One Step From Falling
One Step From Falling is an East Coast band hailing from Syracuse, New York, USA. The band peddle their own unique take on the modern-metal genre, “Heady Metal”.
Formed in 2011, the four-piece band now count three albums under their belt along with a string of successful gigs across the East coast and Mid-West.
We recently caught up with their bass player, Joshua Skellett, to chat about how he uses iConnectivity interfaces as part of his unique bass-rig.
Hey Joshua! Usually, our interviews involve talking to keyboard players, backline techs or producers. You’re the first bass player we’ve spoken to here at iConnectivity!
As exciting as that is for me, I am actually a little surprised! Maybe it's just that I have a natural urge to want to expand on my bass sound and find creative ways of playing, but I always felt like that was a bass player thing, y’know? Like, how can you funk it up just a little bit more and really get with it!
One idea leads to another and one effect leads to another, and all of a sudden you're in MIDI heaven! I feel like there should be a lot more bassists using iConnectivity gear!
Tell us about your rig and how it differs from a regular bass player’s backline.
I've long been influenced by bassists such as Flea, Les Claypool, Justin Chancellor, and Dirk Lance. Nothing about these guys' sounds, attitudes, or rigs just hang out in the back.
I find myself always working on ways to expand my sound, presence, and capabilities; both in a live setting and in the studio. I'd like to think my rig reflects that! It's a rig built to give me the tools and possibilities to colour my sound and performance in any which way, whenever it's needed.
It sounds good if I'm just layin' the groove or keeping it simple. But I can also dubstep wobble if I need to, create ambient soundscapes - I could even potentially be a one-man electronic performance if it came down to it!
How do you go about harnessing and controlling that rig?
To sum it up, here are a few things that make it different: it has Wifi. It is a light show/DMX controller (with ART-NET). It is a synth station (with a Roland System1 & TB3, and Korg Kaossilator/Kaosspad). Oh, and it's a badass bass amp. And most of it can be programmed or controlled by a computer or iPad.
When did you first discover iConnectivity interfaces and what attracted you to the mio10?
I actually started with the OG mio several years ago. I was working on a solo electronic project, fittingly called Skelletronix, and I needed a way to inexpensively connect my foot controller into Ableton. That's when my research led me to the iConnectivity gear! The simplicity of USB to DIN-MIDI in/out worked great at that time for that project.
Part of incorporating the mio10 revolved around the process of racking a lot of my effects pedals. I was already controlling these via a MIDI controller and had no need to take up space on the pedal board.
I spend a lot of time researching effects and equipment and learning about and then trying out the mio10 was just a natural progression.
As much as I love MIDI, it isn't perfect - especially when sending a signal through multiple products from multiple companies built at different time periods over the last 10 or 20 years. The mio10 gave me the ability to bypass the issues of daisy chaining or running the hardware in series. Little did I know that purchasing the mio10 out of necessity actually opened up a plethora of new doors and possibilities.
How did the mio10 help you as a musician?
It's helped me to clean up my MIDI signals, add a certain level of stability to the flow, and it's helped me better understand MIDI. Not to sound like a weird romantic, but I think I have fallen in love with MIDI since incorporating the mio10. Really, it has helped me push the boundaries of what a bassist, musician, even performer should be or can be doing on stage.
What do we have to look forward to from you and One Step From Falling?
One Step From Falling is currently in talks for a few new music videos, hopefully planning out a Patreon page and of course, planning the next tour!
As for me, I’m currently experimenting with MIDI bass! I can't wait to see what kind of creative possibilities I can open up with a MIDI bass. I’m really looking forward to seeing how that integrates with the mio10.