The Fray was formed in 2002 by Isaac Slade (vocals, piano) and Joe King (guitar, vocals), The Fray owe all of their early success to their organic, grassroots beginnings.

Joe and Isaac were former schoolmates who bumped into each other unexpectedly, and – one thing led to another – they started writing songs together. The songs were catchy enough to attract two of Slade's former bandmates – drummer Ben Wysocki and guitarist Dave Welsh – who soon joined, completing the band's lineup.

The Fray garnered an early following through impressive area gigs and the support of local radio, which led to a listener-driven campaign to get the band a record contract. With strong word-of-mouth, the band won "Best New Band" honors from Denver's Westword magazine and got substantial airplay on two of Denver's top rock.

The first single from How To Save A Life, "Over My Head (Cable Car)" climbed into the top 10 on the Billboard singles chart, has been certified platinum, and was streamed more than a million times on MySpace in just one month.

The band recently saw footage of two high school kids performing the song at a talent show, which was somewhat mindblowing for Joe King, and provided him with something of a "full circle" moment.