The Fray helped create special memories with their visit to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia last week.

The band, who are amazing supporters of our foundation, created a room full of smiles when they not only sang some of their hit songs (“Cable Car” “How To Save A Life,” “Heartbeat” and “You Found Me”) but also sang happy birthday to a patient’s brother celebrating his special day!

One of the first questions that the band was asked was how they got their name. When Isaac, Joe, Dave and Ben first got together they had a gig (on a soccer field!) but didn’t have a name. They decided to put a bunch of ideas into a fish bowl and go with whatever name was picked… and that is how “The Fray” was born.

The group came together after high school, even though they all went to school together. They had each been in different (and competing) local bands and after school finished, and the bands fizzled, the guys got together and starting playing music in Isaac’s basement together.

The Fray Creates Special Moments At CHOP! - 622689a8c90df

When the patients asked if the band had any tips for inspiring songwriters, Isaac let them in on a little secret on how he got started. When Isaac realized he wanted write songs, he learned how to play his 15 favorite songs (from other artists) on both the piano and guitar. Once he learned the music, he wrote his own lyrics to the songs. He would then take the new lyrics and write new melodies... and voila…new songs were created! We all thought that was pretty cool!

The Fray, who is currently on tour with Kelly Clarkson, said that they love to be on tour and travel to so many new cities. They even went to the island of Malta to play a show, which was a fun experience for all of them.

It was such a special day in studio with The Fray and the patients were so happy to learn more about the band! We are so appreciative of their continued support of our foundation and hope they visit again soon!