Roll of the Dice: 7 questions with ONE FALL

Salem, Mass newcomers One Fall have triumphantly announced their presence with the new EP Spine First. The record features appearances from members of Brix’n Mortar along with Oh, The Humanity (OTH bassist Kyle Paradis also produced the record) and a killer Springsteen cover. Vocalist Helen McWilliams joined TGEFM for a Roll of the Dice interview to discuss the record, their influences and what’s next.

Thank you so much for agreeing to this interview!  Congrats on the release of the new EP Spine First. What should our readers know about the members of One Fall, your history and your sound?

Thanks so much for inviting us! Anything that involves dice is gonna be popular with this D&D-enamored crew. ONE FALL has been a band for just about a year, we put our self-titled debut EP out in November 2022 and just released our new EP in October 2023. We’ve all been in a bunch of bands prior to forming this one (Tijuana Sweetheart, Razors in the Night, Giant Target, Drug Blood, Meliah Rage…) and we are having an absolute blast. We try to balance fast beats with memorable riffs and anthemic hooks, and we share a love of professional wrestling.

You’ve got a killer Springsteen cover on the EP.  I’m Jersey born-and-bred, like Helen, so Bruuuuce is as important to our genetic makeup and as Taylor Ham, Egg and Cheese: Saltpepperketchup.  Outside of
his influence, what album or band or significant singles made you go “Yeah, this is what I want to do”  Not just an influence but who or what was the catalyst for your musical journey?

Thank you for sharing your pork roll sando order, I understand how intensely personal that is. We all have different influences, but the real instigator for the band to form was A Wilhelm Scream. Caleb had been living on the West Coast for years, and when he moved back out here, Phill and I started “joking” that we should form a band. I said “I want to be A Wilhelm Scream but less good” and Phill said “holy crap, that’s exactly what I want to do.” So those guys and other bands in the melodic punk/hardcore genres have certainly been catalysts.

We’ve all got a few, what is your biggest regret? A gig you turned down, advice you didn’t take, what one thing do you wish you handled differently as a musician?

Whoa, big topics! Personally I wish I’d quit drinking earlier and started playing guitar when I was like 18 months old or whenever everyone else seems to have started. Because I’m a cheerful and friendly person, maybe, I tend to get a lot of unsolicited advice, which I rarely take, and mostly stand by my choices in that regard. I used to get told I should smile less because punk bands aren’t supposed to smile, and I definitely ignored that feedback.
I did tell Caleb he should eat something before our last show and he did not listen and then he almost passed out. But that really isn’t in the spirit of your question and more just me trying to make Caleb feel bad.
There are a few interpersonal challenges I’ve had being in a collaborative creative situation that I would handle differently today. Bands are hard.

What have been some of the most memorable moments or experiences with the band so far? What’s been the most unexpected? The weirdest?

Pretty much every cool opportunity we have gotten was wildly unexpected – we love getting to play festivals and were thrilled to play Pouzza Fest in Montreal and The Fest in Gainesville, FL in our first year of being a band.
We also participated in this long-standing Boston tradition called the Rock ‘n’ Roll Rumble, which is like a multi-night celebration of local music. We really just kind of wanted to introduce ourselves to the scene, but we ended up winning the thing, which was wild.
We have gotten to try a few regional delicacies, like Cheerwine and 2AM poutine – this band is extremely focused on food adventures. So those are probably among the most memorable.

One of our obligatory questions in these interviews also tends to be the one I have found most important on a personal level. Who are some bands on your radar that TGEFM readers may not know about, but you think
they should?

We just had the immense pleasure of playing with the Iron Roses at their record release in VA and if folks haven’t checked them out yet, I am SO excited for you to hear their new album. It’s really uplifting and is wall-to-wall hooks.
We also got to see the band Eat Defeat from the UK when we played The Fest last weekend, and they are just unbelievably good. Skate punk beats and heartfelt lyrics – we’re always gonna love that combo.
If you don’t know Oh the Humanity!, they’re a ruthlessly riffy band from our neck of the woods and we love getting to play with them. Another band with tight rhythms and hooks for days.

What’s next for One Fall?

We’re gonna try to hit some more festivals in 2024 if we can, and we definitely are gonna try to do some dates in the UK. If anybody has suggestions for us in that realm, hit us up. Other than that, we’ll be spending a lot of time working on new music – would love to put out a full length in 2024 and print some vinyl.

Was there anything I missed that you’d like to share or dive deeper into with our readers?

We’d just love to meet you or connect with anyone who likes what we’re doing! We are all total sweetie pies, although I’m frighteningly type A. Let us know what songs you like, we are so curious which songs off the new EP will resonate with folks. Oh, and we have tee shirts for sale online and we try to have inclusive sizing, so buy some stuff from us so we can go more places. Thanks!!

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Roll of the Dice is a short interview format with a variable amount of questions. A pair of dice is rolled and the total, between 2 and 12, is the amount of questions we can ask. All questions are given to the interviewee(s) at once, and no follow-ups are allowed. The interview may be lightly edited for content and clarity.