Cliff & Ivy From Alaska's Only Goth Band to Band of the Year

"Gothic darkness born under the midnight Sun." "The underground movement that has been with us since ancient Greece, Egypt, and Babylon. A movement that in the last few hundred years has taken the name goth." "Cliff & Ivy what can best be described as poetic justice. Hearkens to a realm forgotten by the existence of time." "Darkness cannot drive out darkness. Only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that." -MLK "Cliff and Ivy are definitely two worthy goth individuals who both understand the former and the latter. Their music and live performances are truly a mind melting work of art...." -BHD WOG

"Cliff and Ivy are Alaska’s goth duo. Alaska's only goth band." With a solid background in punk and metal, they bring a traditional goth/deathrock sound into a new world. Theatrical and poetic, their music, live shows and art speak to dark hearts everywhere. Audience members get to be part of the show, with music, masks, spoken word segments and horror props. Inspired by art, punk, hardcore, old school goth EBM, horror, new wave, industrial, tribal music, current events and unwritten history. They have been compared to Killing Joke, Ministry, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Cure, and even to Marilyn Manson.

Alaska's goth duo pay homage to the saints of American punk and deathrock, with help from an all-star band featuring Rikk Agnew (Christian Death, Adolescents), Paul Roessler (Screamers, 45 Grave), Sky Lee Vague (A Bleeding Sky), and PJ Franco (The Rocketz). Genre: Metal/Punk: Post-Punk: Dark punk. Cliff and Ivy set out to pay tribute to some of the darker American punk and deathrock songs that they grew up with and inspired them. All tracks remain copyrighted to the original artist; licensing for "American Saints" by Loudr.

Cover art"American Saints"Album artwork by:Cliff & Ivy. photo by CliffMonk, locationHAARP Facility Tok, Alaska. featruring:Wolfgang & Thor."The Hanging Garden & Ciderup Presents": Band Members: Ivy Silence: Keyboardist, Vocalist, songwriter, lyrics. CliffMonk: Backup Vocalist, Bassist, Guitarist, Songwriting, recording, & production

Discography: American Saints (dark punk tribute album), October 2018 Rainbow Goth (Compilation release - benefit comp) Oct 5, 2018 https://rainbowgoth.bandcamp.com/ Spirit Room, Oct 3 2017 Video for: Fossil Fuel, from Spirit Room, recorded in Alaska and edited in Los Angeles by Paul Boutin https://youtu.be/mYO4QTYUzPw Cliff and Ivy Live in the City of Fallen Angels April 4, 2017 CXI111, October 11 2016 Video for: Reincarnation, from CXI111 https://youtu.be/_y66jsSgPfw Earth Spits Fire/Antitoxin Single October 20, 2016 Music From MacBeth (original tracks for live theater performance) April 24, 2015 New Blood/Old World EP February 17, 2015 Springtide of Pure Reason April 1, 2014 Equilux (on All Ears Records) April 2013 "American Saints" Bio and credits:Rikk Agnew (Christian Death, Adolescents), Paul Roessler (Screamers, 45 Grave), Sky Lee Vague (A Bleeding Sky), PJ Franco (The Rocketz). All tracks produced by:Paul Roessler, at Kitten Robot Studios, Los Angeles "Raw Power" - (Iggy Pop/James Williamson) - Ivy Silence and Sky Lee Vague, vocals. CliffMonk Livingston, rhythm guitar and bass. Rikk Agnew, lead guitar. Paul Roessler, piano, synth, organ. PJ Franco, drums. "Pissing in a River" - (Patti Smith/Ivan Kral) - Ivy Silence, vocals, piano. CliffMonk Livingston, rhythm and lead guitar and bass. Paul Roessler, organ. PJ Franco, drums."Spiritual Cramp" - (Rozz Williams) - Ivy Silence, vocals. CliffMonk Livingston, rhythm guitar and bass. Rikk Agnew, lead guitar. Paul Roessler, synth. PJ Franco, drums. "It's a Violent World" - (David Xavier Harrigan) - (The Screamers) - Ivy Silence, vocals. CliffMonk Livingston, rhythm guitar and bass. Rikk Agnew, detuned lead guitar. Paul Roessler, synth. PJ Franco, drums.

"American Saints" album title: "We chose this as a term of reverence to some of the original creators of dark punk and goth music. It was hard to decide on what songs and artists were best. We decided on these because they are some of our go-to favorites that speak to our soul. It was interesting and somewhat hard to do a tribute album, and we are thankful to these artists for creating the music and for a chance to step into it, represent it and share it with the world." "We are also excited to have been able to do "Spiritual Cramp" with Rikk Agnew - of Christian Death! - on guitar." "As well as to work with Paul Roessler - of The Screamers - on "It's a Violent World" - what an honor to share music with them! We are eternally grateful and proud of the result."

""The two figures on the cover of American Saints are our two children, holding our masks. One of the reasons we do shorter tours is because we are raising our two sons who both have autism. It's hard to find caregivers to look after them for long periods of time. We prefer 1-2 week long tours. However they love music: goth & punk the same as us. They help with our video shoots. It is little known that sometimes they help on the backing vocals (although they are nonverbal they do make sounds. ""The wolf and the raven masks are our alter egos. We give these masks out to the audience when we play. We make the masks out of cardboard before the gigs wherever we go. They are shadow masks - the shadow of animals that are never gone from the Earth no matter how industrialized our world becomes.."

1. What was it that got you into goth and goth music? Cliff : Horror movies, punk rock and disability. I liked the old school horror movie look. Growing up on the east coast, part of my experience is being treated as an outsider for having a learning disability – dyslexia. I just think differently so I was always treated as an outsider at school. Now I know that dyslexia, synesthesia and ADHD are connected with autism. Ivy: I've always been into powerful art and music. I liked 70's horror movies, vampires, witches, and the supernatural trends of the day like pyramid power and bending spoons with your mind. I've been called a witch since I was a child. I can see people's auras and shadow people, and I have seen ghosts as a child. I liked the early hardcore punk scene and there were deathrock and gothic bands after that too. I grew up in a small town in south New Jersey so college radio out of Philadelphia was a big influence. About the only cool thing was a Rocky Horror group at the mall so I got involved and found some like minded people through that. These people were really into the Misfits, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Gun Club, the Cramps and Gary Numan/Tubeway Army at the time. 2. How did the two of you come to meet? "We met at a Clash concert at Rutgers College in New Jersey, in 1984. We got to be friends and started a punk band called The Gout. We got close together over music. Ivy would ride her bike over to band practice at Cliff's house. We've been playing music together since 1984." WOG BHD: "So romantic."

3. What sort of things keep you occupied in your spare time or day to day life? Ivy: We have 2 teenage sons with autism so caring for them and communicating with them takes up a large part of my time. Our sons sang backup on “Black Flower Breakdown” (on CXI111). I like to advocate for people with disability as I also have a brother who experiences disability. I think alot about how people perceive the world in a different way and how much people pass judgement on others for being different than “the norm”. I have a Master's degree in Education. I went to art school before that and studied painting, drawing, sculpture and psychology. I like to write, draw, paint, sew costumes and make masks. I've had a few gallery shows in the past and have done work making props for theater and as a sculptor' studio assistant. I like to go shopping at thrift stores and pawn shops, and collect whatever catches my eye – art, jewelry, etc. I have a collection of metaphysical books which were acquired during the pre-internet days. I like to create interactive props like horror dolls and masks that involve the audience – I like to share my art this way on stage. I also love to read sci-fi and watch sci-fi movies, and I'm a big fan of Dune. I love bats of course. Did you know that Alaska has 5 species of wild bats? They are very elusive but they do hibernate in the winter and are active in the summer. We both do internet radio – we are DJs on wickedspinsradio.org (UK) and wfku.org (NYC) and we welcome mp3s submitted by bands doing any type of original music with a dark feel to it. Cliff: I do like comic books, crazy horror films and B movies. I have a small collection of horror and B movie posters.

"My older cousins had some movie posters from the 60s and I really liked those. I have a collection of old 8mm films. And comic books and record albums. I like the art in comics as opposed to the stories. As a dyslexic I was more interested in the visual storytelling. My favorite artwork is the comic book art that was influenced by surrealists , dada, and mystical studies." 4. What do your sons think of your music and lifestyle? Do they enjoy it? "Our sons love punk, deathrock, goth and weird music. The younger one is really into DEVO and he loves The Clash. He uses an Ipad with an app that forms sentences to tell what he wants. Both of them do. They are still learning how to use it and sometimes they don't want to. They like our music and we've brought them to the all ages shows. We have someone help them while we are on stage. We just dress em' in black and put a band shirt on them and they are happy. They both are really sensitive to sounds so they wear noise-protection headphones all the time (not while sleeping though). So at loud concerts they are fine. I think they are sort of vibing into goth girls too. They show off smiles and attention getting behavior when there are girls around who are dressed in punk/goth style. They both go to school still. The other kids in school know about our band.We send them to school with the T-shirts on. The younger one is really into synths, and computers. The older one is really into art. He paints and draws a ton. We try to involve them as much as we can. Our oldest son loves to be outdoors and hike."

"We have him help us with our outdoor video shoots. He brings the gear and costumes in a backpack and can be part of the video with the mask on. ("Fossil Fuel" video). A while ago we were interviewed for the local PBS station - "We Are A Goth Band". The kids are in it. Please know it was several years ago. We looked different. Our music was different. We no longer work with the band people. But the thoughts about being different and being goth are still in our hearts. I don't always share it that much as the music isn't from recent times." here's the link: https://youtu.be/fVO-1slh-pk WOG BHD: "Wow!" 5. Please briefly describe each of your roles in the band? "Ivy : I co-write, play piano and synth, I write all the lyrics, I sing, I create and edit audio files for backing tracks, and help with arrangements and rhythm ideas. I create the band art and logos. I don't generally play drums in this band but I have played drums for over 20 years so I can play drums in a recording situation or if we jam with other players. Cliff: I play guitar, bass, co-writer, arrangements, recording, producer, engineer." 6. Where do you draw your energy and inspiration from? WOG: "Your music is thought provoking, awe inspiring, sensational, possessive, personifying, and psychedelic. It really takes one on a journey of the mind. As well as a journey through time and space." -BHD "Ivy: I have synesthesia which is a sensory condition in which you mix up sound, touch, taste, color, texture, temperature, etc. Mine has to do with words; I can see words in color and feel them in color too."

"I choose them from a dictionary or other book based on color and arrange them into a pattern which then tells a story. Also, I can hear musical tones as colors that have shape. Song arrangements or choices of how to create a feeling are coming filtered through a visual image for me. The lyrics inform the song and they end up telling outrageous stories that may or may not become resolved. When we write songs we care very much about the craft of them, and how each part makes you feel. The lyrics are often eerie and seem to tell of history or the future, they sound kind of like Nostradamus. Whether there is any truth in it or not is up to the listener! It is definitely in the vein of dark psychedelic! I play a Yamaha digital piano which has good string sounds, and an M Audio Venom synth which has some great circuit bent sounds that you can manipulate. I was also fortunate to sing into an excellent mic at The Studio. Cliff: We've been listening to music for years. There is such superb music all the time and you have to be open to it to be inspired by it. There's a theater edge to it as well. We are like a stage theater group. We use visual performance art in our show and bring that energy to it as well. We use alternative tuning on the guitars in some of our songs. I use the "devil's chord" in some songs. I also become inspired by our music itself as we create it." 7.Who are some of your biggest goth influences or influences in general?"Ivy: Probably Siouxsie and The Banshees and Killing Joke are my biggest influences. I've beenlucky enough to see both perform live a couple times. I also like The Prodigy, Gary Numan, etc. I like that there are new bands working in this genre, like Gitane Demone Quartet,and A Bleeding Sky. Many of the traditional goth bands are still creating new music. I enjoy goth because it can contain many different influences. In my opinion goths are the most open minded group of creatives. Goth is not so restrictive as far as the rules of music go. There's a lifetime of creating, discovery, and growth in the goth genre. I like Christopher Lee, the Mother Superior in Dune, Maleficent,Sweeney Todd, and Fantasia.Cliff: Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney, Christopher Lee, Killing Joke, The Misfits. Also Gang of Four, and many great hardcore punk bands from the old days. The great dance music and disco of the 70s. I even like early hip hop as it was very close to a punk rock mindset and extremely DIY. Heavy dance music and hypnotic beats."The basic concept that music can transform you physically and spiritually . The idea that music is transformative (transmutative). It can be subversive because music can change your life. Music creates culture.""That's what we are trying to do here in Alaska."8.What is the goth scene like in Alaska?Ivy: Very small. We are and continue to be the only goth band. WOG: BHD: "Being the only goth in a small south central Michigan town and a fellow goth of the North I certainly can relate."

"Ivy: "I feel it is slowly growing. There are young people who are inspired to be themselves in the punk and post-punk scene which includes goth. There are a few personas who cosplay and perform cabaret with dark/gothic themes. Alaska is sort of known for always being ten years or more behind. So there is a glut of '90s style metal bands and associated personas. Unfortunately there's been a loss of some of the cool venues which hosted the artsy/new music culture a few years back. In their place there has been a rise of venues which are pay to play, or will only book mainstream bands. " Overall people are less willing to take a conceptual risk and less knowledgeable of anything outside of the mainstream. Which is why our work is “showing up” and standing out. Being “goth in public” is still and has always been a sure fire way to shake up the mainstream." Sometimes it's welcome and sometimes it's not. For example we've been kicked out of a festival for our music/persona, during performance. Contrarily we've been offered gigs when we are in a public space, because we stick out. Last summer we were offered a gig at the local graveyard for a history themed event. Marijuana is now legal in Alaska so we are hoping that the culture will become more tolerant of creative music/sounds/art etc. There is a Hempfest and some newer alternative festivals here. We support them. Cliff: "It still feels like the wild frontier. People can be themselves and do what they want to do." No one really bothers us too much. If someone is goth people are usually pretty cool about it." "I am looking forward to watching the scene continue to grow. I would be interested inhosting more shows, releasing more music on our label "House of Extreme Darkness", and continue with our internet radio shows. I feel like “Johnny Appleseed” or a bit like Dr Frankenstein."We are planting seeds and nurturing a goth scene here. Trying to turn people on to music they may not know about with our radio show and our band. Because of the internet now people don't have to just listen to commercial radio or what is being shoved down their throats to program and control them. We get more of a worldview. We have fans all over the world. People have heard of us internationally. Everyone is learning about Alaska's only goth band!"WOG: BHD: "I can certainly relate with your last statement in regards to being a goth "Johnny Appleseed" LOL. I have never heard it described in that manner before. It is befitting. I also agree with you that most goths tend to support more of a global view and experience. That is after all what I have attempted to achieve with World Of Goth and our growing global World Goth family."9.What are your favorite songs on the new album?"We are hard pressed to pick a favorite. Mine (Ivy) is "Pissing in a River" as I love Patti Smith. Weirdly we have the same birthday and grew up in the same town!""Also Cliff and I used to live in an apartment over top of a video shop years ago (in new brunswick NJ) that was owned by Ivan Kral. We would go downstairs and hang out with Ivan Kral and hear all these great stories of Patti Smith, Iggy Pop etc. I even jammed with him once on drums at a local blues night! LOLMy #2 is "Spiritual Cramp" - as Rikk Agnew played on it, dream fulfilled! "We both (Cliff & Ivy) love "Raw Power" (BHD: "Who doesn't?).

"Also the duet with our good friend Sky Lee Vague. Which also features Rikk on it, and our friend PJ Franco. PJ is from Alaska and played with us here. He then moved to LA. Paul Roessler kills on the piano on that one." "Cliff really loves our version of "Sex Beat" It is transformed from the original and we put our spin on it. He also loves "It's a Violent World" which is a Screamers song. The song was transformed from the original, and Paul Roessler plays on it. Paul of course was in The Screamers." "Paul Roessler freestyled the synth on "Mommy Can I Go Out and Kill Tonight" (BHD: I wasn't aware of that fact as a freestyle synthstress. Awesome.) He made it sound wild! He is truly inspired, and such an incredible producer. He played with the Nina Hagen Band and he used the synth he used with them on the track! It's an old one which has been through many road hours. So it's broken in but still produces great circuit-bent unique sounds." Ivy: I must confess that when I saw "Nina Hagen Band" spray painted on his synth road cases in the studio for the first time when we recorded at Kitten Robot; I shit myself a little. Being the vocalist! LOL" WOG BHD: "Wow! So would I Ivy. So would I." "We hope to do another version of a tribute album, next time titled "British Saints", "Saints of Europe", or maybe even "International Saints". We want to pay homage and do some of those awesome songs from bands like: S&B, The Cure, etc) not just American influences." WOG BHD: "Well I certainly can't wait for "European Saints" then!"

10.What are your touring plans in 2019? "We will soon be posting our 2019 tour dates in late spring " (May - Touring the Pacific Northwest). Ivy: We hope to tour as much as we can given our resources. I would love to play in the UK, and Germany at some day, as we have fans there. We are trying to get resources to travel internationally. It is very expensive to fly all the way from Alaska. Playing Wave Gotik Treffen in Germany is definitely on my bucket list. Cliff: We want to play everywhere. Currently we play as a duo out of necessity but we would like to tour with a full band again. 11. Any comments on the current scene or World Goth Collective? Cliff: For us a challenge and inspiration ( "A blessing and a curse." -BHD) has to do with being an outsider and not fitting in with any current mainstream ideals. Ivy : We have been lucky to be on a number of international compilations, such as For The Bats I, II and III, At Sea Compilations La Danse Macabre 2 , and 33 Goth Bands You Should Know VOL 4. "I greatly appreciate the diversity of music now. There are people doing wonderful experimental work just from their desktops. Witch House is a thing now, using noise and horror elements in it's music." "We can truly say the goth scene is everywhere including the frozen North. We love meeting people from all over the world through our music and are so honored to be a part of the international World Goth scene." "Overall the album was tremendous work and fun, and doing it is informing our original music - we will be releasing new music, another album or longer EP, in 2019. And videos! We have one video in the works which is filmed on location at the HAARP facility in Tok, Alaska, for a new as yet unreleased song. Still work in progress! " -Ivy Silence

"American Saints" is Cliff & Ivy's loudest, wildest, most iconic album yet. Instant classic Americana.” “It's hard to believe at first that it is indeed Cliff & Ivy. I was still in disbelief after listening through the album 4 times. It really has a stunning effect. Ivy's vocals are nearly unrecognizable from previous more goth influenced albums, but that is a very good thing here.” “They really went all the way back to their punk roots on this one. The album overall has a mostly hardcore punk sound with the exception of tracks like “Raw Power” & "Pissing in a River where Ivy's hypnotic vocals take over and mesmerize the listener." This is my favorite track on the album. I can just listen to it over and over while writing or in the car. It's also very danceable.” -BHD “You can really here the other contributing artists and producers influence on this album such as legendary RiKK Agnew's signature sound. The whole album is energetic, charged and ready to go.Perfect for waking up in the morning. Driving in the car. Raunchy, crunchy sounding bass and guitars. Synth, mixing, and SFX by the engineers are out of this world.” “Overall I would describe the album as exactly what you expect from classic punk: Fast pace thrashing/ dancing music. Perfect for fucking up someone's day. Or for making yours.”

WOG: BHD: “ Well I just love you and Cliff, your whole family, and all your contributors and collaborators on this album. You are all super/anti goth heroes to me. I am truly honored to have you back again for another candid editorial and interview.” Ivy: “We are totally psyched. We are beyond honored! We love you too! You do so much for all. For your art and magazine. Your magazine is very professional and I love that it's so diverse. It really shows how much there is to know and love in our scene/culture.” “ Thank you Betsy for all you do!” Thank you for including us!" WOG: “Of course! Thank you so much. You are ever so welcome!" BHD: “Dies.” WOG: "Well you read/ heard it here 1st folks. World Of Goth it’s a love affair. A diverse global World Goth family. " "Even one visually impaired can see why Cliff and Ivy Alaska’s goth duo, Only Goth band & only “goth family” deserve the title of Best World Goth Band of the Year 2019."

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