– Not long after I moved back to Denver in 2004, my sister informed that I had been missing out on a new local band. Now, coming off of two years in Portland (home to a massive music subculture) and ten months living near Ft. Lauderdale (home of the big Emo act Dashboard Confessional) I was leery. After all, the last time I’d followed a Denver band to stardom was back in the mid to late 90’s when Five Iron Frenzy was dominating the Ska scene. She insisted that I at least give it a listen, so I sat down and popped a burned copy of ‘Over My Head (Cable Car)’ by The Fray into the Discman. I had to admit that there was potential there and I consented to joining my sister and her friend on a journey to the Fox Theatre in Boulder for a show.

– The show opened with Boulder act Slow Rosa, which surprised me with their kick-ass violin player. Then the young Canadian Kyle Riabko came out and really knocked our socks off with his talent, heart for Blues, and witty banter. Talk about opening acts that do their job warming up the crowd. The lights were lowered, a set change was made, and when they came back up there was a small table sitting in the middle of the stage. We all watched with interest as something very rare happened. The Fray and a representitive from Epic Records took turns scrawling their signatures on a record contract. I knew then and there that these guys were going to have a chance to go somewhere. The sets changed again and The Fray took the stage and blew my mind. The passive rock emanating from their instruments reminded me of artists from Coldplay to The Wallflowers. I decided that The Fray is most definitely a band worth following.

– Their debut album ‘How to Save a Life’ dropped in September of last year and features some of those great songs that so vividly captured me in Decmber of 2004. Cable Car was soon featured on iTunes as a Free Single of the Week and the album even nabbed the number four spot on Billboards ‘Top Heatseekers’ in 2005. Last year they made an appearance on Late Night with Conan O’brien and Wednesday they will be on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Check it out. Join The Fray.