The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
SO MUCH GOING ON IT’S SCARY
Northeast Ohio’s Midnight Syndicate — giants in the world of spooky orchestral creations — rises again after a quiet 2020
Edward Douglas and Gavin Goszka are back to weekending in Sandusky. ¶ Their getaways are nightmarish — in only the best ways. ¶ Douglas, of Chardon, and Goszka, of Willoughby, comprise Midnight Syndicate, which for more than two decades has been scaring up spooky-sounding orchestral music and sound effects for, what Douglas calls during a recent phone interview, “soundtracks to imaginary films,” but that regularly are used by haunted attractions large and small to help sell the fright.
In 2014, Midnight Syndicate began performing multimedia indoor shows in the fall during Cedar Point’s HalloWeekends, which add splashes of seasonal fun to the coasters and other thrills for which the Sandusky amusement park is renowned.
They were to have been back to set the musical mood last year, but, well, you know.
“Yeah, COVID had the final say on all of our plans for 2020,” Douglas says. “So we used that time … to start working on all of our things for 2021. And so this year’s just been insane.”
June brought the first notable event — the release of Midnight Syndicate’s first live album, “Live Shadows.”
“I don’t know if I ever thought we would be doing a live album,” Douglas says. “We talked about out it, we wished, we hoped to.”
“Live Shadows” isn’t a recording of one concert but instead a compilation of songs performed at HalloWeekends from 2014 through 2019, he says.
Next, in August, came Midnight Syndicate’s 14th studio release, the minialbum “Bloodlines.” It debuted at No. 12 on Billboard’s Classical Crossovers Album chart.
It is another record that ties to the band’s fictional Haverghast family, “a sinister clan whose dark secrets were first introduced on the 2001 asylum-themed album, ‘Gates of Delirium,’” a news release for the album states.
It is a prequel to 2005’s “The 13th Hour,” the band’s best-selling album, which is set in the Haverghasts’ haunted mansion.
“The selections on this album expand the story of the Haverghast family,” Goszka says in the news release. “We wanted this album to flow as seamlessly as possible into ‘The 13th Hour’ while still maintaining its own distinct stylistic identity.”
Douglas says that “Bloodlines” is the first time Midnight Syndicate has dived this deeply back into a previous work’s musical identity.
“It was a blast,” he says. “It was very natural and very easy for us to write within that theme.”
Douglas isn’t ready to reveal specifics but says there is something else planned for this year that connects to “13th Hour,” so fans can stay tuned for that.
Although they’ve been revisiting the past of late, throughout the act’s career, Midnight Syndicate has enjoyed myriad new experiences.
For instance, Douglas and Goszka were tapped for the album “Dungeons & Dragons — Official Roleplaying Soundtrack,” which came out in 2003 and bears the gaming giant’s instantly recognizable logo on its cover.
“It brought us into another world of people that like to use our music for gaming — and gaming could be background for video games (or) gaming could be roleplaying, which is a main thing we’re known for,” Douglas says. “It really helped us take off internationally.”
Because, Douglas says, Halloween still isn’t quite as popular in Europe as it is in the United States, that album opened the door to trips there — to make a splash at gaming conventions — in a way the holiday never has.
Midnight Syndicate also created music for the 2010 indie horror flick “The Dead Matter” — hardly a surprise considering Douglas directed and co-wrote it.
The duo also has provided music for an amusement park in a bizarre, faraway land: Florida.
And as part of its celebration for its popular Halloween Horror Nights, Universal Orlando’s is rereleasing a vinyl album of Midnight Syndicate music played during the spookfest, including some music made specifically for it.
The guys are scheduled to visit the park for an autograph session on Oct. 6 for autograph sessions at 2 and 6:30 p.m. at the Five and Dime Store.
“Just like walking through Cedar Point and hearing the music was a thrill, it was down there,” Douglas says of previous visits to Universal Orlando. “You know, you grew up going to amusement parks, and … when you can hear your music helping to enhance people’s experience … it’s a thrill.”
Returning to the subject of HalloWeekends, which are just underway at Cedar Point and run through October, Midnight Syndicate again is dipping into its past.
“We are doing a remount of our 2018 show,” Douglas says. “It’s one of our most people shows, and we’re going to be grinding it back with a couple of surprises.”
“Midnight Syndicate: Conspiracy of Shadows” takes place in Jack Aldrich Theatre, in the front area of the park.
You can tell by the tone of Douglas’ voice that working with Goszka to create this often dark-butdrummy instrumental music is still a lot of fun.
“It absolutely is,” he says. “When you get into entertainment, your goal and your dream is that you could make it your fulltime job, and I’ve been fortunate enough to do that since 2001.
“Being able to do the live shows and … bringing our music to people in a different way, with all these other elements, has definitely been energizing.”
Douglas also is energized by a second musical endeavor. While Goszka spends some time away from Midnight Syndicate with Home Circle Media LLC, his company that specialized in official licensed anime merchandise and guidebooks, Douglas plays in local band Vinyl Arcade.
It may not surprise you to learn this isn’t just another rock band, as Vinyl Arcade specializes in TV themes from decades ago, when folks had only a small handful of channels from which to choose. The music from “Batman,” “All in the Family” and “Scooby-Doo” are crowdpleasers, he says.
“What makes that project so fun is seeing people’s faces light up when they hear a song they’ve not in heard in many years,” he says. “That’s a charge.”
When he says they also do a few commercial jingles Northeast Ohio TV watchers of yesteryear would know, he’s asked if Vinyl Arcade does a rockin’ rendition of the familiar, oh-so-catchy musical refrain for Northeast Ohio home-improvement supply company Garfield 1-2323, he does the verbal equivalent of a man kicking himself.
“Oh, man! If I do, do I have to give you credit?”