Acrpost: A Project of the Pacific Association of Artist Run Centres

Event Description

on sale 8/24 @ 10am

How do you describe a year in which your band sold more than a million copies of its major label debut, scored three chart-topping singles, performed on The Late Show with David Letterman, played the Ozzfest main stage, garnered critical acclaim, racked up radio and MTV airplay and toured Europe with one of its favorite groups (Audioslave)? "I call that a pretty damned good year," says drummer Sam Loeffler, whose band Chevelle went super-nova in 2003 with Wonder What's Next.



For a band that had been playing dive bars not that long ago, it was definitely a surreal moment. Fueled by "The Red" and follow-up blockbusters "Send The Pain Below" and "Closure," Chevelle toured endlessly, consistently whipping packed-house crowds into a frenzy with a set that was raw, sweaty and absolutely electrifying. When all was said and done, Sam and his brothers Pete (vocals/guitar) and Joe (bass) had played a staggering 400 shows, including dates with the Foo Fighters and a sold-out headlining jaunt of their own. On December 17th, 2003, they played the final show of a grueling tour at the House of Blues in their hometown of Chicago. They took a two-week break, and then entered their home studio to begin penning a new record. Seven months later, however, few were surprised when their highly anticipated new album, This Type of Thinking (Could Do Us In), debuted on Billboard's Top 200 at No. 8 and quickly went gold. Chevelle had picked up where they left off, with lead single "Vitamin R (Leading Us)" blazing to the top of the rock charts while its eye-popping video blanketed MTV, MTV2 and Fuse.



In spring of 2007, Chevelle released Vena Sera, Chevelle's catchiest, heaviest, most dynamic and most expressive album to date. Filled with an array of sonic styles and tempos, colored by personal, passionate lyrics, the songs are both a declaration of contempt for the mainstream and a celebration of a counterculture driven by crashing beats and blasting power chords. The first single "Well Enough Alone" starts with chugging guitars and a prolonged howl, and segues into a bipolar blend of angst and euphoria. "I Get It" features jangly guitars and a pulsing dance beat that contrasts with bracing guitars and haunting vocals. Then there are the stormers: "Antisaint" features an abrasive riff and swerves jaggedly between foggy-headed confusion and blunt condemnation. And "Wandered" rides a surging wave from mid-paced ambivalence to pulse-racing conviction. Also contributing the influx of new energy was bassist Dean Bernardini, who joined the band in August 2005, replacing original member Joe Loeffler, who left in July 2005. Originally a drummer, Bernardini - who happens to be the Loeffler's brother-in-law -- has played bass for the past decade.