Chevelle is an American alternative metal band that formed in 1995 in the Chicago suburb of Grayslake, Illinois. The band was originally composed of brothers: Pete Loeffler (lead vocals and guitar), Sam Loeffler (drums and percussion) and Joe Loeffler (bass and backing vocals). When Joe left the band in 2005, Geno Lenardo subbed-in as the bassist until he was replaced by Pete and Sam's brother-in-law, Dean Bernardini. Chevelle has sold over four million albums in the United States.
This Type of Thinking (Could Do Us In) and the departure of Joe Loeffler (2004-2006)
This Type of Thinking (Could Do Us In) was recorded in early 2004, and was released in September 2004. The album debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200, and was certified gold by the RIAA six weeks later. Johnny Loftus of Allmusic described the songs on the album as "strong dynamically, but sound predetermined -- they don't separate from the general loud rock malaise." The song "Vitamin R (Leading Us Along)" was released as the first single from the album and reached the No. 1 position on the Mainstream Rock chart. Two other singles were released from the album, the titles of which are "The Clincher" peaking at No. 3 on the Mainstream rock chart, and "Panic Prone" which peaked at No. 26 on the same chart. Before the album's release, Chevelle received attention when "The Clincher" was featured in the video game Madden NFL 2005.  After the release of the album, the youngest of the brothers, Joe Loeffler, was dismissed from Chevelle. Due to different stories from the band members, it is unclear whether he was fired or left the band of his own accord. Pete and Sam stated the following on the band's official website: "After three years of non-stop touring and recording, Joe is taking a break to be home with family. We'll miss having him on the road with us, but as his brothers and bandmates we respect his decision and are looking forward to getting out there and playing for the fans. See you on tour." However, according to Ultimate Guitar Archive, Joe said he was fired.  The band supported This Type of Thinking (Could Do Us In) with a headlining tour that included opening acts such as Taproot and Thirty Seconds to Mars, and continued playing small tours in 2005 with Geno Lenardo from the band Filter. In 2006 Chevelle supported Nickelback for an arena tour across the United States, with a new permanent bassist, the Loeffler brothers' brother-in-law and longtime friend, Dean Bernardini.

Q: Why did Joe leave the band?
A: was dismissed from Chevelle.
Who took his place?
unknown
unknown