Things still aren’t good between the Loeffler brothers – and it doesn’t sound like that’s ever going to change.
When Chevelle started in mid-’90s, it was made up of Pete Loeffler (vocals) and Sam Loeffler (drums), with their brother Joe Loeffler (bass) filling out the trio in 1996. Years of discourse between the musicians led to the latter rocker’s exit from the group in 2005.
In a new interview with The Garza Podcast (transcribed by Blabbermouth), Pete and Sam reflected on the complicated relationship with their brother and former bandmate.
“There’s a certain amount of turmoil and a certain amount of poking you can do at each other. And if you can’t work through those times and become closer, you’re not gonna last,” Pete explained. “And that’s something that’s rare for us, is that we’ve been in it together. And it didn’t work with our other brother. It couldn’t get very far.”
“He was not open to anything, any bit of criticism, even just development,” added Sam. “It was, ‘Hey, man, that’s a little flat. We’ve gotta do that again.’ ‘No, I’m not.’ This doesn’t have to be an argument. Let’s just do it till it’s right. And then the fucking shit hits the fan, and then it’s, like, ‘Oh my God, what’s happening? The world is ending.'”
As Pete and Sam recalled, it wasn’t an instance of a single blowup that ended Joe’s tenure, but rather continuing turmoil that never seemed to reach a resolution.
“Every other week he was quitting the band,” Pete noted. “The fourth time we just said, ‘No, it’s done.’ And those were the big ones. ‘Cause he would complain about starting every tour. It was, like, ‘I don’t wanna fly. I’ll take a train there.’ So it was a battle every time we started a tour. But it was not sustainable. We started out as three brothers, but we couldn’t do it for very long.”
“It was never going to work,” Sam agreed. “And who he is today, we don’t know. We have no idea.”
Pete added that the remaining members of Chevelle haven’t spoken to Joe in 20 years, with Sam confirming they have “no ties or interaction” with their brother.
Joe contributed to the band’s first three albums, including the multi-platinum releases Wonder What’s Next (2002) and This Type of Thinking (Could Do Us In) (2004). Meanwhile, Chevelle’s latest album, Bright As Blasphemy was released in August.