Early in the band’s career, Chicago’s Chevelle had some label trouble. Brothers Pete, Sam and Joe Loeffler were originally signed under an imprint of Word Records, a Christian label. Their first album, “Point #1” was filed in record stores under Christian sections, an unlikely place for hard rock.
Yet the brothers stuck to their hard-rock instincts and went on to sign with Epic Records, become a platinum-selling act, tour with Disturbed and Helmet, and play the main stage at Ozzfest.
They’re now making a hometown stop Saturday at the Congress Theater as the headliners of the Winterfresh SnoCore tour presented by MTV2.
Sam Loeffler spoke with RedEye about Chevelle’s new album, “This Type of Thinking (Could Do Us In),” a song about “American Idol” and kicking record producers out of the studio.
What are some differences on this record compared to those in the past?
The main difference was we wanted to write a record that would be a head-bobbing record. We have syncopated double bass drum rhythms on this record where the kick drums follow the guitar. Pete wanted to write less about himself and more about outside situations. “Breach Birth” is about people wanting fame rather than being good at something. It’s about “American Idol” actually. We also had the idea of incorporating the feel of the first take with the sound of a well-produced record.
It seems you’ve gotten that balance of making music that appeals to radio but is still your own.
A big part of it is that we write everything ourselves and never let anyone else write anything. When we were in the studio and had to change something, we would make the producers leave while we did that. We just don’t want that input. If we’re not writing the music, it’s like, what’s the point? That’s what we love to do.
Has a producer had positive input?
Elvis [Michael Baskette] is a great engineer. He has an amazing feel for tone. He also has a really great ear … like if there’s a song with four parts, he can tell you if one part isn’t as interesting as the others and will suggest something else. It’s a great thing because you have an outside perspective.
Even with success, have there been low points on the way?
Well, the lowest point of our career was after we made “Point #1.” We got into a legal battle with our record company. Basically, that company didn’t exist anymore after we made the record, and the parent company didn’t want to let us go. Pete and myself went back to work doing construction. Driving home one day, I said to Pete, “You know, I think we’re done. We’re never going to get out of this contract.” But, we have great management and great lawyers, and they took over and got us out of it.
Hopes for the future?
Ideally, we would like to continue being a career band. We love to play shows, and we love to write music. We have our own little studio now. I think our goal is to be completely independent of everything, which we have now. We can write whatever we want. If we are asked to write a song for a movie, we can do that. As far as long-term goals, I want to be a career musician. Hopefully I’m on the right road to that. We’ll see.–benjamin feldheim is a redeye special contributor.
Chevelle
When: 6 p.m. Saturday
Where: Congress Theater, 2135 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Tickets: $21
———-
Edited by Cara DiPasquale (cdipasquale@tribune.com) and Kris Karnopp (kkarnopp@tribune.com)
