From the sleepy sprawl of America’s ‘Mile-High City’, Denver, Colorado, United States, comes The Fray, a foursome whose melodic pop-rock songs and soaring vocals resonate with sprawling tapestries and tales of hopefulness and heartache.
Formed in 2002 by Isaac Slade (vocals, piano) and Joe King (guitar, vocals), The Fray earned a loyal grassroots following through impressive area gigs and the support of local radio which led a listener-driven campaign to get the band a record contract. With strong word-of-mouth, the band won “Best New Band” honors from Denver’s Westword Magazine and garnered substantial airplay on two of Denver’s top rock stations - the demo version of “Over My Head (Cable Car)” became KTCL’s top 30 most played song of 2004 in just 4 months. The band signed to Epic Records in 2004 and released their debut album “How to Save a Life” in September 2005.
The band FIRST began when Joe King’s band, Fancy’s show box, and Isaac Slade’s band, Ember, broke up. “Three years ago, I thought I wanted to start a real estate company,” laughs co-founder King. A serendipitous encounter with former schoolmate Slade at a local music store began an impromptu jam session that began an impromptu songwriting session that began The Fray. It wasn’t your usual rock n’ roll lineup - vocals, guitar and piano - but it worked. The uplifting, melody-driven songs were catchy enough to attract two former band-mates of Slade’s - drummer Ben Wysocki and guitarist Dave Welsh. “Ben and I were basically a package deal at the time,” explains Welsh. “Ben joined first, but I think he felt lonely without me.”
