West Michigan’s music scene has energized Squatch.

Members of the progressive rock and jazz fusion band moved from Clarkston in eastern Michigan to Grand Rapids a couple of years ago.

“There’s an actual music scene out here, multiple music scenes,” guitarist Ray Shaffer said of the “more active music scene” extending from Grand Rapids to the lakeshore.

“It’s definitely more progressive than our hometown, which is a plus for us. Pretty much the big thing was just moving for the band, and it’s been great so far.”

Inspired by the likes of jazz fusion virtuosos in Snarky Puppy and progressive rock giant King Crimson, Squatch has a simple explanation for its own boundary-pushing, instrumentally adroit approach.

“We just try to impress ourselves for what we want to listen to,” said Shaffer. “I try to think about what is it that I’m not hearing from other people that I want to hear, and then I try to emulate that, which I guess it’s like you’re sometimes pulling out of thin air. But that’s sometimes how the best stuff comes about.

“It’s all about breaking the rules and trying to do something different.”

Indeed, this band has made a regional splash doing “something different” and doing something that’s captivated a growing fan base.

With a 2019 self-titled album and several singles under its belt, the band has distinguished itself with its live shows and plans to release a second full-length recording later this year.

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“Being able to play live — especially also now within the context of moving past COVID — being able to play in front of people and just to share our art, our music, is great,” Shaffer said.

“It’s freeing. It’s my favorite way of expressing myself. It’s an otherworldly feeling when everything’s aligning and … you’re feeding off of the crowd and they’re feeding off of you. I might be biased, but it’s the greatest thing.”

The band of Clarkston High School alums — Shaffer, bassist Gavin Hallberg, keyboardist Jarrett Holtslag and drummer Jimmy Redman — incorporates “bits of funk, metal and psych rock” into its prog/fusion attack, inspired initially by classic rock while members honed their skills in school music programs.

The band recently recorded a live session at Grand Rapids’ Dogtown Studio with plans for releasing that in the near future. The band also aims to release its second album — recorded at Angry Hobbit Studio in Pennsylvania, Electric Moon Studios in Grand Rapids and their home studio — in 2025, along with more singles.

“We’re pretty excited about all that,” Shaffer said.

— Find more Michigan music news and concert listings at LocalSpins.com. Email John Sinkevics at john@localspins.com.