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The Fray |
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FEATURE
THE FRAY GET OUT OF DENVER
Sold out show prompts speedy return of Denver-based band to the Windy City.
by Cathy Mein
I’m standing on the balcony at Metro with Joe King, guitarist and vocalist for The Fray.
Joe has wandered upstairs pre-soundcheck and is watching the crew set up on the stage below, admiring the architecture of Metro and marveling at the venue’s history.
He seems a bit amazed by the fact that his band’s popularity has grown so quickly that they have sold out not only the 1100 capacity Metro where, as he points out, Jeff Buckley filmed his live performance during his “Mystery White Boy” tour and The Smashing Pumpkins played their last show in 2000, but also the 1300 capacity House of Blues when they return to Chicago only one month from now.
Not bad for a band from Denver on their first headlining tour.
Today is the band’s first show back after a few days off and a cancelled concert in Toronto due to throat problems experienced by singer/piano player, Isaac Slade.
As the band starts soundcheck, Isaac discovers there are some notes still too high for his recovering vocal chords and some songs have to be rearranged. Following soundcheck, Isaac asks if I would mind if he’s excused from the interview since he needs to protect his voice for the show, so guitarist Dave Welsh volunteers to sit down and chat.
Relaxed on a couch backstage, Dave talks about what it’s like being the main attraction on the band’s 24 city, My Space-sponsored tour.
“It’s been very fun. It was a little nerve-racking at first to think about because we don’t have anybody’s shoulders to ride on, it’s all on us, but at the same time that kind of takes the pressure off because you don’t have to win anybody over now,” said Welsh.
“Everybody bought tickets for our show, so they obviously like it and now we can just have fun and play as well as we can and hopefully they’ll come out liking it even more. So it’s been a lot of fun…. We’ve had a string of really cool shows. We played the Bowery Ballroom in New York and then we did the 9:30 Club in DC, all really good shows.”
Friends since high school, this foursome featuring Slade on vocals and piano, King on guitar and vocals, Welsh on guitar and Ben Wysocki on drums, formed as a band in 2002 and quickly earned a loyal following in the Denver area garnering airplay on two of Denver’s top radio stations.
Signed by Epic in 2004, their debut album, How to Save a Life, was released in September 2005 and quickly gathered positive attention from critics citing comparisons to Coldplay. Although driven by melodic, piano-based rock and soaring vocals, The Fray has no desire to be the next Coldplay.
“We actually have a lot of different influences,” states Dave, “I think everybody in the band has a very unique sound to them and the music they listen to. I’m big into the all country thing, into Wilco, Ryan Adams and the Jayhawks. Joe and Isaac tend to go more toward the U2 route and things like Better Than Ezra and Counting Crows. Ben and I grew up listening to Pearl Jam all the time. So it’s not like all of us love the same album which makes playing and writing together cool.”
When asked about the band’s writing style, Dave comments that lyrics generally come last for the band.
“I’d say it’s mostly music first, but Joe and Isaac are the main songwriters, so they’ll hole themselves up in a room somewhere and write a few songs and then bring them to Ben and me and we’ll tell them, ‘No we don’t like it— too slow!’ and then we’ll speed them up. Ninety percent of rehearsals Isaac just makes sounds to our music and we’re like, ‘What’s he saying?’ There have been shows where we’ve tried new songs where we don’t have lyrics so it’s just mumbled verses and nobody picks up on it which is funny.”
The band is currently being touted as VH1’s “You Outta Know Artist on the Rise,” but Welsh has not seen the promos.
“It’s cool, but I don’t have cable at my house so I haven’t seen it. Why pay for cable when I’m out on the road?” he laughs.
VH1 isn’t the only network to take notice of The Fray and their hit single, “Over My Head (Cable Car).” The band has had appearances with the likes of Conan O’Brien, Jay Leno and Craig Ferguson and is in talks to film the video for their second single, “How to Save a Life.”
The future appears to be bright for these musicians from the Mile-High City, but when asked what his idea of personal success would be, Welsh says that he’s already accomplished more than he’s ever dreamed.
“Obviously you want to be successful. You want to play for people because that’s the whole reason you play in a band, but at the same time my own view of success would be to play and sell out places like the 9:30 Club which we just did. Past that I don’t know what else is next but I’m game for whatever!”
No one knows for certain what’s in store for The Fray, but in the meantime, they’re enjoying the journey they’re being taken on.
Looking to the future Dave tells me, “I don’t know if we ever dreamed of U2 status, but after this it’s just a fun ride no matter where it goes!”
For more info and tour dates: www.thefray.net and www.myspace.com/thefrayforum
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