Creativity can come from physical environment or state of mind. For Jason Lytle, it’s both. “My whole goal is to get in that place where I’m just like a little kid in his own head with his imagination —playing with action figures, drawing with his crayons,” Lytle said. “It’s just an enjoyable place for me to be.”

Lytle is opening for indie rock starlet Neko Case this week at Thursday at the Square. He released his first solo record, “Yours Truly, The Commuter,” in May.

Given an airy folk-pop feel by the soft-spoken and wistfully melodic Lytle, the songs fall from the same musical tree as Grandaddy, the critically praised Modesto, Calif., band Lytle fronted until members parted ways about four years ago.

After the split, Lytle left California’s Central Valley for Bozeman, Mont., making it his home and building his own studio, where he recorded all the instruments—guitars, bass, drums and keyboards—himself for all the tracks on “Yours Truly."

He compared his creative process to painting — adding layers and textures until it the song looks like the vision he had for it when he started writing.

Though readily admitting he has been known to succumb to depression, he calls himself generally optimistic. The opening lyrics to the album’s title track make a strong statement about where Lytle is now: “Last thing I heard I was left for dead / Well I could give two s---- about what they said / I may be limping, but I’m coming home.”

The physical move out of Modesto into Big Sky Country needed to happen, Lytle said.

Being in his hometown was inspirational to a point, he said, but there was too much “negativity” and things “started going in the opposite direction.”

“I knew I wanted to live some place that was going to be inspiring, that was going to sort of jolt me out of . . . just really make me take notice of the better parts of being alive and better parts of living on this planet.”

Lytle has been on tour with Case since early June, and he has been headlining his own shows on off nights.

His show’s sets have been about half solo material, half Grandaddy, including lots of Bsides.

Lytle also recently loaned his vocal talents for a few songs on other records: The Crystal Method’s “Divided by Night” and M. Ward’s “Hold Time,” released this year, as well as a pending project from Sparklehorse and Danger Mouse, “Dark Night of the Soul.”

“I never really considered myself a vocalist,” Lytle said, adding he believes singing is “just adding a human element to the song.”

Regardless of the job title (he’s also a devoted skateboarder), he remains the mastermind behind Grandaddy’s deep catalog, including the 2000 breakthrough “The Sophtware Slump.”

The band’s music even caught the attention of rock icon David Bowie, who considers himself a fan.

When asked if there are any other artists he aspires to work with, Lytle responded by saying — nicely but in a straightforward way — he ultimately prefers writing music by himself.

“I’ll stick with working for me as my No. 1 collaboration,” he said.

Lytle, who in the last few years allowed Grandaddy songs “A. M. 180” and “Nature Anthem” to be used in Dodge and Honda commercials, respectively, said that business move allowed him to keep making music for a living: — “a fortunate situation to be in,” he said.

Lytle said he hopes people who aren’t familiar with his music come to the show, take a load off and listen with an open mind. If they do, they’ll see and hear someone “doing it for the right reasons, not trying to change the world or anything.”

To hear some of Lytle’s songs, visit his Myspace page. Also check out his Web site.

Concert Preview

Thursday at the Square featuring Neko Case, with Jason Lytle

Lafayette Square; 5 p.m. Thursday; Free.