The Loop : The Fray - How to Save a Life

The Fray - How to Save a Life (2005)

When I worked as Director of Promotions for The Blaze 1260AM, my secondary title should have been "Director of Stickers and Posters and Stuff". I had developed relationships with College Marketing reps from Universal, WEA and Sony (which I would later take the job of) and got my hands on some really cool give aways to drive traffic to our promo tables and help promote their artists on campus. My office would often explode with promo items, many of which I wouldn't be surprised to find buried under the seats of my car or tucked into drawers in my old office. It's only fitting now that I help run one of these college marketing programs, and find stickers everywhere I look. It makes me feel at home.

After one of the Sony BMG drop offs, I was digging through and organizing for one of our events and saw a small sticker with four head shots and the words "Welcome to The Fray". I had never heard of this band before (as were a lot of the artists I got, since college marketing deals heavily in artist development) I looked on the back and read that they had toured with Weezer and Ben Folds, which gave me an idea even though I didn't have the music. For several weeks, I'd drop these on the promo tables and people would ask me who this band was and I'd say "Hmm, yeah, they toured with Weezer!" People would shurg and drop them in their goodie bags, perhaps circling back later.

A year later, you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who didn't know who The Fray were. After gaining momentum with "Over my Head (Cable Car)", they exploded into the national consciousness with "How to Save a Life" being featured on the show, Grey's Anatomy. You couldn't walk into a mall anywhere in America and not hear it over the course of an hour. It was a phenomenon. I ended up working that summer as an intern at Epic Records, and hearing the rest of the album tracks being played over the speakers in our hallways, eventually (finally) grabbing my own copy.

I nearly apologized for this being on this list, but I absolutely don't have to. When you really dig into the tracks, you find some incredible musicianship. There are very few bands that can grab and pull emotions the way this band does, which is why "How to Save a Life" spoke well into the hearts and minds of the people watching it be the soundtrack to their favorite show. Songs like "Vienna", "Hundred" and "Trust Me" carry those same beautiful piano tones to create a seamless record. Every song ignites a memory for me, as it probably does with a lot of people. They became the soundtrack to a lot of people's stories.

What isn't always talked about is how this band hit the pavement for over a year until the album exploded with "How to Save a Life". They toured tirelessly and watched their album keep a steady path while they worked. The Grey's Anatomy placement was huge, and set the bar high for any band hoping to find their break through licensing vs commerical radio. Despite all of the bands who have tried to follow in their footsteps of licensing, The Fray will always be the band referenced of breaking through this progressive new tastemaker.

However, it was the band's dedication that truly gained them success, and they've become one of my favorite artist development stories. It was development in every sense of the word, including sticking with them for a while until it clicked. So much so that I got to work on the album later on as a college rep and on their new album in 2009. I proudly keep my platinum plaque for this record in my bedroom as a reminder of that fact, and that good things can happen to good people who make good music.