The Fray

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search
This article is about the band. For the self-titled album, see The Fray (album).
For other uses, see The Fray (disambiguation).
The Fray
The Fray performing live at Radio One Big Weekend in May 2007.
The Fray performing live at Radio One Big Weekend in May 2007.
Background information
Origin Denver, Colorado, USA
Genre(s) Piano rock
Alternative rock
Years active 2002–present
Label(s) Epic Records
Sony BMG
Website thefray.net
Members
Isaac Slade
Joe King
Ben Wysocki
David "Dave" Welsh
Dan Lavery
Former members
Jimmy Stofer
Dan Battenhouse
Zach Johnson
Caleb Slade
Dave Hedin
Mike Ayars

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. The Fray recently signed on for the 2008/2009 year as an ambassador for VH1's Save The Music Foundation.[1] They performed at the American Music Awards on November 23, 2008.[2]

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] 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.

[edit] Early history

Isaac Slade (front) and Ben Wysocki (back) performing in Chicago.

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.[3] Following this, Johnson eventually left the band as well to attend an art school in New York.[4]

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[5] in Arvada, Colorado.[6]

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.[7]

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.[8][9] 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.[10]

[edit] Studio Albums

[edit] How to Save a Life (2005)

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.[11][verification needed] 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.[12] 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.[13]

"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.[14] 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.[15] On the Billboard Adult Top 40 chart, the single reached the #2 position.[16] 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).[17] 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.[18] Only weeks after this promotion started, the song became The Fray's second Top 40 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.[15] "How to Save a Life" became a major hit internationally, topping the singles chart in Ireland and Canada.[19] 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.[20]

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.[21] They also released a live album, Live at the Electric Factory: Bootleg No. 1, 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.[22] On April 28th, 2007, The Fray performed at Grad Nite, an event for graduating high school seniors at Disney's 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.[22] 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").[23]

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.[22] 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.[24] They worked with Reverb, a non-profit environmental organization, for their 2007 summer tour.[25]

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.

[edit] The Fray (2009)

The band finished recording their self-titled second album (The Fray) at the end of July 2008 for a February 3, 2009 release. The album was produced by Aaron Johnson and Mike Flynn, the same production duo from the band's debut album.[26] The Fray filmed a music video in Chicago, for their first single, "You Found Me", directed by Josh Forbes, and it is set to debut in November 2008. A documentary, titled Fair Fight,[27] will be sold with the first 300,000 copies of the second album.[28] The Fray debuted their new single "You Found Me" on November 20, during a commercial break of the show Grey's Anatomy. It was a one-minute promo with scenes from the upcoming season of ABC's Lost, and will also be available to buy on iTunes. The band performed the song live at the 2008 American Music Awards on November 23, and have already shot acoustic video performances of the songs from the second album.[29][30] The album will be available for preorder on November 21. The Fray is also scheduled to be performing on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Good Morning America, as well as a small-venue tour to preview the new album starting around the middle of December.[31]

The Fray will be on the cover of the Denver Magazine's November issue, which will include an interview.[32]

[edit] Band members

[edit] Current members

  • Isaac Slade – lead vocals, piano (2002–present)
  • David "Dave" Welsh – lead guitar (2003–present)
  • Joe King – rhythm guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Where You Want To", "It's for You", "Heaven Forbid" (2002–present)
  • Dan Lavery – bass guitar, backing vocals (2007–present)
  • Ben Wysocki – drums, percussion (2003–present)

[edit] Former members

  • Jimmy Stofer – bass guitar, backing vocals (2004–2007)
  • Dan Battenhouse – bass guitar, backing vocals (2002–2004)
  • Zach Johnson – drums, percussion (2002–2003)
  • Dave Hedin –
  • Caleb Slade – bass guitar, backing vocals (2002)
  • Mike Ayars – lead guitar (2002–2003)

[edit] Discography

[edit] Studio albums

Date of Release Title Label US Billboard Peak UK Top 75 Peak Australian ARIA Peak
September 13, 2005 How to Save a Life Epic Records
#14
2x Platinum
#4
Platinum
#1
Platinum
February 3, 2009 The Fray Epic Records
-
-
-

[edit] EPs

Date of Release Title Label
2002 Movement EP Independent
2003 (Original)
2007 (Reissue)		 Reason EP Independent (Original)
Epic Records (Reissue)

[edit] Live

Date of Release Title Label
July 18, 2006 Live at the Electric Factory: Bootleg No. 1 Epic Records
September 4, 2007 Acoustic in Nashville: Bootleg No. 2 Epic Records

[edit] Singles

Year Title Chart Positions Album
US Hot 100 US Pop 100 US Modern Rock US AC Hot Adult Top 40 Hot Digital Songs Hot Ringtones Brazil Hot 100 UK Singles Canadian Singles New Zealand Singles Australian Singles
2005 "Over My Head (Cable Car)" 1 8 8 37 3 2 6 20 5 19 11 25 22 How to Save a Life
2006 "How to Save a Life" 3 4 31 1 1 1 22 4 4 1 7 2
"Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" 50 — — 13 — — — — — — — — Happy Xmas (War Is Over) Single
2007 "Look After You" 59 49 — 11 12 58 — 59 — — — — How to Save a Life
"All at Once" — — — 23 20 — — — 175 — — —
2008 "You Found Me"[33] 15 34 — — — — — — — 51 — — The Fray
  • 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

[edit] Samples

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/081020/ny40245.html?.v=1
  2. ^ http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2008/10/ama-kanye-alici.html
  3. ^ Gitlin, Lauren (August 10, 2006). "Enter the Fray", Rolling Stone. 
  4. ^ "Fray Away The Edges". "About the Guys: The Lost Members", Accessed October 1 2006.
  5. ^ "Ralston Valley High School". "Ralston Valley High School", Accessed August 3 2008.
  6. ^ "Key Communique". "Jeffco Public Schools", Accessed August 3 2008.
  7. ^ Tomlinson, Sarah (February 24, 2006). "'Life less ordinary'", Boston Globe. 
  8. ^ Herrera, Dave (December 25, 2003). "All Mixed Up", Westword Magazine. 
  9. ^ Heller, Jason (February 19, 2004). "The Fray: Reason EP (self-released)", Westword Magazine. 
  10. ^ Smith, Dane (March 30, 2006). "The Fray Live the High "Life"", Rolling Stone. 
  11. ^ "Completely Frayed", Longmont Daily Times-Call (May 12, 2006). 
  12. ^ http://www.weblo.com/celebrity/Singer_Musician/The_Fray/411845/
  13. ^ "The Fray Official Website". accessed August 21 2006. See Dates: Archive
  14. ^ "Modern Rock Tracks", Billboard (October 22, 2005). 
  15. ^ a b "Billboard Hot 100", Billboard (October 7, 2006). 
  16. ^ "Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks", Billboard (October 7, 2006). 
  17. ^ "NBC.com Scrubs: Music Guide".
  18. ^ Albiniak, Paige (September 24, 2006). "How 'Grey's' got that catchy new "theme" song", New York Post. 
  19. ^ "The Fray - How to Save a Life: Charts". Last accessed May 12, 2007
  20. ^ "The Fray - their story to date". Last accessed May 12, 2007
  21. ^ "The Fray at IMDB". Accessed September 28 2006
  22. ^ a b c "The Fray: Official Website". Accessed September 28 2006
  23. ^ "49th Grammy Awards - 2007". Rock on the Net. Last accessed February 22, 2007.
  24. ^ The Fray announce shows in Ireland and the UK - Accessed May 15th 2007
  25. ^ REVERB
  26. ^ http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3i418dddc577c320a4d9521eee81bef69d
  27. ^ http://rodblackhurst.blogspot.com/2008/11/assorted-documentary-trivia.html
  28. ^ http://www.rodblackhurst.com/main.html
  29. ^ http://www.videostatic.com/vs/epic/index.html
  30. ^ http://www.rodblackhurst.com/main.html
  31. ^ http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003891229
  32. ^ http://www.denvermagazine.com/culture/2008/10/fray-take-2
  33. ^ The Fray's Blog. http://blog.thefray.net. Retrieved on November 15, 2008.

[edit] External links


v • d • e
The Fray
Isaac Slade · Joe King · Dave Welsh · Ben Wysocki
Studio Albums
Live Albums
EPs
Singles
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fray"
Personal tools