The Fray's Isaac Slade, Joe King, Ben Wysocki, and Dave Welsh have been riding a wave of success sprinkled with intensely memorable moments since 2005.
The Grammy-nominated band even had the opportunity to meet the Boss at one of the group's own shows. A recent interview with drummer Ben Wysocki details how it all went down. "We met Bruce Springsteen a few years ago when he brought his daughter to one of our shows. And just the fact that Bruce Springteen's daughter knows who we are was crazy. We were like, 'What the heck? We're just a bunch of guys from Denver!'"
But when you've been producing highly likable pop music for a decade, you're bound to have some pretty high-profile fans.
The Fray is celebrating its fourth album, Helios, with a tour that heads to Hard Rock Live in Hollywood July 22. Wysocki says the band will play almost the full album, along with some more familiar hits. "The older songs, I think we have a new perspective on them," he says. "With all the new energy the new songs are bringing, it kind of breathes new life into the old ones."
So far this tour, Wysocki is having a blast with his bandmates. "The tour is going really well. We're over the halfway mark, and it's flown by!" he says, while still lamenting how "daunting" it can be to look at a two-month tour schedule. Small comforts always make things easier on the road, and when asked about the band's backstage requests, or rider, he admits Honey Nut Cheerios (an obsession of King's) and chocolate milk made the list. "Somebody recently put chocolate milk on our rider, but we don't know who did it. Chocolate milk just started showing up all the time, and nobody could figure out why, but nobody's complaining. It's funny that somebody did request it and they're not fessing up to it," he laughs.
One thing Wysocki hates leaving back home is a bit more personal, though. "Right now, I have a 4-month-old daughter, so that is absolutely the thing I miss most right now." He also misses the little things, like his favorite coffee mug and chilling on his own couch.
After the tour is over, the band will take a much-needed break because guitarist Welsh is expecting a rug rat of his own. But they'll be on the move again soon enough when they head overseas to South Africa and Europe to take the Fray around the planet.
The Fray. With Barcelona and Oh Honey. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 22, at Hard Rock Live, 1 Seminole Way, Hollywood. Tickets cost $34 to $59 plus fees. Call 954-797-5531, or visit hardrocklivehollywoodfl.com.
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