The band which hit quadruple-platinum sales of 2005’s “How to Save a Life” plays Grand Rapids’ GLC Live at 20 Monroe on Friday. The Local Spins interview with David Welsh.
Playing Old Classics and New Songs, Too: The Fray (Courtesy Photo)
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“Grand Rapids is gonna get a little bit of everything,” hinted David Welsh, lead guitarist with the re-emerging band The Fray.
“We’ve been rehearsing some of the old songs in preparation for this summer tour. And we’ll have our new stuff as well,” he said of their Friday (June 27) concert at GLC Live at 20 Monroe in Grand Rapids. “You get a fun, hybrid experience.”
This year is the 20th anniversary of the release of The Fray’s debut album, “How to Save A Life,” the title of their signature and most-enduring song. Underscored by a sweeping chorus, it’s a lyrical step-by-step narrative of an attempt to help a troubled youth. It was featured prominently on TV’s “Grey’s Anatomy” and garnered a Grammy Award nomination. The music video has racked up 333 million views on YouTube.
“The enormity of that song’s life outside of us is pretty overwhelming and continues to evolve,” said Welsh, 40.
When they meet fans in person, the artist noted, they always hear stories about its impact in connection with a friend or family member.
“It’s like that one flower in the garden that appears every year no matter what the weather.” Another hit from their debut, “Over My Head (Cable Car),” is also a must at concerts.
The 8 p.m. show on Friday opens with special guest Very Gently. General admission tickets, $53, available online at ticketmaster.com.
VIDEO: The Fray, “How to Save a Life”
THE ROAD BACK SINCE 2016
The Fray’s last major tour took place in 2016, after which the band decided to go on a hiatus that was extended by the COVID pandemic. They eventually met up again and asked themselves if they were actually done with the band.
“None of us were ready to totally hang it up,” Welsh reported.
Minus co-founder/keyboardist Isaac Slade (he left in 2022), the remaining threesome played several shows while working at writing new music, and Joe King assumed the role of lead vocalist. That resulted in the new six-song EP, aptly titled “The Fray is Back.”
“It’s been a slow build, but in hindsight, that was the best trajectory,” Welsh said. “People had to realize we had gone away, but we’ve been able to build on that with the new music and getting back to live shows.”
Stylistically, the new tunes aren’t a great departure. The artist said the band tried not to overthink things and write material that came naturally. (Scroll for a video of the new song, “Angeleno Moon.”)
Welsh has the sense that the band is picking up new fans – younger ones. “I don’t know how young people find out about music nowadays. The internet is the weirdest thing,” he added. “And the new songs turned out to be drivers to get people to the shows.”
In the meantime, band members are continuing their songwriting, always working on new sounds. It’s a different world than 20 years ago, “when you could record something for a few months and then go out and tour it for two years. Those days are gone,” mused Welsh.
But The Fray is back, putting themselves out there once again for fans old and new.
“It’s an opening monologue for a bit and we’re hoping for a dialogue and we’ve started to get one,” he said of their traction with audiences. “And as long as you can keep the conversation interesting, you can keep having it.”
VIDEO: The Fray, “Angeleno Moon”
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