Perdita
16-01-2009, 09:04
You might not recognise The Fray if you bumped into them at the bus stop, but you probably know their smash hit 'How To Save A Life', which became a radio favourite back in 2006 and popped up in episodes of One Tree Hill and Grey's Anatomy. Having sold three million copies of their debut album, the Colorado four-piece are back with a new single, 'You Found Me', and a self-titled follow-up LP. Keen for a catch-up, we called drummer Ben Wysocki to find out more.
What's the new single, 'You Found Me', about?
"It's about the unfair nature of life. If you ran into God on the street corner, you'd ask him, 'Where were you when this was happening?' We've seen a lot of close friends going through some really tough times and sometimes it just doesn't make sense. This song is us doubting and questioning why bad things happen to good people."
It's been used to promote Lost in the US. How did that come about?
"It came out of our relationship with [US TV network] ABC. I think the networks are embracing much better music than they ever have before - reputable, original, recognisable music. It's been great for us because it's such an effective way of getting our music heard. I think it's the way of the future really."
Your music's been on a lot of the big US TV shows: One Tree Hill, Scrubs, Grey's Anatomy. Why do you think it works so well on TV?
"It's hard for us to evaluate why, but I know that we try to make music that really connects with people. We focus on making people feel like they have a sense of ownership of the song either musically or lyrically. We want to be remembered for our music and not much else. We don't care whether people know what we look like. We're a lot better at playing music than being public figures, you know."
Do you ever say no to TV shows?
"Definitely. I couldn't name one show in particular but we like having our music on quality shows - shows that are well-written and well-acted. We're lucky that our music's been on so much quality TV but we have said no in the past to shows that we didn't think were of such a high standard."
Why's the new album simply called The Fray?
"It initially came out of procrastination - we couldn't come up with a title! But the more we dug into it, the more we discovered that nothing sums up this record better than us. After having a record titled How To Save A Life, which is such an enormous rhetorical question, the only thing you can do next is present yourself in a really simple, honest, transparent form. We're saying, 'This is us and this is the music we're making now'."
How is the new album different from your debut?
"This record is a lot of what we wanted to do better on the first one because now we know how. We're all better musicians now because we've played over 300 shows in the last couple of years. We're a lot tighter as a band and we've matured as people too, so hopefully that's reflected in the record."
Do you feel pressure to match the success of How To Save A Life?
"Of course! We've set the bar high for ourselves without even knowing it. We didn't really realise what had happened until we got home from touring the first record. We were like, 'Hang on, we've just had a hit record that's sold three million copies!' It gave us a healthy sense of pressure and made us realise we needed to do even better than before. As an artist, the worst thing you can do is get lukewarm and complacent."
Do you see other piano-based rock bands - Coldplay perhaps - as your rivals?
"Whenever people compare us to Coldplay, we take it as a compliment because we're big fans of the band. But it's kind of selling yourself short to view your fellow artists as rivals, because you have to focus on being the best you can be. Every artist's unique and even if we were to cover a Coldplay song, it wouldn't sound like Coldplay. It would sound like The Fray covering a Coldplay song. We don't see Coldplay as competition, but they do kinda inspire us to do better."
Have you been inspired by their latest album?
"Yeah, Viva La Vida is amazing! Some of the sounds on that record are just incredible and that's what I find inspiring. They're not just turning out melodies that you can sing to in the shower, they're progressing into different sonic landscapes and collaborating with different producers. When it first came out, I remember saying to my bandmates, 'Wow! Have you heard that 'Violet Hill' song with the crazy-sounding drums?'"
The Fray release 'You Found Me' on January 26. The album The Fray follows on February 9.
What's the new single, 'You Found Me', about?
"It's about the unfair nature of life. If you ran into God on the street corner, you'd ask him, 'Where were you when this was happening?' We've seen a lot of close friends going through some really tough times and sometimes it just doesn't make sense. This song is us doubting and questioning why bad things happen to good people."
It's been used to promote Lost in the US. How did that come about?
"It came out of our relationship with [US TV network] ABC. I think the networks are embracing much better music than they ever have before - reputable, original, recognisable music. It's been great for us because it's such an effective way of getting our music heard. I think it's the way of the future really."
Your music's been on a lot of the big US TV shows: One Tree Hill, Scrubs, Grey's Anatomy. Why do you think it works so well on TV?
"It's hard for us to evaluate why, but I know that we try to make music that really connects with people. We focus on making people feel like they have a sense of ownership of the song either musically or lyrically. We want to be remembered for our music and not much else. We don't care whether people know what we look like. We're a lot better at playing music than being public figures, you know."
Do you ever say no to TV shows?
"Definitely. I couldn't name one show in particular but we like having our music on quality shows - shows that are well-written and well-acted. We're lucky that our music's been on so much quality TV but we have said no in the past to shows that we didn't think were of such a high standard."
Why's the new album simply called The Fray?
"It initially came out of procrastination - we couldn't come up with a title! But the more we dug into it, the more we discovered that nothing sums up this record better than us. After having a record titled How To Save A Life, which is such an enormous rhetorical question, the only thing you can do next is present yourself in a really simple, honest, transparent form. We're saying, 'This is us and this is the music we're making now'."
How is the new album different from your debut?
"This record is a lot of what we wanted to do better on the first one because now we know how. We're all better musicians now because we've played over 300 shows in the last couple of years. We're a lot tighter as a band and we've matured as people too, so hopefully that's reflected in the record."
Do you feel pressure to match the success of How To Save A Life?
"Of course! We've set the bar high for ourselves without even knowing it. We didn't really realise what had happened until we got home from touring the first record. We were like, 'Hang on, we've just had a hit record that's sold three million copies!' It gave us a healthy sense of pressure and made us realise we needed to do even better than before. As an artist, the worst thing you can do is get lukewarm and complacent."
Do you see other piano-based rock bands - Coldplay perhaps - as your rivals?
"Whenever people compare us to Coldplay, we take it as a compliment because we're big fans of the band. But it's kind of selling yourself short to view your fellow artists as rivals, because you have to focus on being the best you can be. Every artist's unique and even if we were to cover a Coldplay song, it wouldn't sound like Coldplay. It would sound like The Fray covering a Coldplay song. We don't see Coldplay as competition, but they do kinda inspire us to do better."
Have you been inspired by their latest album?
"Yeah, Viva La Vida is amazing! Some of the sounds on that record are just incredible and that's what I find inspiring. They're not just turning out melodies that you can sing to in the shower, they're progressing into different sonic landscapes and collaborating with different producers. When it first came out, I remember saying to my bandmates, 'Wow! Have you heard that 'Violet Hill' song with the crazy-sounding drums?'"
The Fray release 'You Found Me' on January 26. The album The Fray follows on February 9.