Starting a band can happen at the strangest times.

Minneapolis-based chamber-folk band Dark Dark Dark will perform at the Wexner Center tonight at 9 p.m. with co-headliners A Hawk and a Hacksaw.

The band began in 2006 when singers Nona Marie Invie and Marshall LaCount “had nothing else” in terms of current musical projects, LaCount told The Lantern.

Both Invie and LaCount were fans of the other’s bands and projects and were available at the time.

“Everything ended and we needed something new,” LaCount said.

That something new was Dark Dark Dark.

They used not only those experiences they had prior to the band’s formation as inspiration, but also their limitations and personal triumphs.

The creation of the messages sent through their songs happened “organically and intuitively in the writing process,” LaCount said.

LaCount and Invie said it’s not about going into the writing process with the intent of spreading a certain message, but rather letting the writing process uncover the message that needs to be sent through a song.

“I sit down at the piano and mess around,” Invie said. “Then a feeling comes to the surface that needs addressing. It comes out because it needs to come out.

“I let the feeling review itself and the feeling comes out the way it’s meant to.”

Many of the other influences during the writing process come from the experiences gained while on the road, LaCount said.

LaCount said it’s during those live shows when the band strives to do something not many other bands tend to do on stage: invite the audience into their world.

“We want to break down the barriers between the band and the audience,” he said. “We’re welcoming and a very personal group of people.”

That personal relationship with the audience has helped the band maintain a positive energy while performing live.

“It’s as much about their energy as it is about us,” said LaCount, who would describe their live shows as “really dynamic.”

“It’s all about where the audience is willing to go,” he said.

For LaCount, he knows exactly where he would like to see the band go.

“I want to win two Grammys and a Mercury Prize,” he said. “One (Grammy) for best movie soundtrack and one for best album.”

Before they can set their eyes on the top musical prize, LaCount has another goal that is a little closer to home.

“Most importantly, I want our next record to be really good,” he said.