Since dropping out of school to pursue music, the members of Twin Peaks have come a long way. On Thursday, the Chicago-based indie band will make its debut at The Bishop.
The show is part of a three-day run during which the band will also travel to Madison, Wisconsin, and Champaign, Illinois. While it is the band’s first time at The Bishop, vocalist and guitarist Cadien Lake James said the group has played in Bloomington in the past.
“We had a great show last time we were there,” he said. “It’s good to come back and get the ball rolling and build in different towns. Keeps us busy so we’re not just sitting at home too much.”
James said for its live performances the band’s set list usually includes an even distribution of songs from its three albums. However, for the Bloomington performance, the majority will be from the band’s latest album, “Down in Heaven,” released in May.
“We just probably pick the ones that we feel work live,” he said. “We like to show that even though the records sound different when you play them back to back, when you put them all together in a set live it makes sense still.”
Although James said many people say Twin Peaks’ three albums sound very different, he doesn’t necessarily think so. He said in his mind the band continued to write songs the same way for all of its albums.
“I’ve never thought they were that different, but that’s probably because it’s natural for me,” he said. “Our first album was probably a little more punk than we are nowadays, but when you put it all in a live setting, it’s always the same writers, and that comes through.”
James said the sounds of the albums might appear dissimilar to listeners because the band approached each one differently. He said the first album was recorded in a basement when he was only 18 and used only the GarageBand app. Since then, the band has recorded its last two albums in more conventional ways.
“This last one, we’re three and one half, four years older than we were making the first one,” he said. “We bought all of our own studio equipment and went out to a friend’s lake house. It’s just been different environments, and that definitely changes how you end up recording songs and which ones you choose to record.”
In terms of melody and instrumentation, James said he is inspired by his experiences with girls, though he said he does not always realize it until after a song is recorded.
He said his inspiration for the music comes from his own real-life experiences.
“I try to not think that my songs are all about girls, but then I finish recording something and I’m like ‘Oh, just about a girl again,’” he said. “As far as melody and instrumentation, it can be just sitting on my front porch drinking coffee. I get the early morning vibes. It’s just my day-to-day life that seems to provide me with these thoughts that bump into my head and come out as a melody or lyrics.”
James said in its show Thursday the band hopes to keep positivity going despite the uncertain political landscape awaiting America. They are coming to have a good time and rock and roll, he said, despite the world being messed up.
“It sucks, but we’re going to be okay. It’s just about continuing the fight. It’s more pertinent now than ever.”
