The Fray

Infobox musical artist
Name = The Fray


Img_capt = The Fray performing at Radio One Big Weekend, May 2007.
Img_size =
Landscape =
Background = group_or_band
Alias =
Origin = Denver, Colorado, United States
Genre = Piano rock
Alternative rock
Adult album alternative
Years_active = 2002–present
Label = Epic
Sony BMG
Associated_acts =
URL = [http://www.thefray.net TheFray.net]
Current_members = Isaac Slade
Joe King
David Welsh
Ben Wysocki
Dan Lavery (touring bassist only)
Past_members = Caleb Slade
Dan Battenhouse
Zach Johnson
Dave Hedin
Jimmy Stofer (touring bassist only)The Fray is a Grammy Award-nominated four-piece piano rock American band from Denver, Colorado. Formed in 2002 by schoolmates Isaac Slade and Joe King, the band released their debut album "How to Save a Life" in 2005. The band is best known for the song "How to Save a Life", which charted in the top three of the "Billboard" Hot 100 and was also a top 5 single in Canada, Australia, Ireland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The Fray also found national success with the song "Over My Head (Cable Car)", which became a top ten hit in the United States and Canada. "How to Save a Life" was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America and was also certified platinum in Australia and New Zealand.

Composition

The Fray was formed in 2002, and currently consists of Isaac Slade (vocals and piano), Joe King (guitar and vocals), Dave Welsh (guitar) and Ben Wysocki (drums and percussion). While the band has no official bass guitarist, Dan Lavery of Tonic has been the touring bassist since March 2007. Prior to Lavery joining the touring fold, Jimmy Stofer, also a member of the band Hello Kavita, was employed as the band's touring bassist from 2005 through February 2007.

Early history

In the spring of 2002, former schoolmates Isaac Slade and Joe King reconnected and began regular two-man jam sessions that led to writing songs. Slade and King later added Zach Johnson on drums and Slade's brother Caleb on bass to the band. Caleb was the band's first (and only official) bass player but was eventually asked to leave. Caleb's departure from the band caused a rift in his relationship with Isaac and this rift later became the inspiration for "Over My Head (Cable Car)", which is about the brothers' waning relationship.cite news|last=Gitlin|first=Lauren|publisher=Rolling Stone|title=Enter the Fray|date=August 10, 2006] Following this, Johnson eventually left the band as well to attend an art school in New York.cite web|url=http://www.frayawaytheedges.net/|title=Fray Away The Edges| "About the Guys: The Lost Members", Accessed October 1 2006.]

Ben Wysocki, a former band mate of Isaac Slade, then became the drummer for The Fray. Later, Dave Welsh, who was another former band mate of Slade and Wysocki, was added to the band. Ben Wysocki and Dave Welsh were also former schoolmates of Ralston Valley High School cite web|url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralston_Valley_High_School|title=Ralston Valley High School| "Ralston Valley High School", Accessed August 3 2008. ] in Arvada, Colorado. cite web|url=http://jeffcoweb.jeffco.k12.co.us/communications/key/2007/February/2007.02.13.html|title=Key Communique| "Jeffco Public Schools", Accessed August 3 2008. ]

The band chose their name "The Fray" from a suggestion bowl that was placed at a graduation party for Caleb Slade. The members of the band first claimed that they found the name suitable because they frequently quarreled over the composition of the lyrics in their songs. However, they have since stated that the band is usually on good terms while composing music, and acknowledges contributions from all of its members. [cite news|last=Tomlinson|first=Sarah|url=http://www.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2006/02/24/life_less_ordinary/|publisher=Boston Globe|title='Life less ordinary'|date=February 24, 2006]

In 2002, the band released Movement EP, a collection of four songs. Very few copies were pressed, and it is currently unavailable for purchase. The next year, they released Reason EP to some local critical acclaim, particularly by Denver's "Westword" alternative newsweekly. [cite news|last=Herrera|first=Dave|url=http://www.westword.com/issues/2003-12-25/music/music.html|publisher=Westword Magazine|title=All Mixed Up|date=December 25, 2003] [cite news|last=Heller|first=Jason|url=http://www.westword.com/issues/2004-02-19/music/playlist.html|publisher=Westword Magazine|title=The Fray: Reason EP (self-released)|date=February 19, 2004] Despite these reviews, the band struggled to launch a single. Denver radio station KTCL rejected eight of their songs before the band decided to submit "Cable Car". The song found airplay on a KTCL radio show highlighting local bands, and the radio station received a large number of requests for it soon thereafter. [cite news|last=Smith|first=Dane|url=http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/9550361/the_fray_live_the_high_life|publisher=Rolling Stone|title=The Fray Live the High "Life"|date=March 30, 2006]

"How to Save a Life"

Later in 2004, the band was voted "Best New Band" by Denver readers of "Westword", an alternative publication. Epic records found out about the band through Westword's original article, and sparked the interest of A&R man Mike Flynn. [cite news|first=The Ear|publisher=Longmont Daily Times-Call|title=Completely Frayed|date=May 12, 2006] Verify source|date=September 2007 Epic Records officially signed the band on December 17, 2004, and released their debut album, "How to Save a Life", in September 2005. The band changed the name of "Cable Car" to "Over My Head (Cable Car)", and by the end of 2005, it had become KTCL's most played song of the year.Fact|date=September 2008 The song was also included on the soundtrack for the film "Stealth".

In July 2005, The Fray opened for Weezer for ten concerts. At the conclusion of the Weezer tour, the band opened for Ben Folds for twelve shows. The Fray headlined their own tour in January 2006, playing with Mat Kearney and Cary Brothers.cite web|url=http://www.thefray.net/|title=The Fray Official Website| accessed August 21 2006. See Dates: Archive]

"Over My Head (Cable Car)" became a top 40 hit on the Modern Rock Tracks chart in late 2005. It lasted three weeks on the chart and peaked at position #37. [cite news|publisher=Billboard|title=Modern Rock Tracks|date=October 22, 2005] The single gained airplay nationally, entering the "Billboard" Hot 100 charts on the issue marked February 25, 2006. Fourteen weeks later it reached its peak position at #8 on the Hot 100 chart.cite news|publisher=Billboard|title="Billboard" Hot 100|date=October 7, 2006] On the "Billboard" Adult Top 40 chart, the single reached the #2 position. [cite news|publisher=Billboard|title=Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks|date=October 7, 2006] The single also saw airplay on some Christian radio stations and spent several weeks on the R&R Christian charts, where it peaked at #27.

While "Cable Car" was rising on the charts the song "How to Save a Life" was first featured during a second season episode ('Superstition' aired March 19, 2006) of "Grey's Anatomy", and then on a fifth season episode of "Scrubs" (aired April 25, 2006) [cite web|url=http://scrubs-tv.com/music.html|title=NBC.com Scrubs: Music Guide ] . Both "How to Save a Life" and "Look After You" have been featured on the teen drama show "One Tree Hill". It was also played at the end of "Cold Case". Despite not having been originally released as a single, "How to Save a Life" entered the Hot 100 chart on the issue marked April 15, 2006. The song was released as the band's second single. On August 18, 2006, ABC announced that the song would be used for the main advertising promotion for the season premiere of Grey's Anatomy. [cite news|last=Albiniak|first=Paige|publisher=New York Post|title=How 'Grey's' got that catchy new "theme" song|date=September 24, 2006] Only weeks after this promotion started, the song became The Fray's second top forty hit in the United States. The song reached the top three of the Hot 100 chart, surpassing the peak position of "Over My Head (Cable Car)", and has sold over one million downloads. "How to Save a Life" became a major hit internationally, topping the singles chart in Bulgaria, Ireland, and Canada. [cite web|url=http://novini.dir.bg/2007/04/11/news1561614.html|title=Новини|language=Bulgarian Last accessed May 12, 2007] [cite web|url=http://www.musicsquare.net/charts/song/8231|title=The Fray - How to Save a Life: Charts Last accessed May 12, 2007] It also was the band's first hit in the United Kingdom, peaking in the top 5 in the UK Singles Chart and selling over 200,000 downloads. [cite web|url=http://www.prezenceuk.co.uk/proof/thefraymusic/news/index.php?NewsID=40|title=The Fray - their story to date Last accessed May 12, 2007]

To promote the album, The Fray have performed on several TV shows including "The Tonight Show", "The Late Show with David Letterman" and "Rove Live" in Australia. [cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2119171/|title=The Fray at IMDB Accessed September 28 2006] They also released a live album, "Live at the Electric Factory", on July 18, 2006. The concert was recorded on May 21, 2006 at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. On September 19, they re-released "How to Save a Life" as a CD/DVD set with exclusive content including a documentary on the making of the album.cite web|url=http://www.thefray.net|title=The Fray: Official Website Accessed September 28 2006] On April 28th, 2007, The Fray closed off Grad Nite for graduating high school seniors at Disney's The Magic Kingdom.

As of January 8, 2007, their debut album has sold over 2,000,000 copies in the United States, and has been certified Double Platinum by the RIAA. The single "Over My Head (Cable Car)" has sold 1.3 million digital tracks, and the single "How to Save a Life" has sold over 1.2. The Fray won all three awards in the digital category at the 2006 Billboard Music Awards, including digital album and digital songs artist of the year. They also performed "How to Save a Life" at the event. On December 7, 2006, the band was nominated for two Grammy Awards: Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal ("Over My Head (Cable Car)") and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal ("How to Save a Life"). [cite web|url=http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/2007/grammys.htm|title=49th Grammy Awards - 2007|publisher=Rock on the Net Last accessed February 22, 2007.]

The band released a live cover of John Lennon and Yoko Ono's Happy Xmas (War Is Over) to iTunes as a 2006 Christmas single. The song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at #50, due to a large number of digital downloads. This marks the first time this song has charted on the Hot 100. "Look After You" was released as the band's third official single, peaking at position 59. In 2007, The Fray sold in the UK and Ireland 150,000 units of their latest album and single ("How To Save A Life") in one month. [ [http://www.indierockcafe.com/2007/05/fray-announce-shows-in-ireland-and-uk.html The Fray announce shows in Ireland and the UK] - Accessed May 15th 2007] They worked with Reverb, a non-profit environmental organization, for their 2007 summer tour. [ [http://www.reverbrock.org/site/ | R E V E R B | ] ]

On September 4, 2007, the band released another live album, "Acoustic in Nashville: Bootleg No. 2", which was recorded late 2006. The album could only be purchased with the original CD from Target but was made available on the iTunes Music Store on November 13, 2007. On Tuesday, October 16, the band re-released their 2003 EP, Reason.

econd studio album

The band has finished recording a second album which is currently untitled. [http://www.target.com/New-Release-Fray/dp/B00192GU8O/sr=1-19/qid=1216610967/ref=sr_1_19/601-0398581-0780936?ie=UTF8&index=music&rh=k%3Athe%20fray&page=1 Target.com] , Accessed July 20, 2008.] The Fray has recently recorded a music video for their first single off their sophomore album in Chicago. The director was Josh Forbes, for the music video "You Found Me". [http://www.videostatic.com/vs/epic/index.html] As of September 2008, the band's website has been updated and teases that a new album is "coming soon" [http://www.thefray.net] There is speculations about why the second album is being pushed back for release, The Fray's first album was released in the states in September 2005, but "How To Save A Life" was released just last year in April of 2007 in UK, and other areas. So there is reason to believe their record label would like to wait for "How To Save A Life" to have an impact on other areas before the second album is released. The Fray finished recording their second album around the end of July 2008. Their first single off the album "You Found Me" may not be released until November as well as the album following that in December due to label scheduling. [http://www.ajjaaudio.com/site/news.html] Potential Tracks that could end up on the album: [http://www.myspace.com/rodblackhurst]
1. Amistad / You Found Me
2. Brit
3. Absolute
4. Estate
5. Fail
6. Fair Fight
7. Happiness
8. Lose My Head (version 1: acoustic)
9. Lose My Head (version 2: studio)
10. Safe
11. Time Heals
12. 24
13. Uncertainty
14. Ungodly Hour

Rod Blackhurst, who is cinematographer/photographer for The Fray has recently updated(October 2008) his website with new information. It has been said upon his website that he has already directed VH1 making of the The Music Video of "You Found Me"

Discography

tudio albums

ingles

* ¹ In the United Kingdom, "How to Save a Life" was released in early 2007 as the band's debut single, followed by "Over My Head (Cable Car)" a few months later .

amples

References

External links

* [http://www.thefray.net Official band website]
* [http://www.thefraymusic.co.uk UK Official band website]