Some bands get kicked offstage for being too loud. Freeze the Fall had to leave because they were too young. But for bassist Aria Becker, her age was never supposed to be the headline.
“There were shows where we literally weren’t allowed to stay inside the venue,” says Becker. “We’d have to wait in the car until the support act had finished. We’d then quickly go inside, play our set and run back out.”
Their youth became an unavoidable part of the Freeze the Fall story, with the band frequently introduced as a “teen band.” It’s an understandable label for a group that began making waves while its members were still in high school.
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“We’d hear things like, ‘You’re so good for a teenage band,’ but we didn’t want to be known for being a young band. We just wanted to be known as a band.
“There were shows we couldn’t play because of age restrictions, and certain parts of the industry were harder to navigate, but we’re starting to move beyond that now, which I’m really excited about.”
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Luckily, it was never a dealbreaker for their record label. In fact, 604 Records came looking for them – but signing a young band meant figuring out how to build a career around restrictions that most artists never have to think about.
“They reached out to us first, so there wasn’t really any hesitation from them about our age. They’ve obviously had to work with us a little differently because some opportunities just aren’t available to us. Getting tour managers and booking agents can be difficult when you’re an underage band.
“I think that’s been one of the biggest challenges – people sometimes don’t believe you’re going to stick with it. Now that we’re getting older, that’s all starting to fade away.”
With a new single, Crescents & the Torch, out now and a new album pencilled in for later this year, Freeze the Fall are opening the door on their next chapter.
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“It’s really the beginning of a new era for us. Like most of our music, you can think of this first single almost like a movie trailer for what’s to come. It lays the ground work for the sound and for the story we want to tell.”
Was making a full-length album always an ambition?
There was actually some debate about whether we should make an album at all. A lot of people don’t necessarily sit down and listen to an entire record anymore – they pick their two favourite songs and then move on to the next thing.
So there was some discussion about splitting it into two EPs. But writing a full-length album has always been a goal for the three of us. We’re storytellers, so this is a concept album with a big overarching story.
You’ve described the band as having a medieval-inspired aesthetic. Where does that come from?
Ever since making our last EP, The Red Garden, we’ve fallen in love with that whole medieval aesthetic. We bring it into our social media, our outfits and the way we present ourselves on stage. The visual side is a big part of the band. Quinn, our singer, especially loves all the medieval stuff, so we use a lot of it.
What drove that evolution in your sound?
As we’ve learned more about writing music, our sound has just evolved with us. You can hear a jump from Thrones to The Red Garden, and the jump from The Red Garden to this new project is even bigger.
It’s definitely the most jarring change we’ve made, but I think it’s a good change.
What was your first bass guitar?
It was a three-quarter-size Jackson. I wasn’t really into music at the time. I played ukulele, but my parents basically said, “No, you need to play an instrument.”
One day I walked into my room and there was this Jackson sitting on my bed. I got a teacher straight away, and he completely changed everything for me.
Have you had any other “lightbulb moments” since then?
There was another big switch in my playing when I joined Freeze The Fall. I practise quite a bit, and before joining the band my practice was focused on warm-ups, techniques and things like music theory. I was a really good student!
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But once I joined the band, that all went out the window. My practice became about singing and playing bass guitar at the same time, working on stage presence, writing for the band and running through the setlist.
My technical skills didn’t necessarily get worse, but they became stagnant for a while because I was developing a different set of skills as a performer.
Now I spend half my practice time working on bass skills and the other half working on band skills. They’re two completely different things.
Who have been some of your biggest musical inspirations?
My favourite band is Bring Me the Horizon. A lot of my writing influences come from them, too. They’ve definitely been a kind of moral compass for me. I even named one of my basses after the singer’s dog!
Have you had any memorable onstage disasters that taught you a lesson?
I had a strap lock come off during a show. The entire metal part that screws into the bass flew off, and the bass just started falling towards the ground.
I caught it before it hit the floor, but we were literally in the middle of a song. I had to play the rest of the song sitting on the stage!
I learned a very important lesson that night: check your instrument before every show. Make sure your patch cable is properly connected, make sure nothing is loose and make sure everything is secure. Especially on the road, things get bumped around and things come loose.
When did you first discover Dingwall basses?
I’d known about Dingwall since around 2022. All my favourite bands were using them, so I really wanted to play one. I got my first one in 2023.
I also use Darkglass gear. I have their Anagram, so Dingwall and Darkglass are kind of a match made in heaven. They sound really good together.
How attached do you get to your instruments?
It depends on what’s happening in my life or what I’m inspired by at the time, but I name all of them. I give them little personalities. I have one called Luna, and another one called Taz. It makes me feel more connected to them.
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It’s like customizing your character in a video game. You get to hone in on the instrument and give it its own identity.
Tell us about your bandmates. What’s the dynamic like?
Quinn is the guitarist and lead vocalist, and Jonah is the drummer. We’re all really close friends, and we understand each other really well.
Because we’re a three-piece, people often comment that we need another guitarist or a keyboardist. We do use backing tracks to fill out the sound, but I don’t think we’ll ever add another member.
What are your favourite songs to play live?
A song called VHS. There’s a lick at the end that I love playing. There are also a lot of songs on the new album that are really fun to play.
As a three piece the bass plays a big role so I have to be artistic with it, sometimes writing bass parts that are more like guitar parts to fill in the sound.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
Our drummer Jonah’s teacher, Justin, is also kind of our hype man. He’s always giving us pep talks. His advice sounds cliché, but it’s basically: don’t fake it – just be yourself.
