Chicago avant-pop outfit Chin Up Chin Up originated in autumn 2001 when Jeremy Bolen, previously the singer and guitarist for Punjab, joined forces with Nathan Snydacker, formerly of Nymb in the same dual role. The initial roster reached completion with bassist Chris Saathoff and drummer Chris Dye, after which the quartet devoted eight months to composing original material and refining its layered, winding style prior to any public performance. In May 2002 the group tracked a six-song self-titled EP that appeared on its independently operated Record Label imprint at the start of the following year. By early 2004 the musicians had finished a four-song demo, an achievement they marked on February 13 by joining the Ponys for that Windy City band’s record-release concert at the Empty Bottle; roughly an hour past midnight Saathoff, leaving the venue with his girlfriend, was hit by a hit-and-run driver whose vehicle dragged the bassist nearly two blocks. Declared dead at the location, Saathoff prompted his parents to create the Christopher Saathoff Foundation, which enlisted the remaining Chin Up Chin Up members for two benefit performances featuring Quinn Goodwillie of Mt. St. Helens on bass. The warmly received shows convinced the band to carry on, leading its demo to numerous labels until Flameshovel, a local imprint, offered a deal. While tracking the subsequent album the engineers extracted Saathoff’s bass parts from the earlier demo and built fresh arrangements around them, yielding the LP We Should Have Never Lived Like We Were Skyscrapers in autumn 2004, at which point Appleseed Cast bassist Marc Young became Saathoff’s permanent successor.
