THE FRAY (Indie Rock/Piano Rock)

The Fray is a 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.

Origin: Denver, Colorado, United States
Genre(s): Piano rock, Indie rock, Pop rock
Years active: 2002–present

Site: http://www.thefray.net/

Members:
Isaac Slade
Joe King
Dave Welsh
Ben Wysocki
Dan Lavery (touring bassist only)

Former members:
Caleb Slade
Dan Battenhouse
Zach Johnson
Dave Hedin
Jimmy Stofer (touring bassist only)

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 of 2007. Prior to Dan joining the touring fold, Jimmy Stofer, also a member of the bands Dualistics and The Commentary, was employed as the band's touring bassist from 2005 through February of 2007

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.

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. Despite these rave 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. "Cable Car" eventually became one of the stations top thirty most played songs of 2004, helping the band's popularity to grow locally.

Later that year, the band was voted "Best New Band" by Denver readers of Westword, a popular alternative publication. Epic records found out about the band through Westword's original article, and sparked the interest of A&R man Mike Flynn. 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. Adding even more fame to the song it was 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.

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").

The Fray is currently in California in the process of recording their second album. There are rumors spreading that the title track will be "Happiness" and as so the album will be named Happiness. This is yet to be confirmed by the band or the label.


Discography

Albums:
2005 - How to Save a Life UK#4, US#14, AUS#1
2006 - Live at the Electric Factory (Live Album)
2007 - Acoustic in Nashville: Bootleg No. 2 (Live Album)
2008 - TBA

Singles:
2005 - "Over My Head (Cable Car)" UK#19, US#8, AUS#22
2006 - "How to Save a Life" UK#4, US#3, AUS#2
2006 - "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" US#50
2007 - "Look After You" US#59
2007 - "All at Once" UK#175