Chevelle: Heavy traffic

Chevelle's pounding metal thrives on the road

By Brock Radke

There comes a time when every burgeoning band, in an attempt to connect with new fans or expose its music to a different audience, finds itself playing a concert with artists that don't quite make sense together.

"I think our strangest show was one where we were playing with Ghostface and Warren G," says Sam Loeffler, drummer for moody metal outfit Chevelle. "And Pink was on there, too. It was a show for some TV station. This was back when Pink was taking off."

Hip-hop and pop may not mesh with Chevelle's sounds, but Loeffler and his two brothers, singer/guitarist Pete and bassist Joe, have no complaints. They've found plenty of exposure playing alongside many different bands. After playing the main stage of last year's Ozzfest tour, the trio spent a few months in Europe with the Rage Against the Machine/Soundgarden supergroup Audioslave.

"We have played some weird ones, and I wonder if it's a sign of us being watered down that makes people think it's okay to play with anyone," Loeffler says. "We've got our label telling us we're one of the heaviest bands on the radio, so I hope it's not that. I hope it's just a sound that a lot of people like."

Chevelle's sound is built around distorted, pounding guitars and angst-ridden, tension-building vocals. Rather than ride the still radio-friendly tide of nu-metal, the Loeffler boys seem to take their cues from early `90s heavy rock stalwarts Tool and Helmet, the latter joining Chevelle on the annual SnoCore Tour as it rolls through Las Vegas.

"Helmet was definitely an influence, just those great, heavy riffs," Loeffler says. "We actually got to hang out with Page Hamilton and those guys a while back and talk about music, and he's a cool guy. You know, in the `80s you had the Motley Crue, Poison version of metal, and then in the `90s Helmet came along and just blew that away."

Nothing has been a bigger influence on the band than the road. As the group's breakthrough was occurring behind 2003 disc Wonder What's Next--which featured two modern rock chart hits in "The Red" and "Send the Pain Below"--Chevelle was in the midst of an endless, 400-show tour that finally wound up early last year. The experience tightened the band up and made it easier to get over obstacles when it was time to record a follow-up album, last year's This Type of Thinking (Could Do Us In).

"We do feel a little more established and confident. We're a pretty young band and we've played close to 1,000 shows already, so we feel like we can do our thing no matter the circumstances," Loeffler says. "Writing the new songs wasn't that different, once you get past the mental block of having some major label success and wondering if you can do it again. Our first day in the studio, Pete and I just kind of looked at each other because we'd been on the road so long, we'd forgotten how to write. It was a little intimidating, but when we couldn't work we'd just take the day off, and we ended up doing things the way we always have."

Sticking to the game plan worked, as the new album is gold and two more singles--"Vitamin R" and "The Clincher"--have done damage on the radio, even as metal gives way to the indie rock uprising.

"It's a little discouraging to see things (changing), but you have to have some perspective," Loeffler says. "We did a radio show a few months back, and Franz Ferdinand was on the bill, and they got booed. So I think it's just a matter of people trying to tell you what to like.

"There is always going to be an audience for heavy music, no matter what the hot trend is today. If you spend all your time worrying about when it's going to be the cool thing again, then this wouldn't be as much fun."