The Fray doesn’t really rock, well they create a sound which uses the piano as its lead instrument and the rest follows. The bands music can be compared to UK Pop/Rockers Coldplay; The Fray has created the old U2 style of arena pop melody with melancholy and emotional songwriting.

The Fray – Piano Powered Pop/Rock

“We're not like real rocking rockers; we'd rather write about feeling and emotions” –Isaac Slade Lead Vocals - The Fray

The Melodic Rockers

The Fray doesn’t really rock, well they create a sound which uses the piano as its lead instrument and the rest follows. The bands music can be compared to UK Pop/Rockers Coldplay; The Fray has created the old U2 style of arena pop melody with melancholy and emotional songwriting. The bands music appeals to the Internet generation as they are one of the most downloaded bands ever. The bands two albums have sold nearly 8 million copies world wide.

Their second album topped the US billboard charts and they have also received four Grammy nominations and the Billboard Awards. The band is also a very successful touring act playing sold out concerts all over the world. The ban has always cited U2 as one of their biggest influences along with Radiohead. The most interesting thing about the band is that they do not have a full time bass player. They do use a session musician during their tours

The Formation

In 2002, schoolmates Joe King and Isaac Slade started jamming together and were passionately determined to start a band. They also started writing songs as well.  Isaac Slade’s younger brother Caleb Slade joined the band as a bass player but left very soon. This is the only time the band had a bass player. The band roped in drummer Ben Wysocki and Dave Welsh joined as lead guitar. Since the formation there have been several line-up changes but this is always considered the core group since he bands inception.

The band started calling themselves The Fray; there have been many urban myths and stories on how the band got its name. But the name was conceived by Isaacs’s younger brother Caleb. In 2002 the band recorded locally in Denver and produced an EP of 4 songs called “Movement EP”. As the EP was self-financed very few copies were pressed. The played locally at bars and clubs for the rest of the year while continuing to record and rehearse their music. The band released a second EP titled “Reason EP” in 2003. Their song “Over My Head (Cable Car)” had gained popularity and was played by a local radio station. The song which deals with deteriorating relationship between Isaac and his younger brother Caleb especially since the latter was forced to leave the band

By 2004, they were one of the most popular acts in Denver; their recognition soared when they were voted Best New Band by a Denver music magazine. The major labels started to take notice and Epic Records managed to sign them.

The First Album and Success

The band released their first album “How to Save Life” in Sept 2005. Prior to the release of the album they rerecorded the single “Over My Head (Cable Car)” during the album and released it as their first single. The song was a surprise Top 40 hit.  The song started gaining ground and the well received video pushed the promotion for the song. The single debut at No. 37 but peaked at No. 8 on the US Top 100. Internationally the album also had impressive sales despite very little promotion. By 2006 the title song started gaining a lot of popularity as it was partly featured on TV shows like “Grey’s Anatomy”, “One Tree Hill” and “Scrubs”. The Fray or their record label had not considered releasing it as a single, but there was overwhelming requests for the song. The band released it as their second single from the album and it peaked at No.3 on the US Top 100.

The third single “Look After You” did chart but was a not major success. The ballad was written by Isaac for his future wife. The band also toured promoting the album and appeared on his profile prime time talk shows such as The Tonight Show and Late Night with David Letterman. The album has sold 6 million copies worldwide.

The Follow-up

The band started the writing sessions for the second album in fall of 2008 and released it in Feb of 2009. Produced by Aaron Johnson, the album debut at No.1 on the US Album charts which cemented the bands popularity. A successful tour followed which culminated into an iTunes exclusive Live album titled “The Fray: Live from Soho”.

It has been announced that the band is currently initiating recording for their third album to be released in 2010.

• Three singles from The Fray have been downloaded 2 million times

• The song “How to Save Life” has been on the US Hot 100 charts for an astonishing 58 weeks

• The Fray recorded “Fixing a Hole” for the re-recording of the legendary Beatles album “Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band”

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