In a revealing conversation on The Garza Podcast, Chevelle's Pete and Sam Loeffler finally lifted the lid on what really happened with their younger brother Joe, who was unceremoniously fired from the band back in 2005 after a decade playing bass.
Talking openly about the breakdown of that brotherly bond, frontman Pete Loeffler reflected on the deep-rooted tension that led to Joe's exit: "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. 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."
Chevelle drummer Sam Loeffler didn't hold back either, describing an environment where even basic feedback became explosive: "He was not open to anything, any bit of criticism, even just development. 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.'"
Pete added that Joe's repeated threats to quit became unsustainable — and eventually, irreversible: "Every other week he was quitting the band. 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."
Sam agreed: "It was never going to work. And who he is today, we don't know. We have no idea."
The brothers confirmed that they haven't spoken to Joe since the split — a full two decades ago: "We should have a cake tonight and celebrate because our lives have been that much better," Pete said.
Garza, noting the size of the Loeffler family (they have seven siblings total), asked if things remained complicated with the rest of the clan. Pete responded, "Other than one. That's not bad, right? Six of us get along out of seven. I don't know anything about it. I don't have anything to say about him or that at all, because we have no ties or interaction, whatever."
Back in July 2005, Chevelle officially confirmed Joe's departure, citing "irreconcilable differences." At the time, the band had initially claimed Joe was simply "taking a break to be home with family" — a statement that quickly unraveled when Joe publicly fired back.
"I was fired, plain and simple; in fact, there wasn't even a discussion about it — they just dropped it on me," Joe said in a post on the band's website."
