The Fray
The Fray is an American rock band from Denver, Colorado, formed in 2002 by schoolmates Isaac Slade and Joe King. Their debut studio album, How to Save a Life (2005) was released by Epic Records and received quadruple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), as well as platinum in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The album was preceded by their first hit single, "Over My Head (Cable Car)", which peaked in the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100. The band saw their biggest success with its follow-up, "How to Save a Life", which peaked at number three on the chart and became a top five hit in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Furthermore, both songs received Grammy Award nominations for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group.
For other uses, see Fray (disambiguation).
The Fray
Denver, Colorado, U.S.
2002–present
- Joe King
- Dave Welsh
- Ben Wysocki
- Isaac Slade
- Mike Ayars
- Zach Johnson
- Caleb Slade
- Graham Vanderbilt
- Dan Battenhouse
The group's self-titled second album (2009) debuted atop the Billboard 200[2] and received platinum certification in the United States, as well as gold in Australia and Canada. It also received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop Vocal Album in 2010.[3] While both the albums were commercially successful, critical reception was mixed. The Fray was ranked No. 84 on Billboard's Artists of the Decade list.[4] Their third and fourth albums, Scars & Stories (2012) and Helios (2014) both were met with continued mixed reception and trailing commercial response, peaking at numbers four and eight respectively on the Billboard 200. The band's greatest hits album, Through the Years: The Best of the Fray, was released in November 2016 as their final release with Epic.
The Fray's mood has been described as austere, theatrical, cathartic, poignant, and ethereal; their lyrical content is based around introspection, with themes of
yearning, regret, and angst.[5][6][7][8] The band's use of the piano as the lead instrument in their music has led critics to compare the band with British, piano-driven bands such as Coldplay and Keane. The band lists its influences as Counting Crows, Better Than Ezra, and U2.[9]
History[edit]
Formation and early years (2002–2004)[edit]
The band members' lives were largely formed in Denver area churches where they helped lead worship, and in the Christian school three of them attended. Isaac Slade and guitarist Joe King were several years ahead of drummer Ben Wysocki at Faith Christian Academy. Wysocki and guitarist David Welsh played in the same worship band. In the spring of 2002, former schoolmates Slade and King reconnected and began regular two-man jam sessions that led to writing songs. Slade and King later added Mike Ayars on guitar, Zach Johnson on drums,[10] and Slade's younger brother Caleb on bass, though Caleb was later 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 the song "Over My Head (Cable Car)", which is about the brothers' waning relationship.[11] Following this Johnson left the band to attend an art school in New York.[10]
Ben Wysocki, a former bandmate of Isaac Slade, joined as drummer and later, Dave Welsh, who was another former bandmate of Slade and Wysocki, was added as lead guitarist to the band. The newly formed band was named the Fray. The band members decided on a name after asking people to put band names on a piece of paper from which they picked randomly. The members of the band first claimed that they found the name suitable because they frequently quarreled about the composition of the lyrics in their songs, but they have since stated they are usually on good terms while composing music and acknowledge contributions from all members.[12] The band has had no permanent bassist since Caleb, instead employing touring bassists on a temporary basis. The current bassist is Matt Rubano, who has been touring with the band since 2022.
The band released its first record, Movement EP, in 2002. The next year, the band released Reason EP produced by "How To Save A Life" co-producer Aaron Johnson, which garnered the band local fame and acclaim.[13][14] Westword, an alternative newsweekly, gave Reason EP a positive review, stating "The music is epic, no doubt, but it's played on a wholly human scale".[15] 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 a demo of a song then-named "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.[16] The band changed the name of the song to "Over My Head (Cable Car)", and as the song's airplay increased alongside their local following, the band was voted "Best New Band" by Westword in 2004.[14] Mike Flynn, working in the artists and repertoire division of Epic Records, discovered the band through the article in Westword[13][17] and soon after, Epic Records officially signed the band on December 17, 2004.
How to Save a Life (2005–2007)[edit]
The band's debut album, How to Save a Life, was released on September 13, 2005; its style is between traditional rock and alternative rock.[18] "Over My Head (Cable Car)" was released as the first single from the album, and it soon became a Top 40 hit on the Modern Rock Tracks chart in late 2005, peaking at No. 37.[19] The single gained airplay nationally, entering the Billboard Hot 100 chart on the issue marked February 25, 2006. Fourteen weeks later, it reached its peak position at No. 8 on the Hot 100 chart.[20] On the Billboard Adult Top 40 chart, the single reached the No. 2 position.[21] Internationally, the song was a Top 25 hit in on the national charts of Australia, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The song was the fifth-most downloaded single of 2006.[22]
While "Over My Head (Cable Car)" was rising on the charts, the song "How to Save a Life" was first featured during an episode of Grey's Anatomy, aired March 19, 2006, and then on an episode of Scrubs, aired April 25, 2006.[23] 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.[24]
Musical style and songwriting[edit]
How to Save a Life consists of a mix of mid-tempo, piano-driven pop rock tracks and power ballads.[82] The album The Fray spread the spectrum of music: the pop rock songs are faster and more energetic, while the ballads are softer than those on the first album.[83]
Slade's vocals feature a falsetto and a strong American accent. On the second album, his vocals are more aggressive, most notably on the tracks "We Build Then We Break" and "Say When".[84]
The lyrics on both albums revolve around life's problems and issues. Common themes include happiness, sadness, death, the problem of evil, relationships and war. The honest and emotional nature of the lyrics[85][86]
has also had critics labeling the Fray as emo, comparing them to mainstream emo acts like Jimmy Eat World.[30] The Fray's initial songs contain lyrics with strong religious messages. However, by the time they began work on their debut album, the band decided against being an entirely religious group because they believed that God had called them away from the "Christian music genre and into a secular market".[87]