This week I had the pleasure of grabbing coffee with Aidan Hoppens (drums) and Seth Kaplan (guitar, vocals) of In Shining Armor, a two-piece number out of Milwaukee’s alternative music scene whom you might remember from our glowing review of their performance in Stoutonia’s recent “Homegrown Hardcore” article. The duo’s demeanor is the epitome of midwest-nice; polite, humble, and down-to-earth as they squeeze into a secluded and graffiti’d table at Colectivo on the Lakefront to answer some of my burning questions.
What made you want to pursue music?
Aiden: I always wanted to play music, like, I was always playing instruments, but I also thought it was always just gonna be a side thing. But once I was in my first band, before this one, I was like “wow this could actually be something I could pursue” so I just kept doing it. Music is one of those things that, I think, if you do it every day good things will just come.
What was your first band?
Aiden: I was in a band called Bug Moment and then Seth joined a little bit later. He joined it within the last year or so, he recorded a solo at the end of one song-
Seth: I got one solo!
Aiden: That was right before we put out the last EP for Bug Moment and we were like “well since Seth is in the band now, we should probably put him on the EP” but it was already written and mostly recorded and we already had two singles out for it by that point.
Seth: Yeah, I just came to your house and knocked it out.
Aiden: It was totally on the spot.
Is Bug Moment how you met each other?
Aiden: I met Seth at- well, so, In Shining Armor used to be his solo project and he was playing a show with this band Safe Bet and Rare Candy and I went just to see Rare Candy but I was like, “man, I’m not gonna make it to the show” and then last minute I’m like, “Oh no, I really wanna go to the show” so I only caught, like, the last set. I didn’t even see Seth’s thing! So I was like “sorry I couldn’t make it to your show” and he was like “oh no, it’s cool. Do you wanna start a band?”. It was history since then.
Seth: It definitely felt like a shot in the dark cause I knew Aiden loosely from Bug Moment and from going to those shows, and I could tell he really likes drumming, he really likes music, and I really wanted to make my solo project into… not a solo project. I wanted to play with people and I had a band before that too and it was kind of slowing down and I had all these songs that I was working on and I kind of just- Aiden was literally driving away. He was in his car-
Aiden: I was in my car, he was walking-
Seth: He happened to have his window rolled down-
Aiden: It happened in literally a split second.
Aw, that’s how you know it’s meant to be.
Aiden: Yeah, it was purely by chance. I didn’t even know Seth really, we had talked a couple times and played one show together, but it was more like I knew of him.
With your band being only two people, what do you feel makes a good bandmate?
Seth: The things that I like in Aiden as a bandmate is that he’s able to make the good out of everything. In a band, things are bound to go wrong, things are bound to happen, but I feel like Aiden has a good spirit and he’s always able to lift me up when I’m in my head about stuff. He’s really silly, he’s really good at communicating with people. I feel like between the two of us, he’s more of the talker. One other thing I think of is just consistency. Sometimes we have band practices where we’re tired, we both have jobs, but at the end of the day we still show up and we still do it.
Aiden: As for Seth, I feel like he just gets it. I feel like we both have a vision and he understands. Music is like art in a way, it feels like trying to describe a color sometimes. He sees it the way I see it, we’re able to have this common goal that we can work towards and it’s just super easy. I trust him. If I have to compromise on my end, I trust him.
Seth: Aiden is someone who will just try something, and I’m a person who doesn’t always… I don’t always hype myself up. Like, we recorded our EP in Colorado with this guy named Corey, and Corey has worked with a lot of bands we like, he’s also in a band called Gleemer, and it was just this idea to record with him, like, “It’s just an idea, we’re not gonna do it”. And then Aiden was like, “actually, I sent him an email and he responded” and then before I knew it, we were doing it. We had a phone call with him and it was kind of just like, holy shit, you just have to try.
Aiden: The biggest thing with music is always trying. There’s no reason not to try. You’re not gonna lose anything! I’m always operating under this assumption that something will happen, and if it doesn’t, then okay, everything stays the same. You’re already functioning this way, you’re not risking anything by trying or reaching out.
Can you pick a favorite track off of your Spirit Hound EP?
Aiden: I would say mine is Shield.
I love Shield!
Aiden: That was the first song off that EP where I was like, “wow”, like this is something I was proud of being a part of. It’s like a culmination of all my favorite things about music.
Seth: At the end of the day, I’d probably choose Shield too. I really like Springtrap, but it probably flip-flops between those two songs.
I have to ask about your song, Blucifer, named after the giant horse outside the Denver International Airport. Does that artwork have any connection to the song?
Seth: When I write songs I try to draw inspiration from anything that I’m exposed to whether it’s books, movies, TV shows, and just that concept was really interesting to me. I don’t wanna give away all my secrets, but having your own art kill you was really compelling to me. I feel like that’s something that happens to a lot of people, maybe not as directly as it did with Blucifer, but it was an interesting concept that I wanted to explore. I’ll leave it at that.
Do you both contribute to the lyrics or does one person handle that? Do you both write your own parts?
Seth: Usually I’ll start a song with some riff and Aiden will bounce off of me like, “this should be the rhythm, this should be the beat”. In regards to lyrics, it’s mostly me-
Aiden (laughing): It’s one hundred percent him.
Are there any particular artists or bands that you really look up to?
Seth: Honestly right now I think our biggest inspiration is the local scene. Bands like Frantic Repair, Human Ant Farm, the list goes on and on and on. Seeing all these new bands pop up that are our friends is the most inspiring thing ever. We go to shows and we see our friends and then after the show we’re like, “okay, we gotta make new songs now.”
You’re playing a show tonight, do you feel nervous before performing or is it just excitement?
Aiden: Normally, yes, I always have some nerves but it’s a feeling that I’ve become somewhat comfortable with. Like, yes, I’m nervous, but regardless I’m gonna go out there and play. It’s mainly about how I feel about myself performance-wise, like, how am I gonna be perceived? I really want to do the best that I can.
Do you feel at all hidden, being behind the drums?
Aiden: Absolutely. Bug Moment was a five-piece with Seth in it and I was always like, “Okay, I can do whatever, I have four people in front of me, I have the drum set in front of me” it was very safe and hidden. With In Shining Armor I’m so exposed, like, if they’re not looking at Seth there’s a good chance they’re watching me and what I’m doing and that’s very different.
Last Question: Do you have a favorite band to play with?
Seth: Honestly instead of naming one band, we have a group of friends, kind of a collective, we call it Pierhead1886, and every band in that collective is always fun to play with cause it’s people that we know, people we trust. Anything that can make a show feel more like a hangout is awesome.
Only a few hours after our interview wraps, the band packs up and heads down to the Cactus Club, a favorite haunt of the Milwaukee indie scene. Onstage, In Shining Armor’s eager but humble demeanor is met with immediate applause and an audience that’s committed every word off the Spirit Hound EP to memory. The crowd is ecstatic from start to finish, even demanding an encore; standard practice for an established act’s arena tour, but near unheard of for such a small venue.
If you’re dying to witness the magic for yourself, DO NOT miss In Shining Armor’s Menomonie show on April 18th at the Skate Ranch! They’ll be playing alongside fellow Midwest acts Diane Selwyn and ImInACloset with a preshow set by DJ Silky. $10 cover, doors open at 6:00 p.m., music starts at 7:00 p.m.
