Chicago-based quartet Chin Up Chin Up have a popular following in Ithaca. They opened for The Walkmen exactly two years ago, and will return to the Cornell campus this weekend to headline their own show. Chin Up Chin Up play melodic, complex pop, but they are deeply rooted in the classic Chicago avant rock scene of the early and mid 90s.
Shortly after forming in 2001, CUCU released a self-titled EP (2002, Record Label) that met with positive reviews. But tragedy struck the band before they could release their first full-length. Shortly after finishing a four-song demo, on Valentine’s Day bassist Chris Saathoff was killed in a hit and run accident shortly after a show at local Chicago venue The Empty Bottle. After leaving the club with his girlfriend, Saathoff was hit by a car with a drunk driver behind the wheel. His body was dragged for two blocks, and Saathoff was pronounced dead at the scene. In the wake of the tragedy, Chin Up Chin Up and their families established the Christopher Saathoff foundation.
Later that year, CUCU released their first full-length, “We Never Should Have Lived Like We Were Skyscrapers” (Flameshovel Records). The record created a flurry of promise and expectation for the young band, but the sadness of Saathoff’s death was raw and palpable. The record is deeply ambitious, with shimmering hi-hats, lead singer Jeremy Bolen’s trademark gauzy vocals, and complex, math-rock influenced guitars. They kept as many of Saathoff’s bass parts as they could. Last October, CUCU released their sophomore album, “This Harness Can’t Ride Anything,” on Seattle label Suicide Squeeze. The record shows them taking even greater strides towards achieving their melodic pop sound.
Popcorn Youth recently spoke with lead singer and guitarist Jeremy Bolen on — of all days — Valentine’s Day.
Popcorn Youth: Thanks for talking with me. Today must be hard.
Jeremy Bolen: Yes, it’s definitely a weird day for sure, I think for all of us in the band.
PY: Your band played a memorable show at Cornell a few years ago. What is it like playing college shows?
JB: Some of them are really awful, but some of them are pretty amazing. In general, the Ithaca show was really good. And it depends on the student body, too. Sometimes it’s just a few kids that bring in a bunch of bands, and then they’ll be the only ones that come to the shows. And then other colleges have more of a overall scene going on and more people coming, and that’s super fun.
PY: Are there any venues you prefer to play?
JB: I think it depends on the audience. As far as venues go, they really can all blend into the same thing, at least for me. It is what it is - it’s just about making the most of what you have. We’re not very picky about where we play, necessarily.
PY: What are some of your favorite aspects of playing live?
JB: There’s definitely a much looser experience. I think it’s a lot less stressful of an experience, in certain ways. It’s definitely more fun. It’s interactive with the audience, and getting people involved with what you’re doing is a really great experience. The songs can change, there can be a little bit of improvisation here and there, and that’s always really fun.
PY: Are you from Chicago originally?
JB: I’ve lived here for about 10 years, and when I was younger I was in the suburbs for a while too. I don’t think anyone in our band is actually from Chicago, everyone is a transplant at one time or another.
PY: So was it the music scene that made you gravitate towards Chicago?
JB: Yes, I think it’s kind of why everyone comes here actually. At least it’s a big part of it. I think people in our age [group] grow up looking at Chicago, at all the great stuff that was happening. There was such an amazing vibe and scene.
PY: Today, do you find that Chicago is very supportive of a regional underground scene?
JB: Yes. I feel like right now there are more great bands here then there’s ever been. It’s not specifically a “genre” of anything — there’s just a lot of really, really amazing different bands happening right now, like Russian Circles and Make Believe. There’s all sorts of new things happening all the time, and it’s awesome.
PY: What were the specific bands that influenced you at a young age?
JB: Ten years ago, around the early-to-mid 90s, I was really into Seam, a great band on Touch and Go. I was really into June of 44, and they moved here at some point. I was really, really into Archers of Loaf, Pavement and Dinosaur Jr.
PY: And that has also influenced your approach towards playing the guitar?
JB: Oh yeah, definitely. Archers of Loaf were a huge influence in probably every way musically, for me. And that age, too, was a really impressionable age. It really sticks with you more than when you’re older.
PY: Are there other singers that have inspired your own approach to Chin Up Chin Up?
JB: Mostly Seam and Dinosaur Jr. were early influences as well as Bob Dylan. I’ve always liked unique voices that weren’t necessarily “good,” but sounded great and unique in their own way. And lyrically, they could make up for whatever they didn’t have in the “talent” department.
PY: How important are lyrics? Do you think about constructing narratives when you write songs?
JB: I really like writing lyrics, and there’s definitely a lot of thought that gets put into writing all of them, like constructing a narrative in different ways.
PY: Have you felt that being from the Midwest has affected that way that you approached creating music?
JB: I think it does in a certain way. People ask that a fair amount, and I’ve never been able to put my finger on what exactly it is or why. But I do often wonder, because I grew up all over the place when I was younger. For a short time, I was living in southern California when I was really young, out in Orange County. But I often wonder what would have become of me musically had I ended up in California. There are some really great bands that come from southern California, but for the most part, there’s a lot of bad pop-punk that comes out of there. And I think wherever you are definitely affects your thought patterns — what you’re thinking about, what you’re writing about. I think where you are definitely has an effect on how you express yourself creatively. Being in a cold place, whether it’s in Chicago or not, that kind of had an effect on us too. You have a lot more time on your hands to spend indoors than you have in a lot of other places. And it seems like a lot of these Midwest bands just start by having all these immense amounts of time because you really don’t want to go outside. (Laughs)
PY: Yes, it seems as though there’s a hardworking ethic that is special to some Midwestern bands, a real sense of musicianship.
JB: Right, totally. That was definitely important to me. Although I think I try to make that less important in my mind sometimes (laughs), because I think there is a lot to be said for people who can’t really play their instruments but still make really amazing music, too. But there are definitely players here that can really play their instruments very well.
PY: Is there a strong aspect of collaboration within Chicago musicians? What is CUCU up to?
JB: Yeah, I think there is. We and one of the guys from Make Believe started playing together and starting something. But I think overall, we’re so busy being in our one band right now that it’s really hard to do more than one project.
PY: Your bassist Marc Young was in Lawrence band Appleseed Cast. How did you meet him?
JB: I used to be a booking agent, and I booked Appleseed Cast’s tours, and that is how I became friends with them. We would tour with them, and when Chris died, we wanted to find someone who was friends with Chris and friends with us, and he was the only guy that made sense. So we had him join the band, and it was great in every single way, but then he got busy with Appleseed again. We didn’t want to put the strain on him of having the two bands to choose from and having to make those kind of decisions, so we relieved him of duty. But I’m sure he’ll make an appearance at some point again.
PY: A lot of critics like to use the words ‘post-rock’ and math rock with you guys, yet it’s hard to tell if those labels are accurate. Does that frustrate you?
JB: (Laughs) Yes. I used to read reviews and press, and I just don’t anymore. Not that I don’t like it; if it’s a really big [story], I’ll try to look at it, but I just find it to be … well, as far as reviews and stuff go, I just found it kind of unimportant. “Distracting,” I guess, would be a better word. At a certain point, you don’t feel like reading about your music all the time, you know? (Laughs)
PY: It is somewhat difficult to know what the genre tags even mean anymore. They encapsulate so many disparate bands that it becomes useless at some point.
JB: Yes, exactly. (Laughs) I guess I have a chip on my shoulder about record reviewers who don’t really know how to write properly. (Laughs) I like really well written kinds of things, and when they’re not really well written it’s really annoying.
PY: You have a popular MySpace page. How has MySpace changed the nature of regional scenes and what it means to be underground?
JB: Well, I think it makes it easier to go from nothing to something. I think it’s easier to start a band - you can promote your band, and eventually get to the point when you sign with a label. I think the idea that there’s an underground, well, I don’t think that really exists anymore in that aspect. Anytime you have something with redeeming qualities, I think it gets noticed pretty quickly. There are so many labels and so many people involved.
PY: What were some of your favorite records of 2006?
JB: I like the new Liars record (Drum’s Not Dead) a lot. I thought that was really great. I think the new Menomena record (Friend and Foe) just came out, but I listened to that in 2006. And I really like the movie “Science of Sleep.”
PY: So what are you looking forward to in 2007?
JB: I kind of have my head in a different place. I haven’t been listening to a lot of new music right now. I’ve been listening to a lot of old records, so I haven’t been paying a lot of attention to what’s happening in the future. I feel like I’ve listened to so much new music in the last two years, I really feel like I’m just trying to go back and catch up.