June 15th - 3rd Annual Althing Heathen Festival - Ester, AK
Immediately after a prayer to Sunna (Norse sun goddess) at 2pm, Cliff & Ivy, Alaska's goth duo, played an awesome set. The looming clouds overhead cleared to the point where I walked away with a slight sunburn on my shoulders. Cliff & Ivy's performance is set up to be interactive as they usually have masks that they use and occasionally hand out to the crowd. In fact, I still have a bird mask from a December 2023 show in my apartment.
Their lyrics are deep and some are definitely Alaskan ("Bring Us The Night" and "Fossil Fuel" for sure). These two have been playing together for longer than you would imagine and their talent shines through. Cliff & Ivy are based out of Anchorage, AK. They have a home studio for their own record label (House of Extreme Darkness), of course, but also venture down to California for some record production and collaborations (with musicians like Rikk Agnew and Gitane Demone from Christian Death, Don Bolles from 45 Grave, Sky Lee Vague, etc).
These two are super talented. Ivy's vocals are deep and powerful; she also has an incredible metal scream. She is a drummer and provides the pre-recorded drums for the gigs. Cliff plays a guitar on stage, but also provides a pre-recorded bass guitar for the gigs.
I was super excited to talk with them after the show.
Click to enlarge
After the show, we chatted for a little bit at the festival, but it was loud and hot. We decided that it would be better to grab a cup of coffee at Alaska Coffee Roasting Company in Fairbanks (about 5 min from Ester).
Knowing Cliff and Ivy (mostly through fb, to be honest) I already had an idea that Ivy was vegan. As it turns out, Ivy is vegan, Cliff is vegetarian, and their two sons are omnivores. I asked how they manage such a diverse range of nutrition and they just laughed. Ivy joked that she's become a great short order cook.
The vegan diet is a rejection of animal products (meats, dairy, animal fats, eggs, fish and seafood, gelatin) with a focus on vegetables, fruits, beans/legumes, grains, and nuts/seeds. The vegetarian diet avoid meats and animal by-product like lard and gelatin, but will consume dairy and eggs.
Ivy found, as she got older, that a vegan diet just works better for her. Cliff has been vegetarian since 1987, but still loves his cheese and pizza. He says that its due to the fact that they hail from New Jersey originally; but, pizza and cheese are delicious. I don't blame him.
As it happens, Cliff and I both mentioned that we have ended up enjoying hot sauce with the way we eat. It's not so much about the heat; more about the spices and flavors. Cliff recommended a hot sauce that Mike Watt, bass player for The Stooges and Porno for Pyros, collaborated on called Watt Sauce. (Find it Here) I mentioned that I had found a coffee-infused hot sauce made by Hoff Sauce called Wake Up Call. (Find it Here)
As we chatted over coffee, intermittent fasting came up. Ivy began doing it and Cliff, seeing positive results with Ivy, tried it out. They have both continued using it on a regular basis and have even included their sons, making it a family activity. Intermittent fasting is done on a regular basis. The person doing it has a specific window of time to eat their food for the day, usually a block of 8-9 hours only. If you're curious about it, you can google it or find a book on it - it is pretty popular.
Ivy stated that the social acceptance of unique diets in today's world is so much easier to navigate. You can ask for no grains or no meat or for a vegan option with almost no qualms. I agreed, as someone who went from paleo to carnivore. The paleo diet is a modern reflection of a paleolithic diet (lean meats, eggs, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds) with a rejection of sugar, grains, processed, and artificial foods. The carnivore diet is strictly animal product; doesn't work for everyone and may be done for a short period of time.
In the past, the "heroin chic" look tended to be a goth norm. An overweight goth or a bodybuilder goth or a healthy fit goth was not always seen as an ideal body type. Personally, I found this to be true, especially when searching (90s and early 00s) for cool goth clothes that would fit my body. Ivy said that she always felt that she never quite had the right look, but feels more accepted [based on body type] than ever before.
As the coffee hit and our discussion turned towards the paranormal, Ancestry.com (we all had some interesting stories), the Alaskan pyramid, and Pat Price (a remote viewer), we decided that we would have to meet up in the future for more discussion.
Cliff and Ivy were off to dinner. I was off to feed my dogs and myself.
Cliff and Ivy - Thank you for being my first interview for this blog.
Socials:
Cliff & Ivy - website
Cliff & Ivy - bandcamp
House of Extreme Darkness - record label
Cliff & Ivy - facebook
House of Extreme Darkness - facebook
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