Spirit Awake is a band based in Cedar Rapids. Formed in 2022, the band consists of guitarist Ian Landuyt, bass player Patrick Seaton, drummer Zacary Heinzerling, and keyboardist Jacob Cacioppo. 

The band sat down with The Daily Iowan after their performance on Feb. 26. They performed in the DI newsroom as part of the 2026 Headliners.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

The Daily Iowan: What made you want to start a band?

Landuyt: Patrick and I had played, well, we just kind of played music together in high school. We didn’t really form like an official band or anything, but we did record some music. And then, Zac — all three of us were in the jazz band [at Kirkwood] and Zac and I were playing jazz guitar for that. I had no idea that Zac played the drums at that time, but at some point or another, we just kind of started interacting more and jamming together.

Seaton: We were a three piece originally to start for about a year and a half to two years, and we were looking for a fourth member for a while and we did. 

Heinzerling: So, we added — we had Chloe Weidl of Two Canes cover down on drums for me so I could go to guitar.  Chloe being probably the busiest person we know — we tried different avenues as well.

And then, these two guys [Seaton and Landuyt] had mentioned that they were friends with Jacob, and I think we jammed with him once, and we just kind of knew.

Cacioppo: It was kind of nice for me, too. I just got married right before I joined the band, too. And I think finalizing those aspects of my life was kind of a jump forward into that. Now, I feel really fulfilled that I can kind of output my musical skills. 

How did you determine your music style? How would you describe it?

Heinzerling: When I met Ian and Patrick, throughout college, I was coming back to college after being active duty Air Force for many years. So I had been in many bands throughout my teens, and the one trap that I felt like every band I was in fell into was this subgenre of music, and we restricted ourselves to that and it was very limiting in every band I’d ever been in

I remember when we were talking about, what kind of music do we want to write? And I was just like, don’t think about it, just write what comes to you and the rest will speak for itself. And that’s just the way it’s been just ever since.

If you had to kind of like, put us into a category, it’s very reminiscent of ‘90s grunge, just alternative indie/independent. But I’m proud to say that we’ve done a really, really good job at not being this. We’ve just written and what came happened, and that’s the way it’s been and it’s been fun ever since.

Cacioppo:  Wae are very good at being open to the influences that have inspired us to write music, but not allowing them to be who we are. When I compare our stuff to Radiohead or American Football or something like that, I tend to just go, no our stuff is kind of its own thing, and it’s humble. There’s a humble sound to us which makes us sound way more authentic. 

Who influenced your band?

Landuyt: For me, I would say indie and jazz.

Seaton: For me, it’s a lot of jazz and honestly, a lot of R&B funk as well. 

Heinzerling: I am the progressive metal guy of the group. Anything from like that ‘80s British invasion stuff all the way to just the new Prague sound of Sumerian records. Love that. 

Cacioppo: I have a lot of folk derivative. I kind of drifted away from Elton John, who’s a great player, but I think he kind of made me one-ended what I wanted to produce and make. I would say, Don McLean, a recent one. 

Jeff Buckley is just a crazy, crazy good musician. I’m just thinking about him, and he’s so recent that it’s just like, I have so many more things to digest and listen to. And Ian actually got me on a Rufus Wainwright kick, which I knew about him a long time ago, but didn’t really listen to him as a kid, and he’s got a great musicianship about him, too.

What’s your favorite part of making music?

Heinzerling: I love the recording part. That is like, my favorite, to finally print the idea and flesh it out the way it needs to. My very detail-oriented mind just thrives on that. That’s the part I look forward to the most. 

Seaton: My favorite part is kind of not really, necessarily — it is the music part — but it’s also the brothership we’ve created. We’re all really close and it makes it easier, way easier. We all get along, so not a lot of arguments in Spirit Awake. 

Landuyt: I really enjoy writing, specifically words, because they’re often the words that I can’t say to somebody in a conversation or the feelings I can’t express to them. So, I have to write it in a song and be secretive.

Cacioppo: Just simply having the time to play with each other is something that I didn’t have. Being in a group just fulfills that missing part of being a musician where you just need good people to surround yourself with and people that are going to listen to you, maybe not in your musical ideas, which that doesn’t even happen in this group. 

Sometimes, you just work with many different people in the live music scene, and not all of them are great, and not all of them are bad, but to have a familiar group of three friends that you can just reliably go and play with every week, it makes you feel very fulfilled and happy for sure.