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The Fray
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Live from Boston: The Colorado band performs tunes from their introspective new record.
You've arrived at Soundcheck...
Walmart’s original performance series where you get up close and personal with your favorite artists. Check out live performances and exclusive behind-the-scenes footage from original in-studio sets – all filmed exclusively in HD. Soundcheck is broadcast in Walmart stores nationwide – or catch us online 24/7.
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We have a top-notch music label relations team that helps us book acts. They are constantly on the phone with music labels around the country trying to get the best bands on Soundcheck.
Soundcheck is an original performance series created by the Wal-Mart Music team, giving you the opportunity to go behind the scenes and get an in-studio look at some of your favorite artists. Soundcheck plays right here on Walmart.com, or, for the full high definition experience, visit any Walmart store and head to the Electronics department to watch it on the Walmart TV Network.
We'll be adding new performances on a regular basis throughout the year, so please check back regularly at Walmart.com/soundcheck for more information.
We'll have artists from all genres; some old, some new, some huge, some more emerging - but all will be presented in the same intimate studio environment. So be on the lookout!
Check in regularly at Walmart.com/soundcheck, or visit your local Walmart store and watch the Walmart TV Network.
No. Just visit Walmart.com/soundcheck and watch for free!
Once the performances launch, you can play it anytime you want, 24 hours a day. We'll keep all artists up on the site under "The Performances" tab.
We recommend broadband DSL or Cable to anyone who wants to truly enjoy video and audio on the Internet. However, we have made available a smaller dial-up version so you don't miss out.
If you are reading this page right now, you likely have everything you need. However, watching the Soundcheck performances requires at least the following in order to properly stream media content:
PC
• Windows 2000, XP Home or Professional, Vista or Windows 7 in 32bit and 64bit
• Intel Pentium 4 2.33GHz, AMD Athlon™ 64 2800+ processor (or equivalent)
• At least 256 MB RAM
• 64MB of VRAM (video card memory)
• Internet Explorer 6.0 to 8.0 (IE 8.0 recommended)
• Mozilla Firefox 2.0 to 3.5
• Flash Version 9.0.115 and up.
MAC
• Mac OS X v10.4 or later
• PowerPC G5 1.8GHz, Intel Core Duo 1.33GHz or faster processor
• At least 256 MB RAM
• 64MB of VRAM (video card memory)
• Mozilla Firefox 2.0 to 3.5
• Safari 3.0
If you have the minimum system requirements, reinstall your Flash Player by clicking here
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Performance Photos
About The Artist
The Set List
-The Crew at Walmart Soundcheck
On Their Songwriting Process:
Isaac: “Joe and I generally craft the initial body of the song. We’re always trying to get that tension between happy-sounding “happy song,” which nobody wants, and a sad-sounding "sad song" that nobody really wants. Generally the songs that don’t make the record are the ones that go too far one way or the other.”
On Life As Inspiration:
Joe: "You have to experience and you have to live. You have to go out and look. Those are things you pull from and hopefully you can put it into a story or a song.”
On Their New Record:
Joe: “On this record there are songs about extreme loss, loneliness. There are songs about adventure, going out to experience new things, the beauty of a woman’s body. So much of our lives are wrapped into [this record]. We just try to be honest.”
On The New Album’s Title:
Isaac: “Scars end up being a map of what you’ve been through. At some point in a relationship you have to show those - whether they’re physical scars or emotional scars or just experiences you’ve been through. It’s always a vulnerable thing to tell.”
• The Fray is: Isaac Slade (vocals, piano), Joe King (vocals, guitar), Dave Welsh (lead guitar), and drummer Ben Wysocki.
• They’re from Denver, Colorado. School buddies Isaac Slade and Joe King formed the band in 2002 and found worldwide fame with their 2005 hit, ‘How To Save A Life.’
• They’re Grammy Award nominees. The band received a 2010 Grammy nomination for their self-titled second album.
• The band’s third studio album is titled ‘Scars & Stories.' Produced by Brendan O’Brien (Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam) ‘Scars & Stories’ was recorded at the legendary Blackbird Studios in Nashville, Tennessee. Explains Isaac: “Scars end up being a map of what you’ve been through. At some point in a relationship you have to show those - whether they’re physical scars or emotional scars or just experiences you’ve been through. It’s always a vulnerable thing to tell.”
• ‘Scars & Stories’ is in stores now! Pick up a copy of the record online and in Walmart stores nationwide.
The Fray opens their Walmart Soundcheck set with ‘You Found Me,’ a powerful ballad about the darker side of life. (Isaac Slade has said in interviews that the song was written as a questioning of why bad things happen to good people.) Sings Isaac: “I found God / On the corner of First and Amistad / Where the west was all but won.”
Run For Your Life
One of the standout tracks on 'Scars & Stories' is a track the band wrote about facing your fears. Explains Joe: “I’ve had destruction in my life; I’ve had things completely fall apart. The temptation is just to kind of run away. It’s hard to go back to that but there’s still beauty in that pile of mess.”
Turn Me On
While much of 'Scars & Stories' is questioning and contemplative, ‘Turn Me On’ finds The Fray in the mood to funk. Explains Joe: “We were just kind of bored in our studio, and [we started] YouTubing and looking for funny stuff. We came across this amazing exotic belly dancing video. We thought, ‘Let’s just write about the movement of the body and the expression of the body...’”
Heartbeat
The first single from ‘Scars & Stories’ was inspired by a real trip to Rwanda. Explains Isaac: “I met this woman and I imagined what her life was like... I wanted to ask her all these questions but I just didn’t have the guts, so I wrote a song instead.”
The Wind
The Fray closes with a beautiful tune from ‘Songs & Stories,’ inspired by a time when Joe felt “lost at sea.” Both melancholic and uplifting, ‘The Wind’ is a redemptive ballad about finding your way home. Sings Isaac: “I don’t know where I am / And you tell me / Will I break or will I bend?”
