they are now placed firmly amongst my own personal Top 5 favourites.

Chevelle founding members Joe, Pete and Sam Loeffler

Formed in 1995 and hailing from Chicago, Chevelle is a hard-rock / alternative metal trio - interestingly the 3 members are all related - a “band of brothers” if you will. Currently, the band consists of Pete Loeffler on Guitar and Lead Vocals, Sam Loeffler on Drums and Dean Bernadini on Bass and Backing Vocals. Even more interestingly is that they dismissed founding member and youngest brother - Joe - in 2005, under seemingly tense circumstances:

Joe Loeffler - 2004

“This is exactly what I expected from them. Try and make it look like I didn't want to be in the band. I was fired plain and simple, in fact there wasn't even a discussion about it they just dropped it on me. I made no decision and am not taking a break. I will be working on getting a new job immediately. A break also means there's a chance to come back, and nothing could be farther from reality" -is what Joe told Ultimate Guitar Archive shortly after his departure was made public.
[Sounds pretty harsh to me – Wonder what Christmas is like at the Loeffler house?] Dean Bernadini, the Loeffler’s brother-in-law, replaced Joe without missing a single step, and featured on the 2007, Vena Sera album.

Pete Loeffler

Chevelle has a truly distinctive sound, and securely fits the hard-rock genre. They have often been compared to the melodic / gruff sound of Maynard James Keenan’s, experimental band, Tool. [A comparison that is not to be sniffed at]. Although there is undeniable similarity between the two, Chevelle stands out as a result of their harmonious contradiction. Pete Loeffler creates a beautifully paradoxical balance of harmonic melody and heartfelt anguish with his sometimes-on, sometimes-off vocal growling. His guitar reflects his vocal styling with playing that ranges from melodic and quite mellow, to the off the hook, mosh-inciting, groove-riffage that would make the likes of Tony Iommi or James Hetfield proud.





Sam, on the drums, produces intricate drum beats that speak to both, my musical, and primitive-caveman sides. [all the while doing double-takes on the time signature]. Add the chest pounding bass sounds being emitted from the only non-Loeffler in the group, Chevelle comes up with a chocolate covered rock offering that I find impossible to withstand!

Locnville

Signed to Epic Records, Chevelle shares the stable with reputed names such as AC/DC, Black Sabbath & Ozzy Osbourne, Korn, Lamb of God, Motörhead, Mudvayne, Pearl Jam, Rage against the Machine, Joe Satriani, Sepultura and even Cape Town based hop duo Locnville.

Disturbed's music festival - Music As A Weapon

It also seems to me that they are quite the force when it comes to live shows and touring. Chevelle co-headlined at the 2003 Ozzfest alongside Ozzy himself, Korn, Marilyn Manson and Disturbed. They also toured Europe alongside Audioslave for the European leg of the tour, and later that same year appeared at Music as a Weapon with Disturbed. The band went on tour in 2005 in support of the This Type of Thinking (Could Do Us In) album, and included opening acts from Taproot and 30 Seconds to Mars. In 2006 they toured in support of Nickelback on a massive US stadium tour. In support of the 2007 Vena Sera disk, they toured with Evanescence and Finger Eleven, and later in that same year embarked on a headlining tour with support from Finger Eleven and Strata. They also went on tour in support of their 2009 release, Sci-Fi Crimes and in 2011 Chevelle released a DVD entitled, Any Last Words as celebration of their 10 year career.


Oppikoppi 2011 - Unknown Brother

 Now, they were confirmed for this year’s local open-air music festival, Oppikoppi, but ‘postponed’ soon after, sighting being “... stuck in studio...” as reason - a massive disappointment. This means the only real reason to visit Oppikoppi this year is to see, garage punk-rock quartet, Sum 41 – URGH!!! Needless to say, I will not be attending ‘Koppie’ this year. I also won’t be holding my breath to see Chevelle live in this country. We have a bad record of not getting to see bands that ‘postpone’ their performances here. If you take your mind back, big names such as Guns 'n Roses and Bullet for my Valentine disappointed local fans by pulling out at the last second, never again to return to our shores!



Wonder What's Next - Certifield Platinum in the US



Every band has a distinctive album, and Chevelle is no exception. For me, their quintessential album is the 2002 release, Wonder What’s Next. If you’re looking for a quick fix of what Chevelle has to offer, this album should be the one to gauge your interest with. Some Chevelle songs worth mentioning; Antisaint, The Red, Comfortable Liar, Closure, Send the Pain Below, and the latest single from the 2009 Sci-Fi Crimes album, Jars.




I wish I could give you some advice on when to listen to them, but I can’t... For me Chevelle is a little bit of self indulgence, and I’ll gladly listen to them under any circumstances. Perhaps fair warning is in order: It’s not the kind of music to play at a braai with your grandparents, it also won’t fit in at a bachelors’ in Bloemfontein. Chevelle is for the rock connoisseur, it’s clever music dealing with real issues – nothing bubblegum about it!

Take the time to have a listen; I’ll take full responsibility...

[As mentioned earlier, Chevelle is currently in studio recording their 6th full length album. No title or artwork has been released yet BUT, I did manage to find this...]

The actual song list for the new album