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The Fray
A group's name can often be a joke or it can be quite revealing. When somebody calls themselves The Fray it can only mean things regularly come undone.
Renewing their friendship after bumping into each other at a local music store in '02, Denver residents Isaac Slade (vocals/piano) and Joe King (lead guitar/vocals), began writing songs. Dave Welsh (guitar) and Ben Wysocki (drums) were next to join. Slade's brother Caleb also became a member but he was ousted after a brief tenure. The first fray. The sibling conflict eventually provided the inspiration for the band's breakthrough hit "Over My Head (Cable Car)." The band decided to continue without a full-time bassist using Jimmy Stoffer for touring.
The fray continued as band members fought regularly and intensely over lyrics and other song elements. This argumentative tendency led directly to their name.
Here is where the music business gets unpredictable and fun. "Over My Head (Cable Car)" earned local airplay. This got them noticed by Epic Records who signed the band. But before their debut, "How To Save A Life," arrived in September of '05, The Fray opened for Weezer and Ben Folds.
"Over My Head (Cable Car)" barely broke the Top 40 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart in September. But, oddly enough, the track didn't fade away. The song gained national airplay landing on the Billboard chart in February of '06, where it amazingly continued to rise for 12 weeks before topping out at #8.
Second single, the title track, also took an unusual trajectory. "How To Save A Life" was featured on two T.V. medical shows (figures), one a comedy, Scrubs, and the other a drama, Grey's Anatomy.
The Fray on "How To Save A Life" sound like a Wallflowers variant or maybe they're just Train taking No-Doz and washing it down with De-Caf.
The Fray are mid-tempo popsters. Calling them Alt. Rockers is a silly joke. Lyrics are a big deal here. But The Fray lack Jakob Dylan's (Wallflowers) inherited and well developed sense of image and wordplay. However, they do display a genuine sincerity.
"Over My Head (Cable Car)" wears well. It's easy to see why the track took so long to resonate and how it was able to hang around long enough until it did. "How To Save A Life" is straight-ahead piano pop. The Fray also delve into acoustic ballads which they perform in a heartfelt manner. King and Slade actually sound like they are listening to what they're singing.