On the eve of a reunion, the Fray knows its hits reached ‘beyond us'

Washington Post

5 days ago

Every time Joe King sings 'How to Save a Life' it takes him back a couple decades, to a moment when he and his 20-something bandmates in the Fray were full of questions and short on answers.
'Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend/ Somewhere along in the bitterness/ And I would have stayed up with you all night/ Had I known how to save a life.'
'That song really came from a place of questioning, 'Do we help somebody?'' King says now, as the band prepares for a reunion tour. Co-written with Isaac Slade, the 2006 song became an anthem that materialized in almost every corner of pop culture: 'Grey's Anatomy,' 'She's Out of My League,' 'Stealth.'
It resonates, King thinks, because it reflects 'this human quest of trying to make a meaning of what we're doing, and who we are, and how we how we can help ourselves and how we can help others.'
In a February Instagram post of a cake colorfully decorated with five words (How to Save a Life), the Fray, known for their vulnerable lyrics, 2000s edge and a piano-forward sound, announced their new tour. Fans were effusive in the comments, calling the song they love 'timeless,' and insisting that it had, in fact, saved their lives.
Though the reunion tour officially begins this week, the Fray tested the waters last fall, doing shows in support of a recent EP, 'The Fray Is Back.' Their first stop was in D.C., at the Lincoln Theatre.
'I remember taking the stage and then completely losing my sense of consciousness. … It was just such an out of body (experience),' King says during a phone interview from Nashville. 'In this exchange of incredible energy with the people in the room, and our shared story together, it set the tone for everything to come.'
The band, which includes drummer Ben Wysocki and guitarist Dave Welsh (but not Slade, who left the band in 2022), has spent the past week rehearsing for the tour, playing songs they hadn't touched in a long time.
During one session, as they played a deeper cut from one of their records, 'Dead Wrong,' with its haunting piano line and simple bridge — 'Mine is not a new story, but it is for me' — King was hit with a sudden realization.
It occurred to him that their band wasn't alone in the challenge of rewriting music, rereleasing it and in this case, hitting the stage again. Thinking about legendary bands such as AC/DC, Fleetwood Mac and Genesis, he realized they all one thing in common: a desire to play the music they love.
'It is our story and it's new to us but it's not a new story because other bands have done the exact thing,' he says. 'They evolved and they've gone to reinvent themselves.'
The tour will feature vintage fan favorites, like 'Over My Head (Cable Car)' and 'Look After You.' But the group is also hoping to inject a dose of fresh energy with the addition of Landon Barker, son of blink-182 drummer Travis Barker, who will join them for portions of the tour, including its stop in D.C. (The band connected with Barker after he made a series of bathroom-lip-syncing videos to 'Look After You.')
King says this moment, on the eve of the tour, is nerve-racking in the best possible way.
'For us musicians, to be on your toes and to do something that feels distant or new again and (to) experience it raw … makes you feel alive,' King says.
And the band knows that at every venue, everyone who shows up wants the same thing: to save a life. Including, perhaps, their own.
'I've heard so many incredible stories from people about the song,' King says. 'It has somehow become part of people's lives, and that's beyond us. And it's incredible to see.'
Aug. 1 at 7 p.m. at the Anthem, 901 Wharf St. SW, Washington, D.C. theanthemdc.com. Sold out.