About Next to Midnight
Next to Midnight is an Iowa City original Goth-Rock Horror-Punk band whose songs and theatrical imagery celebrate Halloween, Horror movies, and Goth/rockabilly/rock subcultures, delivered through the lens of 50's-90's throwback culture. Influences that can be heard include AFI, HIM, Type O Negative, Kiss, The Cult, and 80's glam rock!
Meet the Band
Members, passed and present -
​
Next to midnight wouldn't be possible without the efforts
and contributions of the following members-
​
Mike Honts - The Judge
Kent Poulsen - Icky Thump
Jake Mcdonald - Nexus
Nate Hedlund - The Bone Collector
Bam Hedlund - Killjoy
Gage Netolicky - Gutterball
Thaddeus Zimmerman - Founder
Teddy Landau/The Stranger
The Stranger
Everyone has encountered the Stranger at some point. The traveler. The weirdo. The creep. Mysteriously appealing and frighteningly charming, this shapeshifting spirit of sinister sex appeal uses tasty licks and voracious vocals to lure its prey and raise the dead--- But to what end???
Gutterball
While riding home from a late night Halloween gig, "Gutterball" was run off the road by a drunk driver.
Now he roams the backroads and highways on full moon-nights with his trusty six string, helping lonely travelers whose vehicles have broken down. Legend has it that each year on the anniversary of his death, you can still hear his wailing guitar solo crying out in the night where he went down.
Killjoy
The masked vigilante whose thirst for blood and carnage is matched only by the veracity with which he wields the jagged edges of his sonic weapon of choice-The Harvester.
As his kill-count rises, so too does his mask collection- but where on earth does he hide all the bodies???
The Bone Collector
Not much is known about this nefarious fiend, but rumor has it he was resurrected from the depths of hell itself. He traps the souls of the living inside his infernal drum kit which is constructed from their bones and stretched skins!!!
Nexus
Nexus is a rogue Doom-bot sent from Planet X to infiltrate and infect the human species to reset civilization to prevent the human scourge from infecting other planets and solar systems.
​
Something went awry when Nexus' ship passed through earths' atmosphere, and his programming glitched, freeing him from the mother ships control. Though he has the means to destroy earth instantly, he bides his time as he considers his chances at world domination.
The Judge
In the highest courts of dark and light, good and evil, there awaits ONE last gatekeeper of the nether-realms, one who strikes fear into the hearts and minds of all- THE JUDGE.
Mercy be on your soul when you find yourself standing before his bench. The judge knows all your evils and wrongdoings, and only he has the final say as to your final destination when your eternal soul departs. There is no jury, and once before him, there are no second chances.
Have you lived a righteous life? Have you settled your debts? The judge will decide. The judge is sworn eternal to administer justice to all without respect to persons, with equal right to poor and rich, strong and weak, and he WILL faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all duties necessary to secure your eternal damnation or salvation.
Icky Thump
In a dark basement laboratory lit by computer monitors and Bunsen burners. A well respected and intelligent scientist meddles with the darker side of science as he wants to bring out his ‘second’ nature. Tired of the duplicity of life, a series of experiments had helped transform him into a monster freeing that part of himself who doesn’t take responsibility for his evil behavior on the bass. While the other half lives uninhibited by the demands of his darker self. Is it ego? Is it Freuds theory of the id? I guess we will have to wait and see….
Wolf Man
Teddy was a Rocknroll singer and a Model in his prime at the peak of the rocknroll scene in the mid 60's. While he and his lady were watching a meteor shower at lovers point, they heard a strange sound coming from behind his Thunderbird. Ted got out to investigate, and came face to face with a terrible wolf-like beast! He tussled with the brute to protect his beautiful babe, but the beast bested him, biting his jugular- and ran off with his lady!!
When Ted came to, he was amazed to find all of his wounds healed-and he was covered in hair! There was no sign of his girlfriend but her heels and her purse. Ted swore that morning to find his Gal or avenge her death, and destroy the beast that stole his love and his life!
Ted hunts the beast all over the country, looking for his lost lady with a broken heart, and an animalistic rage coursing just beneath the surface. He doesn't age, but every full moon be must lock himself away, because for that one night each moon cycle, he knows that HE transforms into the very Craven beast he seeks to destroy!!!
Our Venues
