{"id":28229,"date":"2024-10-02T05:30:20","date_gmt":"2024-10-02T09:30:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=28229"},"modified":"2024-09-19T08:23:19","modified_gmt":"2024-09-19T12:23:19","slug":"time-well-spent-the-fray-return-from-a-five-year-hiatus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2024\/10\/02\/time-well-spent-the-fray-return-from-a-five-year-hiatus\/","title":{"rendered":"Time Well Spent: The Fray Return From a Five-Year Hiatus"},"content":{"rendered":"

This feature appeared previously in SPIN<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Early \u201800s hitmakers turn the page and begin a new chapter<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the short space of just a few years, Denver-based pop-rock group the Fray got together, secured a record deal, released a multi-platinum debut album, won three Billboard<\/em> Music Awards, and landed four Grammy nominations. After three more LPs, and seemingly with much left to say, they went on hiatus in 2019; at the time there was little reason to think they\u2019d ever return. But with a realignment of priorities and a fresh perspective, the Fray are back with a new EP, out September 27.<\/p>\n

The Fray formed in Denver in 2002, writing impassioned, thoughtful, and emotional songs that bridged indie rock and mainstream pop. And in a departure from groups centered around one singer\/songwriter, the Fray took a more balanced approach.<\/p>\n

On their 2002 debut EP, Movement<\/em>, guitarist Joe King sang two songs, and keyboardist Isaac Slade took the lead on the others. And while Slade would gradually evolve into a role as the Fray\u2019s de facto<\/em> frontman, songwriting duties remained very much collaborative.<\/p>\n

The Fray paid their dues in those early years, playing clubs and theaters as an opener for bigger names, sometimes securing spots as the second- or third-billed act on a festival lineup. Cultivating a local following, they won polls and earned positive press. Their self-recorded demo of \u201cOver My Head (Cable Car)\u201d became popular on Denver radio. And even with two independent EPs to their credit, the Fray had written enough new material for a full-length; they were ready for a major-label deal.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Photo by Allister Ann<\/p><\/div>\n

Epic Records took notice, signing the group in late 2004 and steering them into the studio. The result of those sessions was How to Save a Life<\/em>, released in September 2005. Once that record hit the stores, fame came quickly. Riding high on the breakout success of a pair of hit singles\u2014a new recording of \u201cOver My Head (Cable Car)\u201d and the album\u2019s title track\u2014the Fray quickly found themselves playing more than 100 live dates a year. How to Save a Life<\/em> eventually earned quadruple-platinum status in the U.S., going Top 10 in six other English-speaking countries.<\/p>\n

Thanks to strategic placement of its songs on popular TV shows including Grey\u2019s Anatomy<\/em>, One Tree Hill<\/em>, and Lost<\/em>, the band\u2019s second album, 2009\u2019s The Fray<\/em>, debuted at No. 1 on Billboard<\/em>\u2019s album chart. Subsequent releases\u20142012\u2019s Scars & Stories<\/em> and 2014\u2019s Helios<\/em>\u2014sold fewer copies but earned some positive notices. A career retrospective, Through the Years: The Best of the Fray<\/em> collected songs from the band\u2019s four LPs plus three new tracks; the album peaked at No. 13 on the Top Rock Albums chart.<\/p>\n

That release capped an impressive run, but it also signaled the end of a chapter: In 2019, with the five-album commitment to Epic fulfilled, the Fray announced an indefinite hiatus. A succession of years at the top led to exhaustion and a desire for a break from the demands of recording and touring.<\/p>\n

That collective decision brought both a sense of relief and resignation. \u201cI was grateful for how lucky we were to experience everything that we did, but I had to surrender to the fact that it was done,\u201d says King. \u201cAnd I found peace with it.\u201d At the time, King says, he believed that people would eventually stop thinking about the Fray: \u201cWhen you go away, people will forget about you.\u201d<\/p>\n

But King never stopped writing songs. And he discovered that the pandemic-era lockdowns had an upside: more time to focus on creative endeavors. \u201cLike everybody, I was just trying to hang on for dear life,\u201d he says. And when the world opened back up, he found that the creative juices flowed even more freely. \u201cThese songs kept coming. It became 10 songs, then 20, and then 30. And I was grateful for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yet the question remained: What to do with all these songs?<\/em> Though Slade had moved on from the group\u2014today he owns and operates a record store on Washington\u2019s Vashon Island\u2014King remained close to lead guitarist Dave Welsh and drummer Ben Wysocki. The three began talking about the future. Is there something more to say? What do I want my relationship with this band to be?<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd that sparked everything for me,\u201d King says. \u201cIt lit something that I couldn\u2019t stop.\u201d He was certain that the Fray did<\/em> have more to say. \u201cI thought, \u2018If we love this band, we can do whatever we want.\u2019\u201d And when Welsh and Wysocki agreed, they asked King if he had songs. \u201cI was like, \u2018Oh, yeah!\u2019\u201d he says with a laugh. But he didn\u2019t want to overwhelm his bandmates. \u201cI said, \u2018I\u2019m going to send you four; let\u2019s start with those, and we\u2019ll see where it goes.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"The process of developing full-band arrangements for those went well, so they added two more. The six songs from that crop\u2014including the new single, \u201cTime Well Wasted\u201d\u2014make up the pointedly titled EP The Fray is Back<\/em>.<\/p>\n

When the Fray decided to get back together, there was discussion about how to handle the fact that the singer of many of their hits was no longer part of the group. They briefly considered applying \u201cthe Van Halen model, bringing in a Sammy Hagar,\u201d King says with a laugh. But after a July 2022 show at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Va., where he somewhat reluctantly took over as lead singer, King realized that it made sense to go that route instead.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese songs want<\/em> me to sing them,\u201d King says. \u201cNot only the songs on the new EP, but our entire catalog.\u201d He says that it feels as if the songs are raising their hands to say, \u201cWe\u2019d like this band to perform us now. We\u2019re ready.\u201d King views The Fray is Back<\/em> and its supporting tour as the first paragraph of a new chapter for the band. \u201cAnd there\u2019s more,\u201d he promises.<\/p>\n

A sense of balance informs the Fray\u2019s return. King recalls some sage advice he got from a well-known touring musician many years ago, advice that he didn\u2019t fully understand at the time. \u201cHe told me, \u201890% of [the music business] is all the other stuff you\u2019ve got to deal with, and only 10% is the music.\u2019\u201d His point was that it\u2019s easy to become overwhelmed by those other things\u2014business matters, critics and such\u2014and lose sight of the important part of the equation.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the early Fray era, I would sometimes get consumed with all those things that really aren\u2019t up to me,\u201d King says. Today he puts things into a different perspective. \u201cThe only thing that\u2019s up to me is that 10%,\u201d he says with a smile. \u201cKnowing that frees me up to focus on the things that I love: recording and releasing our music.\u201d<\/p>\n

A big part of what brought the Fray back together was a shared understanding of music\u2019s positive power. \u201cIt\u2019s an incredible opportunity that we have,\u201d he says. \u201cWe can bring people together for a shared experience for a couple of hours. That\u2019s what you dream of doing. The fact that we get to play music for people, that\u2019s everything for us.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This feature appeared previously in SPIN. Early \u201800s hitmakers turn the page and begin a new chapter In the short space of just a few years, Denver-based pop-rock group the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28231,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[41,49,51,62],"tags":[5517],"class_list":["post-28229","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interview","category-new-release","category-pop","category-rawk","tag-the-fray","cat-41-id","cat-49-id","cat-51-id","cat-62-id","has_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28229","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28229"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28229\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28232,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28229\/revisions\/28232"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28229"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28229"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28229"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}