King Of The Fray

With three studio albums under your belt, the band is no longer a newcomer and you tour extensively. How do you keep it fresh?

It sounds as if the band is a tight little unit onto themselves. Does that apply to touring as well?

We all travel together. It’s not like we have four different buses and don’t want to see each other until 7 p.m. We’re all pros, a traveling group. … That makes touring at least fun. You can hang out after shows, have a good time, explore the city together.

How did the upcoming tour with Kelly Clarkson come about? Did you approach her, did she approach you, or did a third party bring you together?

Late last year we were doing a couple of one-off shows. I think one was for a radio station. She was on the bill – it was a Christmas charity show – and we just really clicked and ended up doing a Christmas song together onstage that night. It felt real natural, artistic and fun. … I think nowadays it seems like fun packages are kind of emerging, different types of tours. Not necessarily the same types of bands, but different enough. When that discussion came up, our manager mentioned the show with Kelly, [saying] “What about something like that? It’s different enough but it still probably appeals to a similar audience and she’s a great musician.” It started to make sense once we kicked it around, to do the co-headline thing.

Will The Fray and Kelly perform together at the end of the evening?

We’ve been talking about that. Eventually it might happen. That’s what’s fun about touring. We’re all going to be out there. …at some ping pong bar late at night and say, “Let’s do this tomorrow,” and I think that’s just going to happen. I like the idea of creating something specific for this moment, this summer, a night, for instance, when the fans know they’re getting something unique and special with this moment. It’s not like, “Let’s do something we did two years ago,” with Kelly.

When you were a teenager going to concerts, did you see any artist collaborations that still stick with you today?

Growing up, I went from different genres. I loved rap. I was kind of a little wannabe gangster kid. … listening to NWA. Rap and that whole movement, [the] hip-hop world, were huge for me.

Then bands like Nirvana really inspired me. I never saw Nirvana live. I remember seeing [the video] for “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” A bunch of kids jumping around in this gym and this big amp on stage and [Nirvana] is just passionate about what they’re doing and not giving a shit at the same time. I just resonated with that. It inspired me to be in a band. I think a few moments like that made me want to do it.

Rather than naming bands that inspired The Fray, were there singular moments in other artists’ histories that helped inspire The Fray?

So who are you jealous of these days?

Do you remember the first rock song you learned to play on guitar?

“Come As You Are,” the Nirvana song. I learned that first then I started learning old hymns. At the time I was learning to how play in front of people, sitting on the church stage leading the praise services. It actually helped with the pop elements, surprisingly. If you look at a typical church song, the congregation needs to sing the song and the melody needs to be memorable to the point that people can sing it. It kind of ingrained in me the sense of having that universal element in songwriting, something that somebody can attach to and sing right away.

Listening to the most recent album, Scars And Stories, it sounds as if the band is more sure of itself than on its 2005 debut album, How To Save A Life. Is that an accurate observation?

I’ll take that as a compliment. That’s what you hope for, I think, in a band. As many failures as we’ve had, or just the learning curve, the first record, you just throw it together. We were little kids and it was beautiful for what it was and [we were] proud of it. I think I’ve held on to the idea of never putting something out that you’ll regret down the road. … If you don’t believe in something, then put it out and it doesn’t do well, then it’s like dying twice. Because you put something out that you didn’t believe in, you sold it and sold yourself and it didn’t do well. At least if you put something out that you believe in and it doesn’t necessarily resonate or connect, you’re still proud of it. … I think that’s kind of what I stand by; just trying to always do something I believe in.

What do you see for The Fray in the future?

I see new music still coming. I think we’re still a young band. In a lot of ways we’re just getting our feet on the ground a bit. Some of the greatest bands in our history, in my time, I see them on their third or fourth record getting really into who they are in the band. I’m hoping we’ll make many, many records.