Midwest’s Chevelle to bring hard rock to Cotillion
Hard-hitting rock bands aren’t as pervasive as they were a generation or two ago. But Chevelle can care less about trends.
The Midwest hard rock band is like a solid, well-constructed car. Chevelle, named after the midsize Chevy, is dependable.
Pete Loeffler’s threesome continues to hit audiences in the gut with its visceral, dramatic post-grunge attack. The power trio is out behind its latest album, “La Gargola,” which is cut from the same cloth as its six prior releases.
“‘La Gargola’ is filled with unrelenting, high octane raveups. “That’s what we know how to do,” Loeffler said.
The vocalist-guitarist and his bandmates – drummer Sam Loeffler, who is Pete’s brother, and bassist Dean Bernardini, their brother-in-law – once again teamed up with producer Joe Barresi, who was behind the board for Chevelle’s intense and underheralded 2011 album, “Hats Off to the Bull.”
“I love working with Joe,” Loeffler said. “I think he knows how to get the best out of us. I love what he did with ‘Hats Off.’”
Chevelle, which performs Tuesday at the Cotillion, is hardly a studio creation. The band can cut it live as well. “You have to be able to do it onstage or why bother,” Loeffler said. “And I also like to make a live sounding album. The last thing I ever want to do is be one of those digitally enhanced bands. If we did that, why not just become an industrial band? That’s not us.”
Chevelle is a hard-touring act. “We love playing out,” Loeffler said. “If we didn’t, we wouldn’t be on the road so much. We also love seeing the fans. We’ll see fans before or after our set and we really appreciate them. Some will tell us they’ve seen us again and again, and that’s great that anyone is that committed. Fans can be really fickle in music but fortunately that’s not so with our fans. What we do is kind of a balancing act. I think we’ve stayed true to our roots, which pleases our old fans. But we’re also trying to move forward. I’m all about breaking new ground.”
It’s hard to believe but Chevelle has been around for 20 years. “I never expected that this band would still be doing it today but we’re doing something we’re passionate about,” Loeffler said. “The cool thing is that we’ve been fortunate enough to have a solid fan base and some success.”
Chevelle has sold more than four million albums. “It’s great the way things have worked out,” Loeffler said. “I can’t imagine what else I would do. Luckily, I don’t have to think about that. We’re going to take this as far as we can.”
This story was originally published April 9, 2014 at 10:36 PM with the headline "Midwest’s Chevelle to bring hard rock to Cotillion."