Joe Loeffler

Joe Loeffler
Background information
Birth name	Joseph Loeffler
Born	September 12, 1980 (1980-09-12) Grayslake, Illinois, U.S.
Genres	Alternative metal Hard rock
Occupations	Musician, singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, bass
Years active	1994-present
Labels	Epic
Associated acts	Chevelle

Joseph "Joe" Loeffler (born September 12, 1980) is a bass player/backup singer formerly of of the Chicago hard rock band Chevelle. Joe joined the band in 1995 after it had been formed by his brothers Pete (singer, guitarist) and Sam (drums). He was inspired to play bass after listening to Rush Limbaugh's bass line introducing the show segment. Joe quoted "this is heavy, thats cool...after that I picked up a bass that had been laying [sic] around our parent's house for like six months, actually the guy Vitamin R (Leading Us Along) was written about left his bass he rented and didn't play it for like six months, maybe it was because of ritalin or something".

Equipment

Joe Loeffler uses Ernie Ball Music Man basses and Mesa Boogie or Ampeg Amplifiers and cabinets.

Basses

• 4 String Music Man Stingray (Black), rosewood neck
• 4 String Music Man Stingray (Natural), rosewood neck (Joe's main bass)
• 4 String Music Man Stingray (Natural), maple neck
• 4 String Music Man Stingray (Dark Cherry), rosewood neck
• 5 String Music Man Stingray (Blue), Maple neck (seen in This Type of Thinking (Could Do Us In) bonus video)
• 5 String Music Man Stingray (White)
• 5 String Music Man Stingray (Red) (seen in video for "Vitamin R (Leading Us Along)"
• 5 String Music Man Bongo (Carbon Blue) *1/2 step down tuning
• 5 String Music Man Bongo (Orange Firemist) *Standard tuning

Amplifiers

• Ampeg SVP-Pro Preamp
• Crown K2 Power Amp
• Ampeg SVT
• Ampeg SVT-CL
• Ampeg SVT-HD Skunkworks
• Mesa Boogie Big Block 750
• 2 Mesa Boogie 8x10 Cabinets w/ red grille cloth
• 2 Ampeg SVT-810E Cabinets

Effects

• Tech 21 Bass Driver
• Digitech Bass Driver
• Boss TU-2 Tuner

Chevelle career

In June 2005 Chevelle announced that Loeffler was leaving the band "due to irreconcilable differences". According to Pete and Sam, Joe didn't care too much for the constant pressure that comes with touring. Sam said: "It's not a secret to anyone in the industry or any fans that ever talked to him that he hated traveling. That was the biggest player in our decision. It was kind of a mutual decision, but it kind of wasn't, because he didn't want to do it, but he also didn't want to quit, and we were just kind of like, 'If you don't want to do it, you can't do it, because it's affecting us'." So Pete and Sam felt that it would be for the best if Joe would "take a break to be home with family".

On the other hand, according to Joe, he did not want to leave the band hanging like that. "The only way I'm staying home is if you fire me," he said. So they did. For some reason, it came as a shock to Joe, thinking that they wouldn't actually let him go. He took offense at Pete and Sam's remarks on their website as to why they let him go: "First off, very typical. This is exactly what I expected from them. Try and make it look like I didn't want to be in the band. I was fired, plain and simple; in fact, there wasn't even a discussion about it — they just dropped it on me. I told them I would never quit and they would have to fire me. They were trying to get me to quit and told my managers that I did. I called Sam and said, 'Why are you doing this?' and he said, 'We don't want you to come back.' I said, 'I will not quit.' The next day Pete called for the first time and said, 'Did (our managers) call you and tell you you're out?' I said 'No, were they supposed to?' He eventually said in that short conversation, 'You're fired'."

"I am insulted by the message on the front page of the site (by the way, that's the first change to the site I've seen in at least a year!). It is completely false and out of line. I made no decision and am not taking a break. I will be working on getting a new job immediately. A break also means there's a chance to come back, and nothing could be farther from reality. I was fired and they have not said a word to me since. I would never ask to be back in (why would I want to after this?) and I never did in the past when I quit. 'We'll miss having him on the road with us.'... Right."