By Kelley Simms
CHEVELLE IS BACK
Chevelle
L
ocal homegrown melodic hard rockers
Chevelle was formed in 1995 in
Grayslake
by
siblings
Pete
(vocals/guitar), Sam (drums) and Joe
Loeffler (bass/backing vocals). Inspired by
their desire to write, create and play their
own original material, the brothers recorded
a demo, played numerous gigs throughout
the area and recorded its breakthrough
debut album, Point #1 in a very productive
four-year period. In 2005, Dean Bernardini
replaced Joe, who became estranged from his
brothers, and haven’t had much contact
since.
The band is currently finishing up its
highly anticipated new album, and follow-
up to its (2016) eighth studio album The
North Corridor, with producer Joe Barresi
(Tool), which has a tentative 2020 release
date. Currently on tour with headliners
Breaking Benjamin, along with Three Days
Grace, Dorothy and Diamante, Chevelle will
criss-cross the US, making a stop at the
Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in Tinley
park on Wednesday, Sept 4.
Mosh: How has the current tour been going
so far?
Sam Loeffler: We've actually been having
great shows. We had a great show in
Cleveland the other day and it was probably
one of our best shows on the tour so far. It
was just such a great interaction, and you
can't plan on that every day. You don't
always know if it's going to connect. And so
when it connects in a level that's at that level,
it's really inspiring.
34 illinoisentertainer.com september 2019
Mosh: While on the road, do you get much
of a chance to explore the cities you’re play-
ing in??
Sam Loeffler: On show days, not really so
much. But on off-days, I feel like we can be
adventurous. I’m going to go to an aeronau-
tical museum today that I found that's only
eight miles away. Obviously, we don't have a
vehicle with us, the bus gets us to the hotel
and just parks. So we have to use Uber or
whatever. So as long as I can deal with a
“professional driver,” then we try to get out
and do as much as we can. But we've been
across the country 200 times, so it is difficult
to… It’s funny, it's like a truck driver who’s
been across the country 200 times and never
saw anything. Our team sometimes will give
us a day or two before and we’ll pick and
choose, which is kind of cool. But the thing
is, on your day off, there's so much stress on
show days. I know every job is stressful,
that’s just a reality. But there's so much stress
on show days, on days off, I just try to do a
workout, run, have a decent dinner, a clean
bathroom. That stuff just kind of sometimes
takes precedence over everything else.
Mosh: What’s your setlist for this tour
focused on and does it change every night?
Sam Loeffler: Right now, we're only doing 11
songs a night because it’s a five-band bill. So,
we kind of try to put some old stuff in, two
or three new ones. And half of it is split
between the other eight records. It’s difficult
to write a setlist, that's for sure.
Mosh: You’ll be playing in Tinley Park on
Sept. 4. What’s a “hometown” show like
and what are your expectations?
Sam Loeffler: There isn't additional stress. It's
kind of the same for every show because you
have certain expectations. But I think it's fun
to play at home. Chicago’s an interesting
place because it's the only place we know as
home. Chicagoans don’t take ownership
lightly of bands or music or of anybody
doing anything. You really have to earn it,
which is good. You have to earn a cat’s love.
Ha! Music and playing live has always been
about allowing people to leave whatever it is
that's bothering them at home. Leave it
behind and just go and take a small retreat
from that and sing along and enjoy yourself
for a little bit. Give yourself a little bit of a
break. That's why we don't talk about poli-
tics or religion on the stage or in interviews
or any of that stuff because that's not for us.
We want you to not have to worry about that
stuff just for a little bit. I think that's okay to
have a little bit of a break from real life and
just enjoy yourself.
Mosh: Dean has been in the band for 13
years, but is there still bad blood between
your other brother Joe? What’s the current
relationship?
Sam Loeffler: We don't have one. We never
really had one to begin with, so it's not really
missed. Our relationship with Dean is great.
He’s our family. We've been through the last
almost 14 years of stuff together and
watched him and his family grow together
and dealt with all things you do with family
and it's been fantastic to have him. So, I think
that we’ll have him until he feels like he
needs to move on to his next chapter. And I
hope it's a long time away.
Mosh: How did the Lollapalooza show last
month in Grant Park go?
Sam Loeffler: That was really rad. Being a
part of Lollapalooza is a pretty fun thing.
There's so many types of bands there and
people make you feel like you're part of
something special. Lollapalooza’s obviously
largely pop music. I don't know what else to
call that music, but a lot of stuff that's very,
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