for: Chevrolet Chevelle

Chevelle is an American hard rock trio that formed in 1995 in Grayslake, Illinois. The band originally comprised three brothers: Pete (lead vocals/guitar), Sam (drums/percussion), and Joe Loeffler (bass/backing vocals). Joe left the band in 2005 and was replaced by brother-in-law, Dean Bernardini soon after.

Chevelle has sold nearly two million albums in the United States. The band's first full-length, Point #1 album was released on a small record label called Squint Entertainment. Chevelle's second album, Wonder What's Next, was certified Platinum by the RIAA after a debut at #14 on the United States albums chart, Billboard 200. This Type of Thinking (Could Do Us In), the band's third album debuted at #8 and has been certified Gold. Chevelle has since released a fourth album, Vena Sera and the band is currently recording its fifth album. Other releases from Chevelle include a live album and a DVD.

Formation and Point #1 (1995–2001)

Chevelle formed in 1995 in Grayslake, Illinois, when the brothers Pete Loeffler and Sam Loeffler started enjoying music. Pete started playing guitar and singing while Sam began playing drums in their parents' garage. Soon after they began playing instruments, the two brothers asked their friend Matt Scott to play bass. Pete and Sam's youngest brother was interested in the band when he learned how to play bass. The two brothers enjoyed Joe's sound more than Scott's, leading to Scott's departure and replacement by Joe. The name Chevelle came from the band members' passion for fast cars. It was also their father's favorite car, the Chevrolet Chevelle. The band started playing small outdoor concerts and clubs around Chicago, Illinois, with Joe being only 14 years old.

Chevelle recorded a demo known as The Blue album, and played small concerts for the next three years until they were signed on to Steve Taylor's Squint Entertainment. The band recorded for 17 days in Electrical Audio studios, and in 1999, Chevelle released its first full length album, Point #1 which was produced by Steve Albini. Two singles were released from Point #1 with accompanying music videos, "Point #1" and "Mia". The songs received GMA Dove Awards for "Hard Music Song" with "Mia" in 2000 and "Point #1" in 2001." The album received an award for "Hard Music Album" in 2000 by the Dove Awards." Point #1 was well received by The Phantom Tollbooth, a Christian music website, and HM Magazine, yet was criticized for its repetitive song structures by Jesus Freak Hideout, a Christian music website.

Wonder What's Next (2002–2003)

Chevelle toured with bands such as Sevendust, Machine Head, Filter, and Powerman 5000 for four years before Squint Entertainment shut down and the band were signed on to Epic Records in 2002. In 2002 Chevelle released its second studio album Wonder What's Next on Epic Records. The band released the single "The Red", which reached number three on the Mainstream rock charts, and the video was played in regular rotation on MTV. Wonder What's Next soon peaked at number 14 on the United States Billboard 200 album chart. Brian O'Neil of Allmusic stated the album "offers uniqueness not often heard in more commercial fare, no mean feat." Chevelle released two more singles from the album, "Closure", and "Send the Pain Below", the latter of which reached the number one position on both of the mainstream rock and modern rock charts. Wonder What's Next was certified platinum by the RIAA with excess sales of one million copies sold in the United States alone in 2003.