Guitarist Matthew Schwandt and bassist Jeff Zuehlke shared similar musical outlooks and crossed paths repeatedly while performing in Minneapolis groups during the middle of the 1990s. After Schwandt relocated to Nashville in 1997, he connected right away with guitarist Micah Horton. The pair quickly developed a songwriting rapport that soon yielded enough original material to justify stage appearances. To complete the lineup they recruited Zuehlke along with drummer Matt Fisher and vocalist Tom Hockensmith; the resulting quintet adopted the name Lume in 2000. Favoring an energetic and emotionally charged alternative-rock approach, the members tracked their debut EP, Extended Play, in Nashville and issued it independently during summer 2002. Strong CMJ-chart performance opened the door to a collaboration with engineering and production duo Russ Long and Chris Grainger—known for their work with Wilco and Sixpence None the Richer—with whom the band cut EP2 the following year. In 2005 Lume unveiled its first full-length album, the Mark Nash-produced Burn It to the Ground.
