We Miss You, Chris
In the early morning hours of February 14, 2004 (Valentine's Day), our friend and fellow bandmate, Chris Saathoff, was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver as he was leaving the Empty Bottle in Chicago. On the night of his death, we had been in the studio putting together rough mixes of the songs "The Architect Has A Gun", "Skyscrapers", "Get Me Off this Fucking Island", and "Falcons and Vulcans" that had been recorded at Key Club by Jeremy Lemos back in January. These songs contain our last memories of Chris and his talent not only as a musician but as a caring and wonderful person.
After much deliberation over what should be done for the rest of the album including whether or not we should even finish it, it was decided that we would complete the remaining songs by pulling bass lines written by Chris from 4-track recordings of old practices. We enlisted producer / engineer, John Congleton, to come to Chicago and record and mix the remaining songs at Electrical and Soma studios. Though Chris was not with us to finish this album, his talent, creativity, and spirit were. This album is dedicated in loving memory to this amazing person who we feel honored to have called our friend. We miss you, Chris.