Turn it down

Saturday, Sept. 13 The Loft, 414 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing. $12, $10 adv., all ages, 7 p.m.

After a three-month hiatus from live shows, Lights and Caves, a local experimental indie rock band, returns to the stage Saturday. Openers are Signals, Alaska, Last Night Saved My Life and the Class Acts. Lights and Caves is Dillon Gorden (vocals/guitar), Evan Rudman (drums), Stefan Wiseman (bass) and Jason Marr (guitar). This week’s Turn it Down is an interview with Gorden, who gives insight on the band’s past and its upcoming album.

Lights and Caves formed in 2012. How did it start?

The early stages of our band were fairly casual. Evan, Stefan and I would get together to play music a few times a week and write some random (songs). Then we started working on a few tunes that would eventually make it to our debut record. Once we began writing and demoing “Run” and “To the Solipsist,” we decided to start sharing the songs. After that, we put ourselves out into the Lansing scene and played a handful of shows before we approached Jason.

How do the band members’ musical influences mesh?

I think the musical palate of our band is rather diverse, but there are some common themes throughout all of our respective iTunes libraries. We’re all fans of Manchester Orchestra, Kanye West and Bad Suns. However, the musical interests that we don’t share as a band are probably the most important when it comes to the creative process. One of (my) biggest inspirations is just everyday life. The people you meet, places you see and how you interpret all of it can end up turning into a pretty neat song idea.

How is it gigging in Lansing?

We’re all extremely proud to call Lansing our hometown. The art culture around here has improved drastically over the years. I think that’s really exciting. As with a lot of things in Lansing, we have come a long way, but we’re not there yet. The people involved in the scene — the bands and venues, alike — are all talented and good at what they do. But most importantly, the community has been encouraging and receptive to all of it. Without that crucial piece, there wouldn’t be a music scene.

What recordings has the band done so far?

We have one album released, and one on the way. We recorded our debut record, “In Satori,” in Chicago with our good friend Mike Govaere at Downbeat Studio. I think we plan on going back to him with this next effort as well.

What’s the songwriting process for the band?

For “In Satori,” I would write something on my acoustic guitar — a vocal line, chord progression or sometimes an entire song. Then I´d show it to the band and if we all dug the overall vibe, we would continue on with the song. From there, we took things out and added things in, often scrapping entire ideas in the process. We came up with eight songs that we all enjoyed, cut one of them and took the remainder down to Chicago. Some things were written or finalized while recording, but for the most part we went down there to record a finished album.

Was there any teamwork on the upcoming LP?

The guys and I have kind of changed the writing process a bit for the new stuff. Every step of the way has been very collaborative, and that is something we’re all excited about. It takes a bit longer to write this way, but I don’t think there’s a single note that any of us are unhappy with. It’s great to be able to say that all of us had a part in writing every aspect of every song.

What can attendees expect at the Loft show?

We’ll be sharing the stage with a very talented and diverse group of Michigan bands. I believe we’re planning on debuting a bunch of brand new songs at this show. Come hang out with us and enjoy a taste of what the Michigan music scene has to offer.