Interview by Peter Iorillo Something Wicked This Way Comes... As I sit in the home of Joseph Vargo, gargoyles peer out from their shadowy resting places atop bookshelves and stone columns, while the walls are adorned with original oil paintings, candelabras, swords and artifacts from various ancient cultures — the perfect atmosphere for an interview with Midnight Syndicate, and that’s what this band is all about — creating the perfect atmosphere. With the release of Born of the “A few months later we talked Night in 1998, Midnight Syndicate about working on a project together.” established themselves in the realm of Douglas relates, “I wanted to create a gothic music. Their usage of eerie CD so that when listeners closed their sound effects and menacing eyes, they would be transported to a disembodied vocals to accentuate their movie of their own imagining.” With dark orchestrations proved to be a Vargo’s direction that movie became a formula for success. The concept was dark horror film. “Joseph suggested we as innovative as the music was do a Halloween CD.” haunting and gained them a growing Vargo’s concept entailed stream- Photos by Christine Filipak network of fans worldwide. Their lining Midnight Syndicate’s sound and music is mentally stimulating. Certain focusing it to appeal to a gothic Edward Douglas, Joseph Vargo, and Gavin Goszka. pieces evoke the suspense of the calm audience. Douglas put together some before a storm while others take you demo material and a few weeks later project, I had the final say.” “It’s classical at its base, dark and lyrics,” explains Vargo. “Instead, we into the very heart of the storm itself. the two set up a meeting to listen to Goszka recalls, “I put the Born of the ambient, but melody driven.” used them in between tracks to remind Composer and musician Edward what he had come up with. Night calendar on my wall and wrote songs Since the band wasn’t getting any the listener that something might be Douglas formed the original inception Vargo admits his expectations were to capture the mood of the art.” airplay and had no plans to tour, the lurking in the shadows.” of Midnight Syndicate, which released surpassed, “I honestly didn’t know what “With each new demo, I heard CD art and song titles were designed to The setting of a gothic castle, its self-titled debut CD in 1997. “I met to expect, but the music was better than Gavin’s compositions growing darker appeal to the darker audience however, restricted the use of certain Joseph Vargo later that year at a gallery I had hoped for. I decided to finance and more serious,” Vargo affirms. “I Midnight Syndicate was trying to modern-sounding instruments. The showing of his paintings in Cleveland. and direct the project. Some of our wanted the entire CD to create a reach. “We hammered out rough ideas band utilized ghostly choirs, somber Joseph is an extremely talented artist initial ideas hit the cutting room floor, foreboding mood like the best horror and refined the details with every piano melodies, tolling bells, and with a consistent dark quality to all of but the end result was a classier project movie soundtracks do. John Carpenter’s meeting,” recalls Vargo. “The concept cathedral pipe organs with Vargo his work. I approached him and gave than I had envisioned.” Douglas was Halloween movie score was a major for Born of the Night was solidified providing the vocal chants, whispers him a copy of my first CD.” familiar with Gavin Goszka’s music and factor in making that film the once we decided on the cover art. The and otherworldly narrations to achieve Vargo recalls listening to the CD. brought him on board to contribute to suspenseful classic that it is.” music would take you on a tour a sound that was gothic in the classic “The songs went in a lot of directions the creative team. “Gavin’s first few The music may have been through the chambers and halls of a sense of the word. at once, covering a broad range of demos didn’t exactly fit in with what I patterned after soundtrack composers haunted, gothic castle.” For Douglas the most rewarding musical styles from rap to country. was trying to achieve.” Vargo confesses, such as Elfman and Carpenter, but in “We wanted to give you a setting part of creating Born of the Night has Because it contained a mixture of so “I’m pretty demanding about certain the process of creating Born of the without a distinct story, leaving that been listener response. “We get letters many different styles, the CD couldn’t things. I kept cracking the whip, saying Night a new sound was emerging — to the listener’s interpretation,” says and e-mails from fans who describe find an audience, but there were a few make it slower, heavier, more ominous, an original style that was distinctively Douglas. their visual interpretations of our darker ambient tracks that really stood less percussion, more bells and ghostly Midnight Syndicate. “Our music is “I wrote some verses and poems, but music in almost poetic detail.” out to me.” chorus! Since I was financing the difficult to categorize,” states Goszka. they were never intended to be used as Vargo adds, “People use it to set the 20 Dark Realms Dark Realms 21 mood for everything from candlelit bubble baths to Halloween wedding In the dead of night ceremonies. You gotta love it.” Though Douglas and Goszka are tight-lipped about how they achieve their impressive-sounding symphonic orchestrations, they both have extensive the Vesper tolls musical backgrounds. Douglas began taking piano lessons at an early age, then moved on to study percussion and bass guitar. “I played in a few rock bands, but got away from that to to summon thralled pursue writing and composing.” He majored in film and TV production at have been the product of an overly- The package design for Realm of They just keep getting better. Edward is John Carol University and eventually active imagination, but then again...” Shadows was more elaborate with a consummate mixture of right and left “Midnight Syndicate transports wrote and produced a direct-to-video The success of Born of the Night Vargo and graphic designer Christine brain. He’s a passionate musician with a the listener to worlds of their own imagination.” —Edward Douglas horror movie called The Dead Matter. inspired Midnight Syndicate to follow Filipak creating the eerie village setting resilient business drive.” and revenant souls. “I think I gravitate towards the dark.” the same formula, spawning the and old-world map of the area. It also The respect is mutual as Goszka Douglas confirms, “Yes, I definitely follow-up release, Realm of Shadows. included a storyline to provide the adds, “Joseph’s focus and sense of have a darker side.” “The creative process differed on listener with a vague background. vision were invaluable. I don’t know Goszka is a multi-talented musician Realm. Joseph’s paintings, such as the “The packaging is a prelude to the what the CDs would have looked like as well and holds a music degree from haunting image of Noctem Aeternus, music,” cites Goszka. “It sets the scene or sounded like without his direction.” The harvest moon Baldwin Wallace College. In addition were still a strong influence on me,” for the listener, but this time we’ve Though the creative team seems to to his involvement with Midnight Douglas relates. “I drew other given them a few more visual cues, a be heading down separate dark and Syndicate, he has also been busy with inspirations from the cinema and few more ideas.” twisting paths, fans shouldn’t be Lore, his ongoing solo project. Goszka horror writers such as Stephen King.” Vargo’s busy schedule with surprised if there is more than a casts shadows dim, lists cave exploring and amateur ghost Douglas cites his musical Monolith Graphics did not allow his musical similarity between future hunting among his pastimes. influences as soundtrack composers, to offer as much creative input on the projects. Vargo explains, “Edward and “One of the big draws for me is the John Williams, Hans Zimmer, Elliot sound of Realm of Shadows. He I were both working on an asylum- thrill of exploring the unknown,” Goldenthal, and of course John painted the moody cover art, wrote the based theme when we decided to part Goszka professes. “You cast yourself into Carpenter. “Gavin and I are on the liner story and came up with the song ways. I developed my own ideas, born from the depths utter darkness, armed with only a same wavelength,” Douglas contends. titles, but his vocals were limited to the conceptualizing an entire storyline set headlamp, which tends to offer little “I haven’t worked with any other artist ominous, poetic narration on the in a sanitarium.” security, and test your resolve by where that is the case. We worked opening track. “I was completely Douglas confirms that the next “I wanted the entire CD to create a plunging deeper and deeper into the independently for six months writing immersed with the Tales From The offering from Midnight Syndicate will foreboding mood like the best horror winding passages that splay out in new material, and in some instances, Dark Tower book project at the time, indeed utilize this concept. “The setting of nightmares grim. movie soundtracks do.” —Joseph Vargo spider-web fashion throughout the cold even my own wife couldn’t tell who but I think Ed and Gavin came up is a haunted Victorian asylum, but the stone.