With a broad, dynamic pop sound, the Fray is a Grammy award-nominated rock band from Denver, best known for the song “How to Save a Life,” a Top 5 single in the U.S., Europe and Australia. Their song “Over My Head (Cable Car)” was a Top 10 hit in the United States and Canada.

Currently comprised of singer/pianist Isaac Slade and guitarist Joe King, plus Dave Welsh on guitar and drummer Ben Wysocki, the Fray formed in 2002. Slade and King both attended Faith Christian Academy near Denver, and had played in local Christian bands (Slade in Ember, King in Fancy’s Showbox) — they met in a local record store, and bonded over their similar desire to create music that was inspirational, but with a non-Christian approach.

The group’s lineup was still in transition when they released the Movement EP, followed the next year by the Reason EP, and which introduced the single “Cable Car.” Signed to Epic in 2005, the Fray set out on tour as opening acts for Weezer and Ben Folds.

Their debut album, How to Save a Life, included the name-changed “Over My Head (Cable Car),” which became a hit on modern rock radio and crossed over to the Top 40 charts. The Fray then released the album’s title track, which, thanks to its inclusion in a promotional campaign for the TV series “Grey’s Anatomy,” became one of 2006’s biggest singles. They released a live album, Live at the Electric Factory: Bootleg No. 1, and a cover of John Lennon’s "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" on iTunes, marking the first time the song has ever charted. The Fray checked into Seattle Grace again in 2008, when “You Found Me,” from their self-titled sophomore effort, was used in a promo for the show “Lost” during a “Grey’s” commercial break.

Provenance: Denver, Colorado

Latest Release: The Fray (2009)

© 2008 Nigel Music Media LLC. Used by permission.

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