Chin Up Chin Up Bassist's Killer Convicted

In February 2004, shortly after Chin Up Chin Up had finished mixing demos for their debut full length, We Should Have Never Lived Like We Were Skyscrapers, the group attended a show at the Empty Bottle in Chicago. Around 1:00 a.m. on Valentine's Day morning, bassist Chris Saathoff and his girlfriend left the venue and headed across a nearby intersection. An SUV sped toward the couple and Saathoff pushed his girlfriend to safety, the vehicle striking and dragging him for nearly two blocks. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver never stopped.

Pitchfork spoke to Chin Up Chin Up's vocalist/guitarist, Jeremy Bolen, following Giraldo's sentence. Though Bolen was not able to make it to trial on Tuesday (he missed it by five minutes because of parking difficulties), the rest of the band attended to hear the verdict. When asked about his feelings on the trial's conclusion, Bolen said, "We never really thought that justice is being served the way it should be, but he got seven years. At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter; it's not going to make anything change. It just seems to me like that's not that much time for what he did. From what I understand, in lots of different states besides this one he would have been charged with first-degree murder, but not in Illinois...he only got charged with aggravated DUI and that was it.

"It doesn't really make sense. It's good they caught him because a lot of people who do stuff like that don't get caught, but when you hear what happened and that they found him and he blew like .135 alcohol level...the whole car was filled with empty bottles of liquor...he crashed into like four cars before he hit Chris. All this stuff-- it seems like you'd be able to put someone away for a really long time. It wasn't really a case of him simply drinking and driving casually. He was with a group of people driving around, speeding around drunk. It was different than the average person who has a few drinks and gets behind the wheel."

However, the trial's end did bring a sort of closure for Bolen and the band as well. "There've been so many parts of closure in the whole thing. You know, his funeral was part of that, and finishing our record was part of that, and this was kind of the final step-- not that it makes it go away or we're going to forget about Chris."

Chin Up Chin Up continues to head forward with as much optimism as possible, and is currently in the process of writing a new album, though they still lack a steady bassist. They hope to record in April or May 2006, and release their sophomore album the following September. For now, after a year of heavy touring, they are taking a break from the road and currently have only these four shows scheduled:

09-17 New York, NY - Mercury Lounge*
10-01 Champaign, IL - Cowboy Monkey#
10-20 Chicago, IL - Schuba's$
10-22 Minneapolis, MN - Varsity Theater$

* with Dirty on Purpose
# with the Appleseed Cast
$ with American Analog Set

A statement received from Chin Up Chin Up's publicist, David Lewis, and released by Chris Saathoff's parents, closed with words that friends, family, and even strangers can relate to in some way:

"In regards to sentencing or punishment of the person that took Chris's life, we feel there is no adequate punishment. This careless and reckless act destroyed a beautiful, young life. The defendant chose to turn his vehicle into a weapon by drinking and driving when he should not. This crime should be punished to the maximum and punished in the same manner as any crime where one person takes the life of another. We would expect remorse for the actions from the defendant, but don't truly anticipate there will be any. We would expect that our judicial systems will start recognizing that driving under the influence and killing someone is as severe as taking someone's life in any other manner and should be punished accordingly.

"Christopher Saathoff is and always will be loved by his family and friends. We miss him and cherish our memories of him. Nothing the court can do will bring him back."

href="http://pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/c/chin-up-chin-up/chin-up-chin-up.shtml">Chin Up Chin Up: Chin Up Chin Up EP
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