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Midnight Syndicate (composers/musicians Edward Douglas and Gavin Goszka) is a true Cleveland music success story, and they did it by breaking all the rules.  They’ve never played a live show, they’ve released all of their albums on their own label, and they play a style of gothic orchestral music that really has no comparison outside of film soundtracks.  Gavin says, “When we first released “Born of the Night”, there was nothing quite like it out there.  It filled a niche, which offered both challenges as well as opportunities.  We knew right away that traditional means of promotion, such as radio and live performances, wouldn’t work.  It was a matter of finding alternate methods of marketing as well as slightly unorthodox means of distribution.”  Although you can certainly go into a music store and buy their CDs, you might be just as likely to find their albums for sale at a costume shop around Halloween or a store that caters to role playing gamers.   

Midnight Syndicate’s first self-titled CD was a solo project of Edward’s, and somewhat lacking in focus.  It included everything from rock to rap as well as a handful of darker tracks that pointed the way to the future.  Gavin says, “Edward was a customer at the local music store where I was working in 1998. I went to see the multimedia production that he had put together in support of the first Midnight Syndicate release and found a connection with many of his horror-based ideas. I asked him about the possibility of working together in the future and discovered that he was looking for a writing partner for a new CD project that he and Joseph Vargo were fleshing out. As soon as I heard the concept behind the album, I knew that it was something I wanted to be a part of.”  That project became ‘Born of the Night’, and before long, haunted attractions and theme parks across the country were using the disc as a mood setter.  And many of the folks waiting in line to be scared liked what they heard enough to seek out copies for themselves.   

‘Realm of Shadows’ followed much the same formula as ‘Born of the Night’, prominently featuring the narration of Joseph Vargo.  Vargo was also responsible for the artwork that accompanied the first two releases, but he parted ways with Edward and Gavin before their third release, ‘Gates of Delirium’.  Gavin says, “We have used some vocal elements since then, although not in the same way.  For ‘Gates of Delirium’, we employed a cast of actors to bring the inmates of Haverghast Asylum to life, and “Eternal Mystery” from the new Dungeons & Dragons CD features my own sung vocals.  We’re considering bringing a guest narrator in for the next CD, although there wouldn’t be as much of a focus on that element as on ‘Born of the Night’.”   

The ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ album was a natural fit for Midnight Syndicate - for years, gamers had been using their albums as background music.  Gavin says, “Support in that area grew to the point that we started exhibiting at gaming conventions. It was at our first convention that we were approached by one of the heads of Wizards of the Coast [the company that produces the D & D game – ed.], who asked if we would be interested in doing a soundtrack that was specifically designed for Dungeons & Dragons. As fans of the game, we were excited by the opportunity.”  This was the first time Midnight Syndicate had composed music to fit someone else’s idea, but in many ways they approached it as any other album.  Gavin says, “As a soundtrack to a game, there were practical considerations that we had to keep in mind.  We sat down with the Dungeons & Dragons design team before production began and went over the different elements that they felt were critical to include. After that, they left us to work on our own.  Since they were already familiar with our material, they had a good idea of what to expect and trusted in our judgment.”   

On a more traditional soundtrack front, Midnight Syndicate’s music has been used to score horror movies, television shows, and video games.  Gavin says, “Full Moon and Tempe [film studios specializing in horror and fantasy films – ed.] contacted us about using several tracks and we were happy to work with them.  Monday Night Football, the Today show, Comedy Central and NBA on TNT have also used our music during Halloween.  The upcoming X-Box game “Baldur’s Gate II” and Ubisoft’s “Shadowbane: Rise of Chaos” will feature several tracks as well. This is definitely an area that we’d like to continue expanding in the future.”  However, Gavin says the coolest use of Midnight Syndicate’s music was by heavy metal artist King Diamond on his ‘House of God’ tour.  Gavin says, “We found out that long-time guitarist and songwriter for the band, Andy LaRocque, was a fan of our music and had chosen “Born of the Night” and “Realm of Shadows” as the exclusive pre-show music for the entire tour.” 

For now, Gavin and Edward are taking a much needed breather after the busy Halloween season, but it’s doubtful they’ll be idle for long.  Gavin says, “We actually spend the majority of the year tending to the business.  Although the workload can be daunting at times, it’s also very rewarding and has allowed us to make doing music our full-time occupation for the past several years.”  Gavin considers himself fortunate to have had such success with Midnight Syndicate.  However, financial rewards are only one element of success for an artist.  Gavin says, “Our continuing goal has been to spark the imagination and allow our listeners to transport themselves to worlds of their own creation.”  No doubt Midnight Syndicate’s fans would agree that Edward and Gavin have succeeded on that level as well.

Visit the Midnight Syndicate website.